The FIA Stewards denied Mercedes' appeal for a Right of Review with regard to the controversial incident on lap 48 of the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix between championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes and Hamilton had a very eventful weekend at the Brazil GP—incurring several penalties throughout the weekend. One of which, handed the 7-time world champion a disqualification in the sprint qualifying session.

However, there was one potential penalty that could have been overlooked during the main race—though this time—it was for opposing championship rival Verstappen. The two drivers got into a heated battle on the 48th lap of the race, and heading into turn 4 of Interlagos, Verstappen pulled an aggressive-defensive move that force Hamilton off the track.

During the race, the FIA concluded that there was no need for any further investigation, which let Verstappen off unscathed from the incident. Although, it was later revealed that Verstappen's onboard footage was not available to the Stewards at the moment of the altercation.

Mercedes saw this as an opportunity to strike and appeal for a Right of Review based on the new evidence from Verstappen's onboard footage. It was revealed on Friday that the Stewards have denied Mercedes' appeal—saving Verstappen from potential penalties in the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix. Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed their thoughts on the decision

Via Formula 1:

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“Completely expected,” Wolff said. “I think we wanted to trigger a discussion around it, because probably it will be a theme in the next few races. I think our objective is achieved; we didn't really think it would go any further.”

Horner added: “I think it's obviously the right decision, because it would have opened Pandora's Box regarding a whole bunch of other incidents that happened in that race. I think the most important thing now is to focus on this Grand Prix.”

All eyes now turn to the first-ever Qatar GP, a race that could well determine the fate of the next F1 world champion.