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Mercedes has requested a right of review into the incidents between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Brazil last Sunday.
Hamilton tried to pass Verstappen on the outside of Turn 4 but Verstappen braked later, ran wide and both cars had to take to the run-off area.
The incident was noted by the stewards but not investigated.
A few laps later, Hamilton successfully passed Verstappen at the same corner and went on to win, while Verstappen finished second.
However, had Verstappen been awarded the usual five-second time penalty afforded drivers who are deemed to have forced another driver off-track, he’d have dropped to third behind the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
After the race the FIA admitted that Verstappen’s forward-facing onboard camera was not available at the time of the initial check of the incident and they made the decision not to investigate without that evidence.
Mercedes has therefore requested a right of review on the basis of new evidence unavailable at the time of the original decision.
Verstappen leads Hamilton by 14 points in the drivers’ championship while Mercedes has an 11-point lead in the constructors’.
If the review is granted and the stewards subsequently decide to give Verstappen a five-second penalty, it would cut his lead to 11 points and extend Mercedes’ advantage to 17.
Earlier this year, Red Bull failed in its bid to get an incident between Hamilton and Verstappen reviewed.
That followed the collision between the two in the British Grand Prix that sent Verstappen into the barrier at high speed while Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty but still went on to win.
The stewards deemed there was no new or relevant evidence to consider on that occasion.
