Mercedes decide not to appeal Rosberg's penalty

It was announced yesterday evening that the Mercedes team has decided not to appeal the stewards’ decision at the British Grand Prix that dropped Nico Rosberg from second to third place in the final results.

The team withdrew its intention to appeal yesterday evening after analysing the reasons for the penalty and accepting the interpretation of the stewards.

After the decision was announced, the team had one hour in which to lodge its intention to appeal in order to open up a 96-hour window to confirm its appeal through its national sporting authority, the Deutscher Motor Sport Bund. With Mercedes opting not to take up the second stage of the appeal process, Rosberg’s ten-second penalty and the resulting demotion from second to third will stand as the final result of the 2016 British Grand Prix.

In a statement to the media yesterday, the Mercedes team said the following:-

'The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team today decided to withdraw its notice of intention to appeal against the decision of the stewards of the British Grand Prix.

'We were able to prove to the stewards that a car-stopping gearbox failure was imminent and, as such, were permitted within the rules to advise Nico of the required mode change. However, the advice to avoid seventh gear was considered to breach TD/016-16, and therefore Article 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations.

'The team accepts the Stewards’ interpretation of the regulation, their decision and the associated penalty. During the coming weeks, we will continue discussions with the relevant F1 stakeholders on the subject of the perceived over-regulation of the sport.'

The withdrawal of the appeal also means Lewis Hamilton is just one point behind Rosberg heading to the Hungarian Grand Prix next week.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa