Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021Formula 1

[AshenGraey]

There's no denying that Max is fully deserving of the championship because over the whole season, he was for the better part, the more consistent driver. That being said, considering this championship is decided in the final race, this was not a championship deserving race on his part. He botched the start, he didn't even have the pace to keep up with Lewis even after what Perez did, and then on newer tires he only managed to shave off roughly 5 seconds over 8-10 laps despite the fact that Lewis was on 20+ laps older so him getting this win after the FIA completely disregard their own rule is just not right. For my part, this should have ended under SC. Those are the rules that they have in place and that's what should have happened. If the FIA didn't want that, they should have red flagged the race the moment that crash happened and we get another standing start. That would have been more entertaining and I'm sure most most fans would have been totally OK with that but instead we got yet another ****show from the Masi and his lackeys

I don't think they will reverse the result, but as an F1 fan, this one is bitter pill to take and will honestly say that I've lost some love for the sport. I'm not going to stop watching but something has got to change after this.......also, I think they should do away with those F1 team boss/FIA radio broadcast. I don't like it and I'd rather not know that the teams are making deals behind close door and that the wins are down to the drivers and not by puppets.

 

[PaMu1337]

Bottas should have stalled!

That could result in a full disqualification, as a team does have to prove that there are genuine issues with the car.

In the end I'm just happy that the teams themselves weren't playing dirty this race.

 

[Dennisch]

Red Bull states that the protest has been denied.

Max stays Champ.

 

[Com Fox]

There's no denying that Max is fully deserving of the championship because over the whole season, he was for the better part, the more consistent driver. That being said, considering this championship is decided in the final race, this was not a championship deserving race on his part. He botched the start, he didn't even have the pace to keep up with Lewis even after what Perez did, and then on newer tires he only managed to shave off roughly 5 seconds over 8-10 laps despite the fact that Lewis was on 20+ laps older so him getting this win after the FIA completely disregard their own rule is just not right. For my part, this should have ended under SC. Those are the rules that they have in place and that's what should have happened. If the FIA didn't want that, they should have red flagged the race the moment that crash happened and we get another standing start. That would have been more entertaining and I'm sure most most fans would have been totally OK with that but instead we got yet another ****show from the Masi and his lackeys

I don't think they will reverse the result, but as an F1 fan, this one is bitter pill to take and will honestly say that I've lost some love for the sport. I'm not going to stop watching but something has got to change after this.......also, I think they should do away with those F1 team boss/FIA radio broadcast. I don't like it and I'd rather not know that the teams are making deals behind close door and that the wins are down to the drivers and not by puppets.

It's honestly either or, on who is the most deserving. Hamilton fought hard to climb back in the title hunt. That's what makes this finish so appalling. It could've gone to either who fought the best but the winner was due to shinanegons

 

[Liquid]

F5

...is a better sport than F1.

 

[Demon Drone]

Red Bull states that the protest has been denied.

Max stays Champ.

This "sport" is a joke.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

News is starting to pop up everywhere now.

No surprise from me...

 

[PaMu1337]

Link is online on decisions page, but is a 404...

 

[Dennisch]

 

[andrea]

Better Call Saul

 

[Dave A]

That's probably going to get appealed. To be honest, it's an appalling way to decide a title. Obvious breaking of rules, no reprecussions, being the Formula 1 Race Director sounds like an ideal job for Boris Johnson.

 

[Jimlaad43]

So both Protests have been dismissed/denied. The result stays the same

 

[PaMu1337]

The claims of Mercedes:
Mercedes claimed that there were two breaches of the Sporting Regulations (Article 48.12) namely that which states “..any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car” and “…once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.”
Mercedes argued that had this been complied with, Car 44 would have won the race.
They therefore requested the Stewards to amend the Classification under Article 11.9.3.h of the FIA International Sporting Code.

Red Bull’s arguments in defence:
Red Bull argued that
1. “Any” does not mean “all”.
2. The Article 48.13 of the Sporting Regulations states that the message “Safety Car in this lap” is the signal that it will enter the pit lane at the end of that lap.
3. That therefore Article 48.13 “overrides” Article 48.12.
4. That Article 15.3 gives the Race Director “overriding authority” over “the use of the safety car”.
5. That even if all cars that had been lapped (8 in total, of which 5 were allowed to overtake the safety car) it would not have changed the outcome of the race.

Race Director’s Evidence
The Race Director stated that the purpose of Article 48.12 was to remove those lapped cars that would “interfere” in the racing between the leaders and that in his view Article 48.13 was the one that applied in this case.
The Race Director also stated that it had long been agreed by all the Teams that where possible it was highly desirable for the race to end in a “green” condition (i.e. not under a Safety Car).

Conclusions of the Stewards :
The Stewards consider that the protest is admissible.
Having considered the various statements made by the parties the Stewards determine the following:
That Article 15.3 allows the Race Director to control the use of the safety car, which in our determination includes its deployment and withdrawal.
That although Article 48.12 may not have been applied fully, in relation to the safety car returning to the pits at the end of the following lap, Article 48.13 overrides that and once the message “Safety Car in this lap” has been displayed, it is mandatory to withdraw the safety car at the end
of that lap.
That notwithstanding Mercedes’ request that the Stewards remediate the matter by amending the classification to reflect the positions at the end of the penultimate lap, this is a step that the Stewards believe is effectively shortening the race retrospectively, and hence not appropriate.
Accordingly, the Protest is dismissed. The Protest Deposit is not refunded.

 

[pumaATTACK]

Not shocked. There’s no way this is ever overturned.

