FIA President Jean Todt says Max Verstappen was “really lucky” in Abu Dhabi but pointed to other races where the new World Champion was struck by misfortune.
Verstappen passed rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season at Yas Marina following a contentious restart call that is set to be analysed by the FIA as part of a wide-ranging review.
Mercedes threatened to appeal the result but on Thursday confirmed that it will not go ahead with such a process and will instead hold the FIA to account with its review.
Speaking alongside Verstappen, ahead of the FIA Prize Giving ceremony, Todt – whose 12-year tenure as President will end on Friday – lauded the new champion.
“I think he gets what he deserves, he made a great season,” said Todt.
“I mean it’s human. You focus on the last lap. It is true he was really lucky on the last lap. But you should see the whole season.
“Was he lucky in Silverstone? Was he lucky in Azerbaijan? Was he lucky in Budapest? He was not.”
Hamilton has opted not to attend the Gala – despite it being mandated in the regulations – while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will also not be present; James Allison is due to collect the Constructors’ trophy.
Valtteri Bottas was due to be present in the afternoon’s press conference but was not in attendance owing to a flight delay from Switzerland, having been at Alfa Romeo’s factory, but made it for the gala itself.
Mercedes also declined to send its title-winning Formula 1 and Formula E cars as part of the pre-event photoshoot but Todt declined to get involved in the polemics.
“Tonight we should celebrate rather than trying to [get involved] in any form of controversy, there’s no point,” he said.
“Then, this young guy [Verstappen] has made an outstanding job, that’s what we should [talk about] rather than saying ‘are we going to punish [Hamilton] because he’s not coming’, honestly, I don’t think that’s the platform to speak, we should be above that.”
Talk about missing the point. This isn’t about who was or wasn’t lucky at whatever race.
This is about the Race Director flaunting the rules to influence the outcome of a Grand Prix.
Stop trying to divert away from that and face your mistakes.
Grow up, if Mercedes had sent Lewis in to put on new tires he would have won the race. Wolf made the mistake now he’s whining and crying like he normally does. This is the problem when you have somebody who’s been a perpetual winner and had no competition. Lewis is a great driver but there are many great drivers who would have driven the Mercedes also to many championships. Mercedes has won the construction’s championship 8 years in a row because their car has been exceedingly superior to any others, finally a car is close but is still inferior to the Mercedes including Red bull this year. If Max, Norris, Russell and a few others were driving the Mercedes over the last few years they would have been fighting for the championship as well. Lewis is a very good driver in a very great car. They just never had any true competition and now that they have they show the poor sportsmans that they truly are. I was pleased with Lewis’s congratulations to Max directly at the end of the race but now to sit and pout and hide and not attend events shows what a spoiled driver he truly has been. Can Louis say that never in his career he was on the benefit of a crash where he got an opportunity to change tires where the leader of the race didn’t come in check your history. He just doesn’t know how to handle true competition but she will get in spades next year when Russell out drives him.
Nope. Had the rules been followed properly Lewis would have won. Merc did everything right according to the rules. The referee simply made up his own rules at the very last second and handed Max a title. So for you to say they should have pitted is silly. Nobody should expect the ref to change the rules. Consistent application of the rules is paramount in any sport. Otherwise what’s the point of a rulebook at all?
Funny thing is that after Spa Mercedes and the rest of the teams urged upon the fact that a race should not be ended with a safety car employed. So in a way Masi did exactly that what Mercedes voted for after Spa. The rules are not changed, thats only in pro Hamilton perspective.A simple rule is that Masi can ecide ON HIS OWN if the race can be restarted in any shape or form as he sees fit within safety lines. All the bullshit mercedes has a strong case, just read and try to understand so called rules. It just did not go Hamiltons wa like it was all season long. his luck changed in a bitter form.
Your failed to mention the fact that only the lapped cars between the leaders were told to unlap. Hmm…. And no.. only the dumbest team would ask its leader to come in for a tire change in this scenario and risk race ending in safety car or lose track position, or stuck in between unlap cars. You just started watching F1 bro?
The Safety Car rules and protocol was NOT followed by Masi. You can argue about that all you want to suit your narrative but it won’t change the facts.
