The opening lap incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the 2021 British GP will undoubtedly go down as one of the most talked about collisions in F1 history. The two championship contenders came together at one of the fastest corners on the calendar, Copse. Hamilton tried to pass Verstappen on the inside, however the Dutchman refused to take his foot off the gas resulting in a collision. While the Mercedes driver was able to continue, Verstappen was sent crashing into the barrier. In the end Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty, though that didn't stop him from taking the chequered flag after a late pass on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. The decision no doubt left Red Bull frustrated, as the Milton Keynes outfit hired a lawyer and lodged a petition to request a right of review over the penalty. In order to reopen the case, Red Bull had to present significant and relevant new evidence that wasn't available to the stewards at the time of the initial decision. RacingNews365.com understands that during Thursday's video conference Red Bull presented several new elements in order to try and have the case looked at again. The team allegedly used new GPS-data taken from different moments during the race, which included the opening lap and the lap that saw Hamilton pass Leclerc. Given that overtake took place after the stewards' initial verdict, Red Bull believe this to be a new piece of evidence. Red Bull believed that data, along with data from a normal racing lap, would show that there was no way for Hamilton to avoid a collision with Verstappen. According to the team, the Briton should have braked earlier in order to properly take the corner. Even Leclerc, who ended up off-track when Hamilton overtook him, wouldn't have been able to avoid a crash if the Mercedes driver took the same line at Copse as he did on the opening lap. The Milton Keynes outfit used their own simulator to prove that Hamilton had no way of making the corner, while Alexander Albon also simulated the opening lap in the RB16B during a filming day at Silverstone last week. While Red Bull could take the protest further, RN365 understands the team reportedly has no intention of doing so, as they will accept the stewards' verdict and continue forward with their title fight with Mercedes.
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