Verstappen is undisputed F1 champ as Mercedes drops appeal

Despite dropping the appeal, neither Hamilton, nor Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, will attend the annual gala when Max Verstappen picks up his trophy, Wolff confirmed.

Attendance at that ceremony is a requirement, per Formula 1's rules, for the top three drivers in the championship.

"Both of us won't be there," Wolff told reporters. "And I won't be there because of my loyalty to Lewis and because of my own personal integrity."

Mercedes did win the constructors' title for a record eighth year in a row, and chief technical officer James Allison will be on hand to receive that trophy.

Post-race protests

Mercedes filed two protests after Red Bull's Verstappen passed Hamilton on the final lap of Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, thus claiming the drivers' championship in the tightest points race in F1 history. Verstappen benefited from a sudden change to the safety car procedure in the wake of a late crash.

Both protests were dismissed, but Mercedes then asked for reconsideration at the International Court of Appeal, a move that could have dragged well into 2022 had Mercedes not reversed course on Thursday.

Mercedes said its protest had been over safety car rules that "were applied in a new way that affected the race result, after Lewis had been in a commanding lead and on course to win the world championship."

The team said it was satisfied after discussions with both Formula 1 and the FIA, the governing body of motor sport, over clarity on the rules "so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced."

The FIA acknowledged the controversy is "tarnishing the image of the championship," but said it, along with Mercedes and other teams, it would analyse the final laps of the race as part of a "clarification exercise."