The fact that Masi gets to decide is where the issue is. He has the power to influence outcomes on a whim like he did in Abu Dhabi and smarmy Horner messaged him and asked if they can have 1 lap with the lapped cars out of the way.
Masi messed up, period.
No, the whole point of the Spa safety car disagreement was the teams didn’t want another 2-lap sham that we all witnessed. Giving a win and half-points was another Michael Masi blunder.
Spot on
What a load of ignorant tosh from a biased troll. All hot air and no substance.
That’s like a bank robber giving you stolen money then people saying how lucky you are to have all that money.
Well said buddy! Croft said where is fia president to release a statement after such a controversial race? I heard that fia get 60% from f1
Read the whole article before emptying your gut. Your example is so misplaced.
Max did not rob anything. He was presented an opportunity outside his influence zone. Masi simply tried to follow the rules. This also includes the possibility to let them race. Finally luck went Max his way with a more than deserved championship as a result. Look at the whole year when most rules worked against Max. If he would have the same luck as Hamilton he would have been world champion 2 or 3 races ago. It is as simple as that.
Luck is when your main competitor has a problem like a puncture, gear issue, maybe a red flag to wipe out your 11 sec deficit. Luck is not when the racing director is changing rules on the last lap.
People also forget that LH lost time passing those backmarkers the same time that Max should have lost. Masi just removed them for Max. So basically he needed 11 sec to disappear, he needed fresh softs and he needed Masi to remove the backmarkers and only for him so the SC doesnt stay for another lap. Enjoy your ROBBED TROPHY MAXIPAD and MASIPAD POS!
I have never witnessed a SC situation in which the backmarkers have not been allowed to unlap themself, so that is an absolute nonsense argument about Masi. Masi should have done it a bit earlier, but that’s about all that he did wrong. Your last sentence shows your probably underaged, so plenty of time to learn the rules.
Ummm they showed up to race…lapped cars in no way interfered with the last lap…grow up!
As long as they interfered with LH’s track time and the underfueld Perez then it’s all fair game right?
MAXIPAD won the first MASI championship. Maybe next year he can try wining the real WDC
Well perhaps if he got his rightful place back in the beginning of the race it wouldn’t of mattered….
Well said Ben.
Can you give me a grown up explanation why lapped cars had nothing to do with Max winning? I’m waiting…
Were there any cars in front of them on the restart. It wouldn’t have mattered if all the cars were unlapped and they started the race a lap later…would have been the same result. The restart is not a RULE it’s a discretionary procedure. A lot of discretion went Hamilton’s way this year.
He definitely got lucky in Spa. He got a win and an extra 5 points on Lewis. All thanks to …. Michael Masi.
How does it get any luckier than that? A win and 12.5 points just for qualifying.
Got half points instead of full points.
And at least he was the one who wanted and pushed to race, not like a certain team in the last race.
Michael Masi should stand next to Verstappen when he lifted that given trophy.
Get over it. Verstappen won. And stop stating Hamilton was a gracious loser. Of course he isn’t & never has been…& Toto most certainly isn’t. Very sore losers. Look at the number of times Verstappen got a raw deal. Did he behave like them-no. Verstappen was the better driver & deserved to win. Some people just can’t accept that because they think Hamilton can do no wrong. The fact is Hamilton has had it easy for years. Not anymore.
At least Hamilton won with his car at the very least. Max won because of Masi.
Oh you mean like Abu against Rosberg where he ignored team orders and tried to play tire games with Nico!?! Please.
I love to read how the British media and lots of Lulu fans are crying. In fact, I am going to watch the race again just so I can hear Toto lose his shit again … “ no no no Michael. Michael, this isn’t right,” Michaellll
🤣🤣🤣 Epic!
Well said Ben.
