F1 2021 Season

[Sonic]

can believe that if it had happened in reverse Merc would be clinging onto that trophy and the number 1 and tough luck to Max/RedBull.

[skaifeman]

I don't mind the call itself, but can agree with Ospif's post, it was the change of decision that has made this a farce.

Mercedes had their hands tied, they pit, and Max likely stays out, but the race could then end under yellow.
They don't pit to avoid the above, but then get burnt by what actually transpired. Red Bull were always going to do the opposite just to play their joker card.

I wouldn't blame Masi. There's been numerous occasions this year where they seem to make up their interpretation of the rules on the fly. It comes down to motor-tainment.

[stp01]

What we saw was the ineptitude of race control and their inability to work well under pressure. Masi was stumbling over himself, clearly flustered on the radio and backtracked on his decisions before finally making a decision which broke their own regulation for the sake of creating some action to the major detriment of the dominant driver of the race. You can't have that kind of hesitation and lack of clarity in a policing position within the sport. Masi is not fit for the role.

And that's why there's a rulebook. All he had to do was follow it. If he wanted a racing lap, he had to keep the lapped cars behind.

I have no sympathy for Masi, he is out of his depth.

[Ospif1]

can believe that if it had happened in reverse Merc would be clinging onto that trophy and the number 1 and tough luck to Max/RedBull.

and red bull would also be protesting. Both are right to act as they are given the circumstances.

[mikeamerica84]

Hindsight being 20-20, this is a scenario out of any NASCAR race.

Back about 15-20 years ago, NASCAR had an issue at Talladega where the race ended under yellow after the end of a long day.  The fans revolted by pelting the track and winner's car (Jeff Gordon) with debris.  They then went to the green-white-checkered format, pioneered by another stock car series, ARCA (ironically now owned by NASCAR) which would end the race under green but presented a new problem - fuel management in the last stint.  So then they decided to start throwing the red flag late in the race for a late race shunt/cleanup.  This allowed everyone to pit once the red was lifted, for other than F1, no work can be performed on a car under red.  But it basically reset the field for the final run and made the playing field level for the way pit stops are governed on an oval.  Had F1 thrown the red, and everyone could have made a late race adjustment for the final few laps, it might have made the whole deal more "fair"?  But this opens another can of worms, too.  How many teams had unused red tyres?  It can never be completely fair.

This was a no-win situation for the officials.  It was compounded by their conduct earlier in the season and the race itself.  The best scenario was for Latifi to throw it off two laps later.

[mikeamerica84]

And...... it's over:

Mercedes Withdraws Abu Dhabi Appeal
By Chris Medland | December 16, 2021 7:57 AM ET

Mercedes has dropped its appeal against the handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — confirming the results and Max Verstappen as drivers' champion — but "will hold the FIA accountable" during its review process.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday, the FIA announced it will conduct "a detailed analysis and clarification exercise for the future" following the reaction to the safety car usage and race resumption on Sunday. Following that move, Mercedes has announced it will not push ahead after previously lodging its intention to appeal, releasing a lengthy statement explaining its position.

"We left Abu Dhabi in disbelief of what we had just witnessed," the statement read. "Of course, it's part of the game to lose a race, but it's something different when you lose faith in racing.

"Together with Lewis, we have deliberated carefully over how to respond to the events at the Formula 1 season finale. We have always been guided by our love of this sport and we believe that every competition should be won on merit. In the race on Sunday many felt, us included, that the way things unfolded was not right.

"The reason we protested the race result on Sunday was because the safety car regulations were applied in a new way that affected the race result, after Lewis had been in a commanding lead and on course to win the world championship.

"We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced. Thus, we welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyze what happened in Abu Dhabi and to improve the robustness of rules, governance and decision making in Formula 1. We also welcome that they have invited the teams and drivers to take part.

"The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 — for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do. We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal."

The team was went on to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull for their success, having been engaged in a thrilling battle that led to the two drivers entering the final round level on points.

"To Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing: we would like to express our sincere respect for your achievements this season. You made this Formula 1 championship title fight truly epic. Max, we congratulate you and your entire team. We look forward to taking the fight to you on the track next season."

https://racer.com/2021/12/16/mercedes-withdraws-abu-dhabi-appeal/

[skaifeman]

This surprised me to be honest. The more and more I think about it, the more F1 screwed up. An SC period has never ended like that, and they decided to literally throw a joker card. They broke their own rules, quoting that the race director can make his own decisions - what a cop out!
If this was any other race, it likely finishes under SC. Really poor, and it burns the longtime fans of the sport, not these Netflix tag alongs.

[stp01]

I'm not surprised, and it's not the first time Hamilton has been ripped off. In 2007 several cars were found to have illegal fuel temps in the final race. Had they been disqualified, Hamilton would have won the title. But, once the chequered flag falls at the end of a year, nothing is ever going to change the results.

