Why Mercedes chose not to pursue its Abu Dhabi F1 appeal

They naturally saw the process as the last chance for the outcome of the 2021 world championship to be turned around, after the late call by race direction to allow the cars splitting Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves under the safety car on the penultimate tour.

As such there’s a widespread feeling on social media that Mercedes let the fans down, or that the team has been silenced by some kind of deal with the FIA.

So why did the team chose not to pursue…