The fact of the matter is rules were broken that’s not max or red bull’s fault but the rules were not applied in the same way they were for every other race we all know the investigation will lead to some bullshit none sense and the fia will never admit to any wrong doing you can argue for either side people saying Lewis should have gave position back on first lap and maybe that’s true but at that point at least max had the whole race to try and change the results what masi did left Lewis no chance to change what happened everyone knows that he was a sitting duck on those tires so what if Lewis pits max would have stayed out but would masi have applied the same logic for Lewis so he could have passed max exactly the same way that’s the bigger question we all know rules were applied in a unusual manner and different from previous races the best thing formula 1 could do is present both drivers with the CHAMPIONSHIP and strive to make sure something like this never happens again
Funny thing is that there are NO rules broken.So stop saying these kind of things. Within the rules events took place who where not aspected. Thats the maximum. So no matter how hard decissions where against or in disavantage of Hamilton, no rules are broken. Most decissions where made in the meaning to let them race. Unusual? Yes! But over the whole season we had one who deserved the championship a bit more, and that was Max. So the outcome is a more than justified world champion who sparked F1 and created a fanbase around the world. Dont forget that 90% of the world is very happy with the outcome, with 1 nation only in grieve. Sorry for that. But keep focus and objectivity in place.
Klaas , perhaps you could explain when only the five cars of the eight that Hamilton had passed and lapped and Max had only lapped three of the eight, leaving five cars between them, why only the lapped cars between them were told to unlap. That partial unlapping has never been done before. It has always been all, or none! That was Horner’s suggestion, and Masi did it. Max won by 2 seconds. There is no doubt he would have lost more time than that trying to pass five cars in one lap. That’s why a lot of people are upset. It doesn’t matter whether Max or Lewis won, what matters is that a long standing rule was changed on a whim by the Race Director, which took an assured victory from one competitor who had raced to an 11 second lead, and handed it to his rival.
I’ve followed F1 since 1953 when I was taken by my parents to the Nurnburgring and watched the Great Prize of Germany won by Farina (Ferrari) with Fangio (Maserati) second. They used F2 rules for some races including this one.
Rules are important, they dictate what drivers do on track and team strategy. The ultimate irony here is that the day before the race, Red Bull’s Horner said it would be an absolute tragedy if the rules were not followed in the final race deciding the driver’s championship.
He was right. It became an absolute tragedy with the Race Director changing the applicable rule thus handing the championship to the driver who would have finished second.
I totally understand why Mercedes and Hamilton feel cheated.
Rules where not broken, nothin was cheated or robbed. People should stop trying to make it look like the outcome was framed. Thats so unfair to the FIA and Masi. Rules ad possibilities this time went against Hamilton for a change, as so many times it went against Max. But yes, Masi did something unaspected but well within the rules. In the light and spirit of letting them sort it out on the track. that this time it gave Hamiltom a well over the course of the whole year deserved disadvantage is bitter, but ok.
When people use frames as robbed, cheated and othe colorfull dishonesties, it paints a very untrue picture.
After Spa all teambosses talked about not ending again a race under a safetycar deployed. Masi did everything in his power to let them race. In many other cases Hamilton had advantage in a SC deployment, now it went against him. Mercedes could have also switched to another compound, but they decided not to do so. RB in a very agressive
tactic mode which have benefitted them greatly. The only thing what was a bit odd was the unespected umpresedented overtaking of only the cars in the middle of Hamilton and Verstappen. It is within Masi his power to do that safely and act in the spirit of racing. But i do not think anyone would have aspected Masi to act so brilliant to act quickly and let them race for a minimum of 1 lap at least. Maybe the always moaning of hamilton and Toto give Masi a small push. What an annoying irritating comments always frm the silver arrows if something is not going their way. Ridiculous. The whole world was ehaing that painfull interference whit the FIA. Please stop this nonsense! On hinsight it would be better and more honest to use a red flag and let them restart. Did Hamilton deserved to win this race? Yes! Did Verstappen deserved to win the championship this year? yes! And than a quit big yes. So after the bitterness of the loss in this way, soon people should make way for a sense that the only one who deserved a bit more to win this year, actually did win it in the end.
Klaas, you are obviously a verstappen fan but regardless who deserves it more is subjective. They both had a great season and drove incredibility well. Do I think Ver was more unlucky thru out the season? No! This final race should have been fair but it was not. Masi gave the title to Ver and there’s no arguments you can make that’ll change that. So given all that, do I think Ver deserved the title? I don’t think so and I say it simply because of what Masi did. It’s called a controversy because it is. F1 fans wanna see races and titles won fair and square. Even you probably wish ver won in a fair manner. Thus, this title will always be tainted! Yes, tainted!
