Mercedes initially threatened legal action by taking the case to court before deciding to withdraw after receiving an apology from the FIA. They later admitted ‘human error’ from Masi was to blame and the Australian was removed from his role, but it was too late to overturn the result and Verstappen was able to celebrate his first success.

The 25-year-old has since enjoyed total domination of F1, winning 27 out of the 36 races after the controversy in the Abu Dhabi desert. Meanwhile, Hamilton is on a 37-race streak without a win – his longest by some margin in his career.

And given Red Bull’s current advantage over the rest of the grid, there are some doubts as to whether the British icon will ever clinch an unprecedented eighth Drivers’ Championship title. But Wolff’s comments have opened the door to a potential legal challenge if Massa’s case sets precedent.