Poll: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021, Yas Island - Race 22

[Kenai]

I was going with max pitting too.
If max stayed out and ham pitted it would be the exact same situation but roles reversed and the other half of everyone crying about it.
But I understand why merc didn't pit.

If Lewis pitted there's no way in hell Max is pitting, he'd be taking the track position every single time because it's the easiest way past and certainly the safer gamble given the safety car would ordinarily have run to the finish without Masi feeling the need to mix it up.

Would Masi have employed the same 'one lap run to the title' idea with the positions reversed? That's speculation that people will have differing views on. If that was a known fact in advance, i'm sure Mercedes would have been happy to sacrifice immediate position to have a clear run at Max on softs though.

 

[Sinbad2000]

I was going with max pitting too.
If max stayed out and ham pitted it would be the exact same situation but roles reversed and the other half of everyone crying about it.
But I understand why merc didn't pit.

Max would not have pitted, would have taken the lead. Odds were good that the race would finish under safety car... Merc made the only tactical choice they could, but they were checkmated by the circumstances. If they were to do anything different, it would have been to pit Lewis in the first VSC. At least he would have had half the race to make up the position, and on fresher tyres.

 

[Demon]

I'm a Lewis/Lando/Jenson/George/etc fan but honestly whilst I don't think Max deserves a title based on his antics, that is racing and you have to take the rough with the smooth and can't begrudge him the title.

The main think I would like to see improved is the lobbying.. RBR have been by far the worse offenders in this regard, but it's made Merc have to do the same and other teams feel they now have to do this..

It's no surprise that with fresh softs, Horner was on the blower to Masi to get the SC ended and the racing underway.. Odd that Masi then bends the interpretation of the rules to do exactly this..
It's also no surprise that when Max drives like a complete tool (e.g. Brazil) Horner is on the horn to Masi about 'It's all about letting them race'.. then when the shoe is on the other foot he's on horn saying unfair it is..

Toto is fast catching up and it's opened up a channel that should not exist..

 

[adam cool dude]

Yeah I don't know where I will get my Motorsport fix now. I don't like any of the riders left in MotoGP or BSB now and I haven't watched dodgey BTCC for years. F2 and e-series are just a bit lame and I don't watch indy or NASCAR ****. WRC is just a bit boring to watch being time trial.
F1 is entertaining when it's fair.

You need to start watching live. WRC is one of the best spectator sports to watch in the flesh. BTCC is a lot better than it was. The cars sound decent and it is a very cheap day out as well.

 

[Kenai]

It wasn't only Max that was allowed to pass

It effectively was only Max that benefited - he had all back markers removed from in front of him to give him a clear go at Lewis but left behind him meaning he had zero threat from P3 himself.

Ricciardo was completely shafted by having the people in front of him let go and any chance of benefiting from some unlapping chaos and grabbing a point.

 

[Scam]

If Masi really wanted a race he should have red flagged. The accident was much more dangerous to clear than the laughable Saudi affair which again, funnily enough worked out massively in Max's favour

I was wondering last night, after the safety car went in could Lewis just have pootled round for the whole lap without properly re starting? What are the rules against it? He was fuming, I'd love to hear his un-beeped radio. Perhaps he could have pootled round whilst Toto went round to slap Masi lol

 

[markoboyo11]

You need to start watching live. WRC is one of the best spectator sports to watch in the flesh. BTCC is a lot better than it was. The cars sound decent and it is very cheap day out as well.

Btcc is a awsome day out, if I lived down south I would be going to a lot if them but been at knockhill for it for years.
Made the trip to silverstone for f1 this year, was an epic weekend.
Not a fan of watching rally live tho tbh.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Since Liberty took over it’s become more and more about the show than a race. I was all for the best man winning yesterday, but seemingly the race director can now supersede any written rule. After watching F1 for over 30 years and having reflected on it overnight it’s left an even more sour taste than it did yesterday. I’ve loved this sport, but it’s changed and doesn’t seem targeted at me anymore. Hopefully the new fans enjoy what it’s become. I don’t watch WWE for the same reason. I don’t blame RB or Mercedes and who knows who started the lobbying and how long it’s gone on for, but Masi clearly has a different role to Charlie.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Yeh too many tin foil hats to debate anything here.

Since Liberty took over it’s become more and more about the show than a race. I was all for the best man winning yesterday, but seemingly the race director can now supersede any written rule. After watching F1 for over 30 years and having reflected on it overnight it’s left an even more sour taste than it did yesterday. I’ve loved this sport, but it’s changed and doesn’t seem targeted at me anymore. Hopefully the new fans enjoy what it’s become. I don’t watch WWE for the same reason. I don’t blame RB or Mercedes and who knows who started the lobbying and how long it’s gone on for, but Masi clearly has a different role to Charlie.

Surely FIA cannot get away with this in court?

 

[Kenai]

I was wondering last night, after the safety car went in could Lewis just have pootled round for the whole lap without properly re starting?

No, once they cross the line they're racing - the shenanigans before that with people trying to get the jump on each other is just to try and be as far ahead / close behind as possible when you get there - the lead car isn't choosing the race restart entirely.

 

[SDK^]

My view after looking at the FIA response to the Mercedes protest, is they should not follow through with their appeal.
The rule (15.3e) basically states the Race Director has control over when the SC can be deployed and withdrawn.