Hi Jimmy,
I am a fan of Verstappen, Alonso, Norris and Russel. Real racers. I think like the many content form around the world, that the outcome of the last race was at least controversial and unpresedented. Not fair is so personel and thank god outside the UK not perceived in that way. So please be aware that the UK perspective is not worldwide the same. That oppinion is very tainted and biased unfortunately. Over the whole season Verstappen was simply the best. Most poles, most victories, led more laps than Hamilton almost by factor 1,5 , so to see Hamilton in a world champion winning,position after Mercedes themselves kicked Verstappen twice out of a race without any points , would be unfair and controversial. Verstappen normally would have sealed and closed the championship 2 or 3 race ago. With luck the choosen elected best racer of Formula one also won the championship. Hard and brutal for you i presume but a hard reality. So the only thing which is tainted is your oppinion.
I’m in the US, if you look further, it’s everywhere that people are upset, not just UK.
And to say a driver has lead more laps deserves it more is a strange one to me. But it does tell me Ver had the better car for majority of the season, which he did. So for Hamilton to be equal on points, he’s the better driver if you ask me.
From the beginning till the end of th Hybrid powered engines Mercedes was soooo much quicker than anyone else. L:ook; at what L;owe said.
n the first years of the hybrid-era Merceces was so strong that even then there was a strong suspicion that Mercedes didn’t show the back of their tongue. Lowe has now admitted that this was indeed the case. They were afraid at Mercedes that the FIA and Ecclestone would intervene if they were too dominant. You had Toto and the board of Daimler who were worried about the negative politics of looking ‘too good’. Then you had Bernie [Ecclestone] running around with saying ‘this is a nightmare, these engines are terrible’. The thinking was that if Mercedes looked ridiculously good, then something would be done about it,” says Lowe.
In this l;ight ho;w wo;ul;d you describe the succes of Hamilton? Drive a car for 7 years that is between 0,5 en 2.0 seconds faster than any other car on the grid. So difficult to win a championship? Two fingers in the nose championships. They even turned down power!!!In this season finally Red bull managed to be a bit quicker(0,1 sec) on some tracks, but only to a point where mercedes stepped up their game. Especially out of nothing a fresh engine was more than 1 seconds per lap quicker than the Red bull. Eeven Bottas beated Hamilton 5 times in qualy laps. Russel beated Botas in his weekend in a Merc. It showes that Hamilton is a good racer but he needs a faster car to win. Verstappen outpaced all of his teammates in qualy and race. The gap between Ver ad teammates just shows how Ver is able to extract more out of the car, and telemetrie shows that in the race he is just quicker and better than any other driver on the grid. He does not need the fastest car to win, he can win on racecraft. Thats also why may great drivers rate a Raikonen or an Alsonso as better driver than Hamilton. hamilton has had the pleasure to drive a mercedes car which was soooo much quicker than any car in the last seven years. Hamilton is a great driver but no where near the schumachers, Senna Prost Verstappen or Alonso. Watch the next season with Russel. Russel will make life for Hamilton very bitter in the second part of next season.
Well Klaas at least your showing your bias for Red bull and max you can sit and make all the excuses you want the simple fact is things were done totally different then they have ever been so that will make it seem and look like it was not a fair decision if the rules had been applied like they always have been it still would be a bitter pill to swallow for one team or the other but would have seamed fair we can sit here and discuss which team had more breaks all season but the simple fact is it looks terrible and makes Masi look like a joke when he introduces a different pattern of applying rules in the last lap of the last race of the year
Hi Bill,
As lovers of F1 we dont need to make excuses and i agree to a certain point of course.
The decisions made by Masi in more occossions through the season where inconsistant at least, with the topping on the final race day. Most watchers in their heart now of course that Masi is not making any decisions to favour Red Bull but i cannot deny that it did not feel fair at that point. It felt like a big present presented for F1 in total.So yeah, it looked like clear advantage given to Max. We need more clarity to avoid these kind of decisions. In so many cases in history advantages build up in the race where tarnished by safetycars. That always seemed unfair. But in this season the overall outcome i would discribe as: “In the end good, all good”. A relieve that there is some justice over the whole season.
By the way I’m from canada
Hi Klaas
I think we can agree on one thing for sure and that is it was a fantastic year seeing a fight for the championship was exciting with the lead changes and there being more than one team being competitive
Looking forward to seeing what next year brings
Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all
Hi Bill,
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy new year!
Greetings klaas