Did Mercedes take a dig at Max Verstappen in their Nyck de Vries championship post?

Mercedes seem to have aimed a potential dig at Max Verstappen through a Dutchman of their own in Nyck de Vries.

In a social media post by the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, they celebrated Nyck de Vries' 2021 Formula E world drivers' championship triumph.

However, there was a slight emphasis in their tweet that seemed to be throwing shade at Max Verstappen. See if you can spot it?

Mercedes have dubbed Nyck de Vries as 'the first Dutch FIA Motorsport World Champion'. Could this be a subliminal message for Max Verstappen?

Verstappen pipped Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to the line at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and won the 2021 F1 drivers' world championship.

A late Safety Car period and a somewhat controversial restart were some of the things Mercedes were openly displeased with. They protested and appealed as Max Verstappen and Red Bull celebrated before the German manufacturers withdrew their objections.

However, one could speculate that they aren't keen on accepting Max Verstappen as the world champion yet.

Mercedes declined to participate in the FIA's year-end photoshoot at the close of the season. They did not send their F1 or Formula E cars for the shoot.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton were also noticeably absent at the FIA Gala in Paris, where Max Verstappen was formally crowned the drivers world champion for 2021.

Max Verstappen became the 34th different F1 world champion and the first Dutchman to achieve this feat but Mercedes seem far from convinced.

Nyck de Vries feels Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton 'deprived' of title by rules

Nyck de Vries was probably in the minority of Dutch internationals who weren't rooting for Max Verstappen in the F1 drivers' world championship battle of 2021. His allegiance to Mercedes would not let him do so in good conscience.

The 2021 Formula E drivers' world champion said Lewis Hamilton was unfairly denied his record-breaking eighth world championship. In an interview with NOS, De Vries said:

"I think Lewis (Hamilton) has been deprived of it a little bit because the rules have not been followed in the way they are described in the regulations. In sport, you assume that things are done fairly and honestly. With me there was mainly a lot of surprises because I could not understand what happened.''

Nyck de Vries remains Mercedes' test driver for F1 going into the 2022 season. He is also expected to race for Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team next year.

---