A legal war breaks out at the Brazilian GP, the protagonists are the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and rival Max Verstappen. Always them, the duelists for the title. In the night between Friday and Saturday the rear wing of the British car was dismantled and confiscated by the technical delegates of the Federation pending the hearing on Saturday which will have to give a verdict on the anomaly of the Drs system. The car number 44 cannot be touched by the Mercedes mechanics. But in the meantime, Verstappen also came under investigation, for having touched his rival’s car (and his Red Bull) in a parc fermé after qualifying.
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Hamilton’s case emerged during the checks after qualifying to establish the starting order of today’s Sprint Race (8.30 pm, Sky), the 100 km mini-race that will form the grid for the real GP over 71 laps on Sunday. Hamilton was the fastest ahead of Verstappen. But on the basis of the checks, an irregularity had emerged in the mobile wing, the opening of which would have been greater than the 85 mm allowed by the regulations. The panel of commissioners made up of Tim Mayer, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Matteo Perini and Roberto Pupo Moreno, had met to judge. But at 1.54 Italian (21.54 in Sao Paulo) the hearing was adjourned to the following day because further evidence is needed, not available at the moment.
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What led to the postponement of a decision that seemed easy enough to make? Mercedes presented a large defensive dossier but above all a video on social media in which we see Max Verstappen tinkering first with the rear wing of his Red Bull and then with that of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, in two points, all while found in the closed park. It looked like a test on the flexibility of the appendages (already in the past between the two teams there had been heated clashes on the subject, in Brazil it was back in the day), or perhaps Max was interested in finding out more. In fact, in the last few races, Red Bull was very impressed by the speed on the straight and on the single lap of the Mercedes.
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The regulation prohibits touching the single-seaters in a parc fermé regime, and Verstappen will have to explain to the stewards the reason for that gesture. a lightness that can cost him dearly while firmly in command of the World Championship (+19 in the standings). Just as everything seems cleared for the escape, because Hamilton in addition to risking starting last in the sprint race salready that he will move back five places on the grid on Sunday for having fitted a new engine. His will be an uphill run anyway, but it could become a climb to Everest with other penalties. But Max’s own goal could help him. all in the hands of sports judges.
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November 13, 2021 (change November 13, 2021 | 03:40)
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