Max Verstappen F1 Champion

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Best and most controversial finale in F1 history that will be talked about for decades! Never seen anything like it - on par with Man City winning the title in 2012. Hamilton was lucky at the start and Max got a last lap miracle of the highest controversy. Mercedes also paid the penalty a risky stop strategy. 
 

We all know what Hamilton’s excuses will be ….

[GazzaGarratt 11,054]

Good talk here i see.

 

Anyway, haven't got the energy anymore after that. Like or hate Hamilton, rules are rules. Geniunely boring and CBA.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Max Verstappen confirmed as F1 champion after Mercedes protests rejected at Abu Dhabi GP | F1 News

WWW.SKYSPORTS.COM

---

Formula 1 stewards have rejected both of Mercedes' protests over the dramatic late stages of the Abu Dhabi GP, confirming Max Verstappen as the race winner and 2021 world champion ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

 

[Diddums 4,346]

Absolute fucking tosh. 

 

I don't care for either of these drivers but the FIA fucked them both over for some fabricated drama. Max's championship status will forever have an asterisk next to it, Hamilton will always be discussed in the same conversation and the FIA will be looking at raised eyebrows for many years to come. 

 

Back to MotoGP we go, none of this bullshit there.

[Greboth 2,721]

Mercedes didn’t pay a penalty, they gambled sure and it was the right gamble as had the rules been followed as written and as enacted at every safety car grand prix for the last 20+ years it would have been a safety car finish.

 

Michael Masi just decided YOLO threw the rule book out and made it up.  Even the denial of Merc’s appeal admits they didn’t enact the whole rule.

 

The decisions, or lack thereof, at Brazil and Jeddah were questionable enough.  But at least they were subjective decisions on the application of the rules and penalties.  This was just totally disregarding the rules for entertainment and it makes a mockery of the championship and F1 being a sport.

 

Sport and competition only works if everyone is playing to same rules and knows what the rules are.  To change them 2 laps from the end of the last race is just farcical.

 

I joked in the gt sport whatsapp group that at least Masi isn’t as bad as Belestre.  Having thought about it some more though is it too late to dig him up and reinstate Belestre?  He was biased as all hell but at least he was consistent in his bias, was competent and did some good for the sport.

 

Since the liberty takeover my interest in F1 has wained as it’s moved from a sport to a spectacle to the point most weekends I only watch the 5 min highlights posted on youtube.  At this point I think I’ve given up entirely.

 

Still Merc have given notice of their appeal of their appeal so we’ll see what happens.  Though I hold no hope of the result being overturned.

 

Maybe I should take @Diddums advice and get back in to bike racing.

[Baabcat 1,646]

Problem with the situation was , so many people watching, formula 1 getting more interest than forever, and you end up having to finish the championship with 5 laps behind the safety car…..that would have been even worse than what they did !

 

Maybe they should halt the lap counter if the safety car comes out with less than 10 laps to go?

[GazzaGarratt 11,054]

9 minutes ago, Baabcat said:

Problem with the situation was , so many people watching, formula 1 getting more interest than forever, and you end up having to finish the championship with 5 laps behind the safety car…..that would have been even worse than what they did !

 

Maybe they should halt the lap counter if the safety car comes out with less than 10 laps to go?

 

You point out exactly the issue unfortunately Bob, that Masi had multiple options to him, now they've used the Article 15.3 "Do what the fuck I want" badge out in the open. He chose the worst option from a Sporting Code perspective.

 

When the crash happened at a high speed corner, he could've chosen to red flag the race.

He could've chosen to start with the cars where they were as it was safe.

He could've chosen to let the other final cars pass.

He could've finished it behind the safety car.

 

But he didn't.

 

Regradless whether you like Hamilton or hate him, you have to factor in the moment where Masi clearly knew Verstappen was on Soft new tyres and Hamilton was a sitting duck on Hard old tyres. If he wanted a spectacle that was fair, red flag it at the 4 laps left both could be on Soft tyres and next to each other for a 4 lap shootout. "but, but thats just given the balance back to Hamilton, Lee". No it isn't. Hamilton was clear of Verstappen through the entire race. He got closer due to Virtual Safety Car and got new tyres and then the real Safety Car got the best tyres. Hamilton would've lost his lead but the fairness would've come from the tyres and a potential Grid Restart.

 

Horner using the late Niki Lauda's words after theresult from the stewards came in late yesterday was just sickening imo. A Mercedes consult until the day he died, that was a stab at Merc and using Lauda's words just shows how much of a **** he really is. I didn't want Mercedes to appeal because whichever way you look at it, its a Lose/Lose for them. No way they would turn over those celebrations but what could Merc do as if it was anyone else you have to raise to the stewards when rules are broken. I always think about you have to be careful and considerate when you speak of others in positions as it could be yourself under scrutiny one day - but i have an overwhelming emotion to say out loud that everyone should be accountable for actions. If this challenge and appeal lead to at least one thing, I would expect it to be for Michael Masi to be held accountable for his actions. Charlie Whiting must be turning in his grave watching that.

 

I really have to admit, this year has been superb. Great respect for both drivers to give us this championship, regardless of what I think of them. But the first time in years, yesterday left the worst bitter taste in my mouth for this sport and even waking up today, I can't shift it. It was the most immoral thing to do because everyone then knew EXACTLY what was going to happen on that final lap. I wanted Verstappen to win on merit. That way, even though I'm passionate that his driving skills are too dangerous, I could at least understand that he won perfectly on merit of his own doing. This wasn't his doing though.

 

I'm hoping next year Lando Norris and McLarten have a great year but I'm honestly still feeling sick to the stomach on whether I want to watch racing with those decisions happening.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

39 minutes ago, Baabcat said:

Problem with the situation was , so many people watching, formula 1 getting more interest than forever, and you end up having to finish the championship with 5 laps behind the safety car…..that would have been even worse than what they did !

 

Maybe they should halt the lap counter if the safety car comes out with less than 10 laps to go?

Exactly my thoughts. Let's say it took another 90 seconds to clear the track from the accident - that meant the race would've finished with the safety car still in play and actually crossing the line first to 'win' the race itself! It would have gone down as the biggest anti-climax in sport history especially under the circumstances. I'd definitely freeze the lap counter for situations like this but I imagine it would add a technical and tactical headache for teams regarding tyre management if there was a potential extra 10 laps possible. This definitely would be better than finishing under 'improvised' decisions. 

 

One thing is for sure though, Netflix have already commissioned a film..

[Greboth 2,721]

26 minutes ago, GazzaGarratt said:

When the crash happened at a high speed corner, he could've chosen to red flag the race.

He could've chosen to start with the cars where they were as it was safe.

He could've chosen to let the other final cars pass.

He could've finished it behind the safety car.

 

I think that’s where everyone has a problem.  People would moan if Masi had made any of those choices because their favourite didn’t win.  However no-one would have the right to appeal because the rules were followed.

 

Though Article 15.3 to me reads as the Race director has authority over the clerks use of the safety car.  Not the race director has carte blanche use of the safety car.

 

If rhe FIA stick to but 15.3 then it opens a whole can of worms everytime the safety car is used.  It will become a lottery and open to appeal every single time.

 

[TurboR56Mini 967]

I keep seeing that it was the Dutch's first F1 title? I thought Masi was Australian?

[Greboth 2,721]

 

So Merc have decided not to appeal based on an agreement the FIA will set up a review board to ensure fairness in the sport.

 

I’m not sure it’s the best decision as it puts it back in the hands of the FIA to do the right thing.  Which I’m not sure they will do but I guess we can live in hope.

