Essentially the decision to withdraw was a response to the previous evening’s announcement from the FIA to the effect that a commission was being set up to properly investigate the events in Abu Dhabi.
Shortly after the withdrawal of the appeal was confirmed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff spoke to the media, revealing for the first time since the race his own thoughts and those of the team.
And crucially he also gave us an insight into where Hamilton’s head is at after having a few days to process what happened last weekend.
He made it crystal clear that Hamilton, who has always been a stickler for ethics and honourable behaviour in racing both on and off track, had taken Sunday night’s events hard.
“Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment,” said Wolff. “We are not disillusioned with the sport – we love the sport with every bone in our bodies. And we love it because the stopwatch never lies.
“But if we break that fundamental principle of sporting fairness, and authenticity of the sport, then suddenly the stopwatch doesn’t become relevant anymore, because we are exposed to random decision making, then it’s clear that you may fall out of love with [the sport.]
“You start to question if all the work you have been putting in, all the sweat, tears and blood, can actually be demonstrated in terms of bringing the best possible performances on track. Because it can be taken away randomly.
“So it is going to take a long time for us to digest what has happened on Sunday. I don’t think we will ever get over it. That is not possible. And certainly not [for Lewis] as a driver.
“I would very much hope that the two of us and the rest of the team can work through the events, we can together with the FIA and F1 utilise the situation to improve the sport going forward. But we will never overcome the pain and the distress that was caused on Sunday.”
For the first time Wolff provided an insight into the specific frustrations of Hamilton and the team: “To be honest I still today I can’t even understand what was happening. I’m in disbelief, and for me it still feels surreal.
“And when I re-think the situation that at 18:27 the right decision was being taken, that no cars will unlap themselves, and then four minutes later out of nowhere suddenly five cars were allowed to unlap themselves between Lewis and Max, and 10 seconds later the decision was taken that the safety car would come in this lap with handful of laps left, for me that still seems like a nightmare.