Mercedes absent in FIA Prize Giving Gala pre-event

Mercedes failed to attend FIA’s photo opportunities on Tuesday night ahead of the main prize giving event on Thursday.

The FIA Prize Giving Gala is scheduled for Thursday evening in Paris with the event involving all FIA Championships.

Both Mercedes Formula 1 and Formula E teams were missing in the Tuesday’s pre-ceremony which serves as a preparation for the main event on Thursday.

This comes after Mercedes won the 2021 Formula E and Formula 1 Constructors Championship titles with Nyck de Vries winning the Formula E Drivers Championship title. However, Lewis Hamilton was beaten to his record eighth Formula 1 title by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale.

Verstappen’s last lap overtake on Hamilton was controversial after the late Safety Car allowed lapped cars between the title rivals to overtake. Verstappen also had the upper hand after pitting for fresh soft tyres, the Dutchman later found himself just behind Hamilton and the last minute battle to the finish was on. Verstappen won the race claiming his maiden championship win.

Mercedes lodged two protests to the Race Stewards after the race complaining about the control of the final Safety car. However, the stewards dismissed the protests with the team revealing they have no further intentions of taking the issue further.