[Sonic]

I'm not surprised, and it's not the first time Hamilton has been ripped off. In 2007 several cars were found to have illegal fuel temps in the final race. Had they been disqualified, Hamilton would have won the title. But, once the chequered flag falls at the end of a year, nothing is ever going to change the results.

every driver has had race control make calls in their favour and against. and every driver at some point makes or breaks another driver's season.

absolutely the race was LH's and he should have won, but he wasn't even close to being champion for the year when you consider all that has gone on.

consider that Max led more laps over the season than every other driver combined and that includes being taken out of two races on lap one by the Merc drivers as well as the 3rd incident between MV/LH where neither finished. and if you removed the points from the farce of the rained out "race" and give Lewis the benefit of the win at the 2 where Max was taken out and give Max 2nd the championship still would have been over before Abu Dhabi, Max was simply that dominant.

he won the most races over the season. yes, LH came home stronger but a few wins does not make you a champion. 10vs8 wins to Max, 10vs5 poles to Max, 652 laps led by Max!!!

Max is the correct champion for F1 2021

[skaifeman]

I'm not surprised, and it's not the first time Hamilton has been ripped off. In 2007 several cars were found to have illegal fuel temps in the final race. Had they been disqualified, Hamilton would have won the title. But, once the chequered flag falls at the end of a year, nothing is ever going to change the results.

every driver has had race control make calls in their favour and against. and every driver at some point makes or breaks another driver's season.

absolutely the race was LH's and he should have won, but he wasn't even close to being champion for the year when you consider all that has gone on.

consider that Max led more laps over the season than every other driver combined and that includes being taken out of two races on lap one by the Merc drivers as well as the 3rd incident between MV/LH where neither finished. and if you removed the points from the farce of the rained out "race" and give Lewis the benefit of the win at the 2 where Max was taken out and give Max 2nd the championship still would have been over before Abu Dhabi, Max was simply that dominant.

he won the most races over the season. yes, LH came home stronger but a few wins does not make you a champion. 10vs8 wins to Max, 10vs5 poles to Max, 652 laps led by Max!!!

Max is the correct champion for F1 2021

I agree with everything you say. I don't think anyone on here (including me) has said Max doesn't deserve it. His results speak for themselves, he IS a deserving Champion. Whoever won it deserved it.
It's just the way those final laps played out were all wrong.

[Dixpat]

Sorry wrong that it was laughable!!

[Alan59]

Within 15 seconds of the safety car being called Martin Brundle said,after looking at the lap count and the Latifi crash scene that there would be enough time for the race to resume with 1 or 2 racing laps,the lapped cars would be allowed to unlap themselves and Hamilton and Verstappen would be nose to tail.Hamilton was still a fair way from pit entrance.Mercedes would have worked this out too.They chose not to pit Hamilton which was a monumental error.From that moment they were going to lose unless the race director bailed them out.
What caused uncertainty was not letting the lapped cars pass but the delay in making the call.However the delay had no impact on the final result.It is standard procedure to let the lapped cars pass and regulation 15.3e gives the race director absolute authority how they do that.If you think there was fuss over this situation imagine finishing the race under caution when the track was able to go green or keeping the lapped cars from unlap ping themselves when in every race for the last 6 years the lapped cars have been given the wave by,
Unfortunate for Mercedes but they shot themselves in the foot with a terrible strategy call.You can't expect the Race Director to cover for their incompetence.

[Sonic]

I'm not surprised, and it's not the first time Hamilton has been ripped off. In 2007 several cars were found to have illegal fuel temps in the final race. Had they been disqualified, Hamilton would have won the title. But, once the chequered flag falls at the end of a year, nothing is ever going to change the results.

every driver has had race control make calls in their favour and against. and every driver at some point makes or breaks another driver's season.

absolutely the race was LH's and he should have won, but he wasn't even close to being champion for the year when you consider all that has gone on.

consider that Max led more laps over the season than every other driver combined and that includes being taken out of two races on lap one by the Merc drivers as well as the 3rd incident between MV/LH where neither finished. and if you removed the points from the farce of the rained out "race" and give Lewis the benefit of the win at the 2 where Max was taken out and give Max 2nd the championship still would have been over before Abu Dhabi, Max was simply that dominant.

he won the most races over the season. yes, LH came home stronger but a few wins does not make you a champion. 10vs8 wins to Max, 10vs5 poles to Max, 652 laps led by Max!!!

Max is the correct champion for F1 2021

I agree with everything you say. I don't think anyone on here (including me) has said Max doesn't deserve it. His results speak for themselves, he IS a deserving Champion. Whoever won it deserved it.
It's just the way those final laps played out were all wrong.

no disagreement on the final laps.

made for great tv but not how you want the 'premier motor racing category' to be viewed.

[V8SuperRiley]

We've had the 'new' audio spark up the final race again.

For me, there's no denying Max is the rightful champ, but there is also no denying that Lewis got ripped off.
There's been too many rules not followed for me to keep Masi in his position.