2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Dec 10 - 12

[f1jcw]

And so did Mercedes.
They could have pit to change tires. They have exactly the same opportunities and the choices in this race as the Red Bull.

Nope. And if you are a F1 one fan of many seasons the. I shouldn’t have to explain the reasoning why.

[west52keep64]

The only reason this thing is in doubt is because of Masi, if he had done his job correctly we wouldn't even be discussing this. Anyone who agrees should tweet #MasiOut

[SparkyAMG]

And so did Mercedes.
They could have pit to change tires. They have exactly the same opportunities and the choices in this race as the Red Bull.

This has been said a few times so I'll try and explain this as clearly as possible; at no point during that safety car period could Mercedes have pitted Lewis without conceding track position to Max. He was 11 seconds behind at the time with a stop costing 14 seconds.

Had they still done so, they'd have been 2nd on track and were assuming, like everybody else, that the race would finish behind the safety car given the few laps left and the protocol involved in making the track green.

Max had literally nothing to lose and everything to gain, and got lucky with the race direction.

[Starkblood80]

What about Mercedes breaking the spirit of the rules by putting in new engines every few races just so they can "spice" up their engine power. What about Silverstone and Hungary. You could argue things for both sides. The upshot is, both drivers have been the standout drivers this year and neither deserved to lose, but one of them had to, today it was Lewis. He benefitted from good fortune in 2008, Max had the good fortune in 2021. To say Max had benefitted more than Lewis over the season from FIA decisions is plainly wrong.

The point is, today wasn’t just good fortune for max, that would have been a puncture for Lewis or his engine going pop. No today was quite literally changing the rules during the last 2 laps of a race to massively favour a driver who up until that point had been on course to lose.
The fact you and others can’t see that is quite frankly mind boggling

[chrisgr]

There was another way that we could have been spared of all this drama and disappointment. If Mercedes had asked Bottas to deliberately crash onto the track before the SC left the track! But for some reason I was sure they would never ask him that.

[ENGINE TUNER]

Potentially?!

I think you mean undoubtedly. He served it up on a platter by diverging from the rules he is meant to follow.

I sincerely hope he is never at an F1 race again unless it’s with a broom to have to sweep out the Mercedes garage.

Honestly? I agree with you in that he should be sacked (or quietly shuffled out). The result must stand, because ultimately Max did the job before this race. Masi screwed up today, and it's not the first time, and it won't be the last time. He needs to go, plain and simple.

I disagree about ‘did the job before today’ because the job wasn’t done. The season isn’t 21 races. In fact quite the opposite- Hamilton had ‘done the job’ even with the Latifi crash until Masi pulled his coup de grace.

Take nothing away from Verstappen because he’s been fantastic this season and he’s a worthy champ but he was well beaten today and was the lucky beneficiary of circumstance and then of the biggest **** up I think I have ever seen in top level sport.

Max didn't do the job today or most days in 21

Max passed off track in Bahrain effectively giving the race to Hamilton who had a slower car.

Crashed into Hamilton and pushed him off track in Imola.

Botched the start in France

Crashed into Hamilton in Silverstone

Crashed into MSC in Hungary

Pushed Hamilton off track in Monza and then crashed into him

Pushed Hamilton off track in Brazil

Ignored yellow flags in Qatar

Pushed Hamilton off track in Jeddah a couple times and caused a collision by brake checking

Pushed Hamilton off track in Abu Dhabi

Verstappen's dirty and dangerous driving is no no way deserving of a world championship, especially with Masi gifting him wins and points in Spa and Abu Dhabi.

[Gothrek]

Mercedes being desperate indeed. Can you imagine this happening in football after a bad call from the ref? After a champions league final. Yes, ref/racing directors can get it wrong. If you want to settle any match in court, it is going to be fun…
Hamilton has had an enormous amount of luck with the stewards this entire season, tough luck for him, today he had some bad luck.

[Phil]

There was another way that we could have been spared of all this drama and disappointment. If Mercedes had asked Bottas to deliberately crash onto the track before the SC left the track! But for some reason I was sure they would never ask him that.

Funny, i was thinking that too. Not that i think that would have been right, but given how it played out….

I have to say, i am extremely disappointed in F1. Not because Max isnt a worthy champ, but the way this was handled. It just feels utterly manipulated and rigged.

