Mercedes failed to appear for Tuesday night's FIA photo opportunities ahead of the Prize-Giving Gala scheduled for Thursday. Neither Mercedes' Formula 1 team or Formula E team showed up to the event, which serves as preparation for the prize-giving ceremony for all FIA Championships scheduled for Thursday evening. Mercedes won the FIA Constructors' Championship in Formula 1 as well as the Team's Championship in Formula E, alongside Nyck de Vries winning the Formula E Drivers' Championship. However, Mercedes lost the F1 World Drivers' Championship in contentious circumstances in Abu Dhabi as Lewis Hamilton was beaten on the final lap by Red Bull's Max Verstappen after a late Safety Car gave him the chance to pit for fresh Soft tyres. Mercedes lodged two protests with stewards in Abu Dhabi, with both protests dismissed by the stewards in the hours following the race. However, they indicated an intention to appeal the protest regarding the race classification due to how the Safety Car withdrawal was handled. The team have until Thursday evening, coincidentally at roughly the same time as the FIA Prize-Giving Gala getting underway, to lodge a formal appeal. Mercedes declined to comment on the situation when asked by RacingNews365.com . The team have been silent ever since the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, with their social media feeds also not posting any content aside from the verdict documents and a notice of their intent to appeal. Aside from a short TV interview before the podium, neither Hamilton or Mercedes have spoken to the media since the events of the race. Hamilton is due to collect his knighthood on Wednesday , in his first public appearance since the race, as he heads to Windsor Castle in the UK.
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