Mercedes withdraws Formula One championship protest, but says it lost 'faith in racing'

Mercedes has withdrawn its appeal of the results of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which finished under controversial circumstances that saw its driver, Lewis Hamilton, lose the race and the world championship on the final lap.

The decision, including bringing the safety car in on the same lap that the backmarkers were waved by, was unprecedented and not clarified by the rule book.

"We left Abu Dhabi in disbelief of what we had just witnessed. Of course, it’s part of the game to lose a race, but it’s something different when you lose faith in racing," Mercedes said in a media release, adding it protested because rules "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 championship)."

The appeal was made "in the interest of sporting fairness," Mercedes said.