[Brake Horse Power]

It's unbelievable how some people think this win was gifted to Verstappen. I mean yeah he was lucky with the safety car and all, but Mercedes made a huge blunter by not pitting to fresh tyres. Mercedes had the better car, but Red Bull had Verstappen and the better strategy.

No they didn't, because if the rules were followed the race would finish under SC and Max likely would've stayed out to get track position and probably won the race under SC.

The decision they made was the right one, because it would have given them the WDC and WCC under the rules as every single team and driver understands it.

The only thing that happened to make their strategy the wrong one, was that one single individual decided that the rules everyone understood would not apply, and they made that decision so late and so erratically that there was no way for Merc to respond.

If Merc knew that Masi would change the rules of racing on lap 57, then yes they would maybe have pit. But nobody knew that, not even RB. RB pit because the circumstances of the safety car gave them a free stop, not because they had a better strategy.

Which rule tells this race had to be ended under safety car? I think if the rules were followed then alle the lapped cars could unlap themselves right when the safety car period starts. If that decision was taken then all cars were lined up with Ham at front and Ves second. Mercedes bet on the fact that it would take longer to clear up the mess, which it didn’t. Simple. If they would have gone in Ves might have stayed out and would have had the shortest straw

[Brake Horse Power]

It's unbelievable how some people think this win was gifted to Verstappen. I mean yeah he was lucky with the safety car and all, but Mercedes made a huge blunter by not pitting to fresh tyres. Mercedes had the better car, but Red Bull had Verstappen and the better strategy.

No they didn't, because if the rules were followed the race would finish under SC and Max likely would've stayed out to get track position and probably won the race under SC.

The decision they made was the right one, because it would have given them the WDC and WCC under the rules as every single team and driver understands it.

The only thing that happened to make their strategy the wrong one, was that one single individual decided that the rules everyone understood would not apply, and they made that decision so late and so erratically that there was no way for Merc to respond.

If Merc knew that Masi would change the rules of racing on lap 57, then yes they would maybe have pit. But nobody knew that, not even RB. RB pit because the circumstances of the safety car gave them a free stop, not because they had a better strategy.

Which rule tells this race had to be ended under safety car? I think if the rules were followed then alle the lapped cars could unlap themselves right when the safety car period starts. If that decision was taken then all cars were lined up with Ham at front and Ves second. Mercedes bet on the fact that it would take longer to clear up the mess, which it didn’t. Simple. If they would have gone in Ves might have stayed out and would have had the shortest straw

[f1jcw]

Mercedes being desperate indeed. Can you imagine this happening in football after a bad call from the ref? After a champions league final. Yes, ref/racing directors can get it wrong. If you want to settle any match in court, it is going to be fun…
Hamilton has had an enormous of luck with the stewards this season, tough luck for him today he had some bad luck.

I can remember the match being replayed.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 55300.html

[LionKing]

The point is, today wasn’t just good fortune for max, that would have been a puncture for Lewis or his engine going pop. No today was quite literally changing the rules during the last 2 laps of a race to massively favour a driver who up until that point had been on course to lose.
The fact you and others can’t see that is quite frankly mind boggling

Neither was Silverstone nor Hungary for Max. Taken out by his main competitors twice.

Massi's warning should have applied in these races too, which are not any less influential then the final race.

[pantherxxx]

The only sensible decision, any other would have been horrible publicity for the sport. Lewis recognized that immediately with his class reaction, even though emotions must have been running wild. I really don't understand why Mercedes filed their complaint. The brand is in F1 for advertisement, and this is not good for their image. Technically they might have something of a point, but there have been many cases of that this season. You just don't want a championship to be decided in a backroom or a courtroom. Maybe, in case of a blatant foul, but that was simply not the case here. We're talking about technicalities. I think the stewards made a mistake (just as they did in the first round), but there is no proper way to right it. It is also just bizarre chain of events and very unlucky for Mercedes. But still thet also have to look at themselves and their strategic decisions.

[f1jcw]

The only sensible decision, any other would have been horrible publicity for the sport.

Too late for that, it already has horrible publicity, with many thinking the WDC this year is invalid.

[Roo]

Mercedes being desperate indeed. Can you imagine this happening in football after a bad call from the ref? After a champions league final. Yes, ref/racing directors can get it wrong. If you want to settle any match in court, it is going to be fun…
Hamilton has had an enormous amount of luck with the stewards this entire season, tough luck for him, today he had some bad luck.

The better analogy would be a football club guilty of breaching ffp then going to the sport for arbitration