 

[Veinz]

It’s a shame it had to end with such a controversy. I’m not a fan of Max’s approach to wheel to wheel combat, but he was the better driver this season. Fully deserved.

 

[PzR Slim]

All that time, effort, vast quantities of money poured into a Championship only for the governing body to make a mockery of it all. They should hang their heads in shame.

 

[evldave333]

I wonder what the writers of the now F1 tv series will have in store for next year's season... Are you not entertained?

 

[Liquid]

No matter what people's opinion on the grounds of appeal/protest are, I reckon this one will go to the Court Of Arbitration For Sport.

 

[Jimlaad43]

I wonder what the writers of the now F1 tv series will have in store for next year's season... Are you not entertained?

Mazepin Vs Stroll title fight

 

[Blitz24]

Mazepin Vs Stroll title fight

I'd root for the more talented driver..... so naturally I'd pick myself, then Stroll, then getting hit by a bus, then Mazepin.

 

[OJBrit]

Congrats, Holland!

What about the rest of the Netherlands?

Jordan appealed Jarno Trulli's disqualification from the United States Grand Prix in 2001 that cost them 5th in the constructors' and had his 4th place reinstated during the winter break, but that is nowhere near the scale of deciding entire championships in this way.

Is there any kind of clause under the grounds of "putting the sport into disrepute" that would be at play here?

Also they got the Brazil result overturned after the red flag procedure wasn't followed correctly.

Honestly this decision is pathetic and the FIA are once again covering their own mistakes rather than face them properly. I can now see this going to a full court of arbitration. You can't dismiss not following the rules completely because it is on the whim of 1 person. Complete joke.

 

[GroupB]

I could see the M-B parent company eventually deciding it’s no longer interested in spending hundreds of millions on a sport that doesn’t follow its own rules in critical situations. If that comes to pass, it would affect a large chunk of the grid who rely on them for power.

 

[McLaren]

The Race Director stated that the purpose of Article 48.12 was to remove those lapped cars that
would “interfere” in the racing between the leaders and that in his view Article 48.13 was the one
that applied in this case.

So why wasn't Sainz afford this opportunity as the man in 3rd and closer to Max by 2 cars than Max to Lewis by 5.


Masi & the FIA aren't going to admit they screwed the pooch, lol.

 

[Dave A]

No matter what people's opinion on the grounds of appeal/protest are, I reckon this one will go to the Court Of Arbitration For Sport.

I think you may be right there.

 

[AshenGraey]

It's honestly either or, on who is the most deserving. Hamilton fought hard to climb back in the title hunt. That's what makes this finish so appalling. It could've gone to either who fought the best but the winner was due to shinanegons

And that's what I am having an issue with. Had Max won this race by his own merit, I would have been OK with it, but from my point of view he did not. While I was hoping for Lewis to take the championship, I would have been OK with Max winning it too had he done so by performing really well in this race and comparing it to his previous performance over the year, that was not his best. The guy that drove his best to win the race got it taken away from him because the people who are stewarding the rules decided to change them at the last minute and that's really 🤬

 

[andrea]

 

[PorscheFan91]

Surprised Mercedes/Lewis fans are being so salty. Guy had the last two championships handed to him on a plate due to the car being so superior so yes, Max got lucky here but then Lewis had a huge amount of luck on his side in the last two seasons. Whilst it was the wrong way to do a restart, in spite of being on the inferior tyres, Lewis charged away and it looked doubtful Max was going to overtake him. Lewis then got the draft and looked certain to overtake him but no Max outmanoeuvred him. I will say though that it's a big credit to Lewis how gracious he was in defeat, considering the controversial nature of the race end - his boss could learn a lot. Whilst I'm a RB fan I usually have a huge amount of respect for Toto and consider him the best manager on the grid but he hasn't covered himself in glory today. However, in his defence there needs to be much more consistency here. Masi just seemed to want to put on the best show and probably had Liberty breathing down his neck to deliver on that front.

I think for me the frustrating thing is that this is the result of the race nobody wanted - a controversial incident and negotiations in the stewards' room afterwards. I think Drive to Survive has turned F1 into a circus and I do think had it not been broadcast for free on Channel 4 that restart wouldn't have happened. They want to draw customers in. However arguably new viewers got a standard modern F1 race - effectively decided on tyre choice, team tactics and questionable stewarding/race direction.

I think there are big issues with F1 as a sport - Indycar and the various GT series are much better tests of driver skill in my opinion. Indeed, having gotten into the Indycar this last year due to Grosjean's involvement the racing seems much better and the rules seem fairer in my mind. It's no surprise guys like Callum Ilott are heading over there. F1 is rarely a meritocracy and that's a shame really. The fact that it's such an event that the WDC went down to the last race says it all really - the WRC is often decided on the last race of the season and that's with disparity between the cars performance wise.

 

[shoemaker]

Hamilton never defended the inside line after safety car, it was so obvious max would go on the inside, if Hamilton did defend the inside and put his car there..... also Masi and stewards really make it up as they go along. With Charlie Whiting, everything was clear and teams respected his authority.

 

[BrainsBush]

You did it!

 

[kungtotte_]

Surprised Mercedes/Lewis fans are being so salty. Guy had the last two championships handed to him on a plate due to the car being so superior so yes, Max got lucky here but then Lewis had a huge amount of luck on his side in the last two seasons.

I mean, someone designed and built that car and if they manage to drive it to success then that's not entirely down to luck now is it? Yeah he had an unbeatable advantage, but they engineered that advantage. In this case the championship was decided a whole lot by FIA and its representatives not being able to follow their own rules, which is not something Max or Red Bull achieved through hard work and smarts.

And caveat: I am not a Lewis fan.