Whilst I don't agree one person should be able to call the shots of a race or championship, this rule effectively means the Mercedes protest has a major challenge to overcome. One which I don't think is worth dragging Mercedes and F1 reputations through the process and media circle.

The FIA need to resolve the team access to the Race Director during the race - both team principles were yelling at the RD whenever a decision didn't go their way. This doesn't look professional or good for the average TV viewer.

This is worth a watch - a non biased summary of the final lap and the protests.

 

[englishpremier]

I want to be happy for Max but wow the FIA are a complete shambles, and its completely overshadowing it for me. I'm not one for cancel culture but I really don't see how MM's position can continue to be tenable. Would be interesting to hear what the other teams think on the matter but I suspect they're just going to keep quiet publicly.

What has cancel culture got to do with it.

He was poor the world could see it. In many positions you'd be dismissed or at least represented.

 

[jonneymendoza]

It would be hard to strip Max of his title as they are then predicting the outcome by giving it to Hamilton. If Max wasn't allowed to pass the other cars he "may" still have caught/passed Hamilton or something else may have happened etc.

“May” is a key word.

Even though max passed ham, he made difficult work of it and ham actually nearly overtook him in the next few corners….

Now toss in 5 back markers in between ham and max and there is no way max would have taken the chequered flag

 

[Slam62]

It'll be interesting to see how far merc go with this, I think they'll quietly drop it.

Lewis lost it because latifi crashed and Bottas was hopeless if Bottas had been where he should have been Max wouldn't have stood a chance.
If Lewis carries on next year could be a wake up call for RB

Apart from Masi making the rules up.

 

[jonneymendoza]

My view after looking at the FIA response to the Mercedes protest, they should not follow through with their appeal.
The rule (15.3) basically states the Race Director has control over when the SC can be deployed and withdrawn.

Whilst I don't agree one person should be able to call the shots of a race, this rule effectively means the Mercedes protest has a major challenge to overcome. One which I don't think is worth dragging Mercedes and F1 reputations through the process and media circle.

This is worth a watch - a non biased summary of the final lap and the protests.

no i disagree, they should appeal.

The FIFA’s own rules state you need to either let all the cars overtake to get back in position or none.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

My view is after looking at the FIA response to the Mercedes protest, they should not follow through with their appeal.
The rule (15.3) basically states the Race Director has control over when the SC can be deployed and withdrawn.

Which means teams have NO way to plan/react when trying to manage a response to a situation in a race. Its just comes down to pot luck and perhaps who gets their phone call into Masi's call-waiting first?

That's a worrying precedent for me. The horse-trading between Team Principles and Masi has been a low point for me this year, regardless of the team who is doing it.

 

[ZeeWrath]

The more I think about this race the more it annoys me. Wasnt long ago they DSQ Hamilton from Quali by by the letter of the law. Masi can interpret them how he wants and to the casual viewer it looks like Max was faster than Hamilton

I guess in time you start weighing up Max was taken out in Silverstone and Hungary by merc's and all this gets forgotten about. No one really places any weight that Hamilton had bad reliability when Rosberg won.

Just feel robbed after all the build up to the decider, tighest final race in years etc

 

[jonneymendoza]

Which means teams have NO way to plan/react when trying to manage a response to a situation in a race. Its just comes down to pot luck and perhaps who gets their phone call into Masi's call-waiting first?

That's a worrying precedent for me. The horse-trading between Team Principles and Masi has been a low point for me this year, regardless of the team who is doing it.

Well said. This cant be right.

FIA don’t have a leg to stand on in the courts. If MAX doesnt get stripped of his title, FIA should at least be severely punished

 

[adam cool dude]

I'm a Lewis/Lando/Jenson/George/etc fan but honestly whilst I don't think Max deserves a title based on his antics, that is racing and you have to take the rough with the smooth and can't begrudge him the title.

The main think I would like to see improved is the lobbying.. RBR have been by far the worse offenders in this regard, but it's made Merc have to do the same and other teams feel they now have to do this..

It's no surprise that with fresh softs, Horner was on the blower to Masi to get the SC ended and the racing underway.. Odd that Masi then bends the interpretation of the rules to do exactly this..
It's also no surprise that when Max drives like a complete tool (e.g. Brazil) Horner is on the horn to Masi about 'It's all about letting them race'.. then when the shoe is on the other foot he's on horn saying unfair it is..

Toto is fast catching up and it's opened up a channel that should not exist..

Rough would have been Latifi crashing 5 laps earlier. Safety car coming out and either no overtaking or letting the whole field come past. Yes it would have been cruel but it would have been accepted. What happened yesterday was blatant making up the rules to have influence in race outcome. It is match fixing in its purest form. Every man and his dog knew what was going to happen.

Hamilton was 12 seconds ahead before the safety car and bossed the whole race. He didn't decide what Latifi was going to do and the race should have finished under the safety car or the correct procedure should have been followed before restart. Carlos Sainz himself was stuck behind lapped cars. Why was he not allowed to race?

I am surprised that none of the betting companies haven't logged anything yet as I am sure it has cost them plenty.

 

[Slam62]

Actually I think that liberty and RB are going to have whole heap of pain next year. Don't poke the lion, or whatever the phrase is and merc have the capability.