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

[wogx]

Horner got a penalty for speaking unflatteringly about a marshall who didn't understand what he was doing with the flags.
Toto is free to call the race director and yell at him without any consequences.
Masi lets himself go on his head.

[Restomaniac]

Would be anyone happy if without the last lap outcome Redbull would have made a complain about first incident and try to win the race after?
They could fill a complain and review of the rules now too if Mercedes complain is granted.

I would leave it as it is, it was great way to finish as viewer. Something I would change in the future regarding of SC is not counting the SC laps on the last 20 laps of the grand prix, so it would give everyone the same changes.

No because lap 1 is an interpretation. What happened at the end of the race is black and white and under rules clearly would end under SC. The irony is the very second Masi said cars could unlap he tied the race to ending under the SC.

[PlatinumZealot]

I'm going to be honest, the result won't change. But I can guarantee Michael Masi will be fired. And if not that's a bigger crime than what's happened here.

The result has not been ratified yet. Not set in stone. Remember 2008 with Sauber? It is still all to play for. If Mercedes protest is successful the race result will be wound back to Lap 57, or two laps after the safety car emerged and Lewis will be 8xWDC.

[Pieoter]

Not sure the complaint by Mercedes has too much ground


48.8
With the exception of the cases listed under a) to h) below, no driver may overtake another car
on the track, including the safety car, until he passes the Line (see Article 5.3) for the first time
after the safety car has returned to the pits.
The exceptions are:
a) If a driver is signalled to do so from the safety car.

This gives a mechanism for the cars between Ham and Vet to be given the order to pass the safety car.

48.12
Does state
"Unless the clerk of the course considers the
presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the
safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap."

But nothing prevents 48.13 from coming into effect

When the clerk of the course decides it is safe to call in the safety car the message "SAFETY CAR
IN THIS LAP" will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system and the car's orange
lights will be extinguished.

Further there was never any call for "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" meaning that 48.12 was never part of this race.

Regarding the "overtake" it is questionable if a split second moment of being a few mm ahead constitutes an "overtake" further, Hamilton did not follow the procedures of 48.13

In order to avoid the likelihood of accidents before the safety car returns to the pits, from the
point at which the lights on the car are turned out drivers must proceed at a pace which involves
no erratic acceleration or braking nor any other manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other
drivers or impede the restart


You can see in the video which is being used to show Ves overtook have Ham was making quite erratic acceleration and braking movements.

[bonjon1979]

Since the specific message "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" wasn't sent to the teams but instead a message saying that specific cars can over take, this rule likely doesn't actually apply, and so the safety car did not need to wait until the end of the following lap to come in.

That combined with 15.3 which states:

The clerk of the course shall work in permanent consultation with the Race Director. The Race Director shall have overriding authority in the following matters and the clerk of the course may give orders in respect of them only with his express agreement:

e) The use of the safety car.

As unfair as it may seem, in my opinion, Masi technically didn't break any rules with regards to only letting a few cars unlap themselves, and not waiting an extra lap to bring in the SC.

It explicitly states that the race can only be restarted the lap after cars are released. Also, the message is for all cars to unload themselves.
Procedure wasn’t followed in the slightest.

[mzso]

Congratulations to Max!

Jagged pill for Lewis.

Should have red flagged the moment Latifi hit the wall, and given us a fresh tyre standing start for a 4 lap heart- stopping finish.

Alas, an asterisk now in most minds on the greatest season of all time.

How would this put an asterisk on a season that happened decades ago?

[Big Tea]

It was an absolute stitch up but the result is not going to be changed now. Mercedes will quietly withdraw the papers and get on with next year, but the race director (position not person) needs a lot of refining. Winners and loosers need to know what is going to happen and decisions on race strategy are made on the basis of how rules have previously been interpreted.

A winter's work for FIA and team representatives.

[101FlyingDutchman]

Is there a line in the rulebook wrt race director/steward to vary the rules if they deem it justified to do so? I know in my job (aviation) that if you can fully justify your decision making, rules/standing orders can be varied/disregarded. But you better be damned sure about your case before doing so otherwise you’re left out to dry.

On the VER “overtake” under the safety car. Nothing to say, total tosh. This happens all the time throughout the field (NOR most recently sprints to mind). As long as you’re not ahead before the safety car line then there is no case to be answered.

Both Max and Lewis can hold their heads high today. They’ve been the stand out performers this season. On the edge and over but you can’t get it right all the time.

Toto/Christian/FIA-Masi & stewards….well not much respect left.

[wogx]

Something I would change in the future regarding of SC is not counting the SC laps on the last 20 laps of the grand prix, so it would give everyone the same changes.

Cars have limited fuel amount. They can't go even three laps over race distance without refuelling.

[PlatinumZealot]

Finish behind the SC would be right than?

It would have been a huge anticlimax but yes, it would have been right. There wasn’t time to do what they tried to do under the safety car. They rushed it, they f’d up.

If the race was 59 laps then I don’t think there could be complaints from anyone. Just hard luck, but the FIA broke their own regs to get that result.

I don’t think anyone could possibly argue Hamilton didn’t deserve it if the race had ended under safety car.

That's about the size of it. Then again, the Dutch say it was karma for what happened in turn 7 of lap 1.

I think it would have been better if Hamilton had given that place back as he had pace in spades.

I thought about that too, but after taking step back I realize:

1) Lewis was on the racing line and Max dive bombed the apex forcing him off track. ( I am afraid this racing etiquette has been abolished this year because of Masi!)

2) It's lap 1. See Alonso in Russia. As long as the advantage is relinquished.

3) The cars were side by side into the chicane Lewis ahead and on the racing line when he got pushed off track. So all he had to do was relinquish the advantage. (Normal stuff).

[Redragon]

Would be anyone happy if without the last lap outcome Redbull would have made a complain about first incident and try to win the race after?
They could fill a complain and review of the rules now too if Mercedes complain is granted.

I would leave it as it is, it was great way to finish as viewer. Something I would change in the future regarding of SC is not counting the SC laps on the last 20 laps of the grand prix, so it would give everyone the same changes.

No because lap 1 is an interpretation. What happened at the end of the race is black and white and under rules clearly would end under SC. The irony is the very second Masi said cars could unlap he tied the race to ending under the SC.

You didn't understand my question, would you be happy if Redbull would raise a complain because incident on first lap to be reviewed, they are on their right too.

At the end decisions were made and have their interpretations as you say but as viewer I want to see all finish on the race track not with Rule complains after the race

[Zynerji]

If next years cars bunch the field, I sincerely hope that it's not riddled with penalties/steward intervention.

[gshevlin]

I hate to burst anybody's bubble, but I don't think that any party to these events has the option to engage in commercial litigation over the result. It is standard practice for competitors to agree to abide by the rules and regulations, and to only use the prescribed processes for issue and dispute resolution, and to not resort to other legal or commercial avenues. This would be part of their entry agreement to the series. For example, all commercial disputes over driver contracts are overseen by the Contract Recognition Board, whose decision on issues is final.

[the EDGE]

I wonder what soft drink Masi drinks now a days…?

[flexcon]

48.12 does not apply to this situation (since “lapped cars may now overtake” was never sent), check 48.8a instead which says specific drivers can be signaled to pass.
Verstappen won, case closed.

In English we call this "gaslighting"