[G_dub52 559]

There will have been a massive back hander to get Merc to drop this so I'm sure they will come back swinging.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

It appears the Court of Arbitration was out of the window a couple of days ago so Mercedes's only other option was to convince an internal FIA panel that they themselves broke their own rules to have the result overturned. This middle ground of setting up a review panel seems pretty lame and Mercedes have ultimately buckled under the weight of money in the sport. F1 ultimately has their teams by the absolute balls so Timo and co will likely always bend the knee no matter what is thrown at them. 

 

Maybe if they hadn't been so successful in recent years and won the constructors once again, they would've made a greater fuss but this was ultimately a weak move. 

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Let MV have it with an asterisk and move on... I'm pretty sure LH has 

[GazzaGarratt 11,054]

19 hours ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Maybe if they hadn't been so successful in recent years and won the constructors once again, they would've made a greater fuss but this was ultimately a weak move. 

 

Like i've said before, I don't think ANY team in that position had any other choice. They didn't want it to drag on from a sporting viewpoint but its the only way they could ensure some form of change could happen. I think they were pretty clear that it wasn't directed at Red Bull. And Lewis clearly knew that he wouldn't want a Championship given to him in this way, so it looks like the right decision has been made with the World Sport Council advising that a full investigation to happen and changes to be made with the FIA.

 

People naively think this is all about Lewis and Max and it isn't. Billions and Trillions of money rest on these decisions, and then you have the sporting integrity to uphold infront of all the fans. I think Toto's interview yesterday speaks volumes. Toto and Lewis respectfully declined to go to the presentation awards yesterday because it sends the wrong message to the FIA that they are happy with the decision. Toto says Lewis isn't a guarnatee to race next year and Toto doesn't want anything to do with Michael Masi. I'm pretty sure one head will at least roll for this call - and it has to be Michael as it was purely his decision alone.

 

I think everyone on both sides and neutrals have come out and are pretty unison in that the FIA must change which proves that the last race was a debacle.

 

50 minutes ago, Plumbers Crack said:

Let MV have it with an asterisk and move on... I'm pretty sure LH has 

 

Absolutely Max should have it. And whether Max likes it or not, he has to live with the asterisk that everyone else will put along side it. Pretty sure he wouldn't have wanted that but that's what Michael Masi has created unfortunately.

[Laidback Lankyman 173]

No fucking around this season by Max, he absolutely romped it and well deserved the title. Everyone else just seemed to have dropped the ball, whether that being Ferrari‘s unreliable engines (again) or Mercedes initial concept. Hopefully this is the last season we’ll hear of porpoising.

[Greboth 2,721]

13 hours ago, Laidback Lankyman said:

No fucking around this season by Max, he absolutely romped it and well deserved the title

 

Well apart from the breach of the cost cap.  It’s a shame, Max is fast and well deserved this year but again, through no fault of his own, his championship this year has another asterisk against it.  We’ll never know how much was spent on this years car so there’ll always be some doubt.

 

Ignoring that though Max would have probably won it anyway thanks to Ferrari’s mid season “strategy” and somehow being absoutely nowhere as we approach the end of the season.

 

Merc look like they’ve found some pace now though and apparently know what’s wrong with their car.  So maybe we can actually have a 3 way fight next year.

[GazzaGarratt 11,054]

I'd love a 3 way fight for the title. I think we can say Max is a clear winner this year and also that its disappointing more news comes out against Red Bull that makes you wonder. Although, I think even if Ferrari had fixed their issues and they didnt overspend, you could still see he was head and shoulders above them as a driver. Leclerc is close though, definitely more so if they can be more reliable in strategy. Hamilton definitely has the fire back in him. I think he deserves at least a win this year and hopefully more next year if they can close the gap like they have in the closing stages of this years F1 season.

 

I've really enjoyed watching races again this year which I didn't think i'd say considering Verstappen has won 14 of them! 🤣 There seems to be more fighting going on through the pack with some teams excelling some weeks and then less so in others. I do wonder if Mclaren have fell off the wagon yet again. Very strange to see them struggle for months now - Lando is showing how well he can drive to get them even remotely close to the top 6.