The streets were packed with people as the Mercedes team finally made their way to the UK after a week filled with silence and disappointment.
For a long time it looked like Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton would be champions for the eighth time in Abu Dhabi, but Nicholas Latifi's crash changed things completely. Max Verstappen managed to cross the finish line first, after a pit stop gave him better tyres than the seven-time world champion. This loss was hard on Mercedes, which was partly reflected in the various protests and the announcement that they would appeal.
Silence on social media
Because of the disappointment it was quiet for a long time on the social media of Mercedes. Nothing was posted about the race where Verstappen became world champion, while the team won the constructors' title for the eighth time. Thursday morning it was announced that Mercedes would not appeal the decision and the deadly silence on social media was over. On Friday morning the long awaited tweet about the eighth title was finally there, followed by pictures of Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Toto Wolff being warmly welcomed by fans and colleagues.