F1: Hamilton may have asked Mercedes to withdraw protests on Abu Dhabi GP fiasco

The final chequered flag of the 2021 Formula 1 season was waved in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but the drama off the track is far from over. Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has been declared the race winner and world champion, with his rival Lewis Hamilton now being rumoured to have asked Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to stand down in relation to the protests that the team lodged in front of the stewards immediately after the controversial race.

Mercedes marched to the stewards' office armed with their legal counsel and two protests. These were concerning Verstappen's alleged overtaking manoeuvre behind the safety car, and race control's decision to let only five back markers unlap themselves before racing resumed in the final lap at the end of a safety car period.

Both protests were significant when it came to the final outcome of the race. A penalty against Verstappen would ultimately hand Hamilton the victory and the championship. No one can tell what would have happened if the lapped cars were not allowed to get out of Verstappen's way, but it is safe to say that he would not have been able to catch and pass Hamilton as easily as he did in the final lap.

Both protests were eventually dismissed, but Mercedes have assured that they plan to appeal the decision. Race director Michael Masi insisted that his controversial decisions were based on the desire to finish the race under "green light" conditions, and to let the drivers do battle. In the end, Red Bull's strategy to give Verstappen a fresh set of soft tyres paid off. Hamilton had questioned his team on numerous occasions about why they were not calling him in for new tyres, and in the end he was right. The 40-lap-old tyres on the Mercedes were no match for the Red Bull's fresh softs, and he was eaten up alive in the first few corners of the final lap.

Perhaps it is this knowledge that has pushed Hamilton to ask his team to drop the protests if that report is indeed true. Hamilton himself has not confirmed as much, and neither has Mercedes. The claim comes out of Dutch website f1maximaal.nl, as reported by Planet F1.

In the live blog that was being updated in the immediate aftermath of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a source from England reportedly claimed that Hamilton "is said to have asked Wolff to withdraw the protests against Verstappen and Red Bull".

While the protests were still lodged, new reports are claiming that the appeal may no longer push through. Mercedes have apparently decided that keeping the integrity and reputation of the sport intact is more important than winning.

The team has 96 hours to make their appeal official, but there is radio silence from the Mercedes camp following their confirmation of their intention to appeal. All the reports and theories about what Hamilton did are unconfirmed. However, Verstappen did say that Toto Wolff has already congratulated him on his world championship title. The Dutchman will officially be crowned on Thursday night, which will also be the end of Mercedes' window to lodge an appeal.