1,297 racing laps this year (1,356 if you want to include the Sprint Races), and the championship was decided on the final lap of what has been an unforgettable season of Formula 1. Max Verstappen triumphed over Lewis Hamilton, but not without controversy, which kept up the key theme that has been present this season.
In this author’s reality, there was very little hope that the season could end without a dispute in the Stewards’ room. With Verstappen and Hamilton and their respected teams pushing each other weekend in, weekend out, it was not so surprising that there was one final injection of debate to close out the season. Mercedes even had the foresight to bring their own QC (senior barrister) with them to the final round.
But this epic season really didn’t deserve such a farcical ending. Despite being the clear standouts in the field in 2021, both Verstappen and Hamilton’s driving standards were called into question on a few occasions, with incidents at Silverstone, Monza, Brazil and Saudi Arabia to name a few being labelled as “over the limit”. But this time, it was not a driver that was at fault. It was the actions of Race Control, which only makes the situation more disturbing.
The FIA (in the form of Race Director Michael Masi) made a decision to resume the race with just one lap remaining. This was after a Safety Car had been deployed to allow marshals to clear away Nicholas Latifi’s stricken Williams FW43B, who secured a late date with the walls shortly after a battle with Haas’ Mick Schumacher.
It set the race up for a grandstand finish, as Verstappen had taken the gamble to pit for fresh Soft rubber as soon as the Safety Car was called out on track. Hamilton, meanwhile, was stuck out on the newly-designed Yas Marina Circuit with his 40-plus lap old Hard boots to ensure he kept track position. But there was the matter of five lapped cars that found themselves lodged between Hamilton and the recently pitted Verstappen. Initially, the lapped cars were informed that they would not be allowed to unlap themselves, making Verstappen’s task that much harder.
Perhaps the lapped cars would’ve moved out of the way at once, or perhaps not. But the FIA then took matters into its own hands by reversing its initial call and calling on the five lapped cars, sitting between the title rivals, to overtake the Safety Car toute de suite. In truth, it was a decision that all but sealed the championship for Red Bull’s Verstappen, who now had a substantial pace advantage for his last lap on his new tyres.
The fallout post-race was quite sad to witness. This year, we’ve had the pleasure of watching one of the greatest seasons in Formula 1 history and yet afterward, it was all left in the hands of politics and the rule book. F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of racing – so why must fans continue to be subjected to a waiting room to hear how the Stewards have declared the race?
Abu Dhabi was another level. The deliberations weren’t just for the race win. It was for the 2021 title; the grandest prize in motor racing. And fans were left to mash F5 on their keyboards to discover who had won, following an eight-and-a-half month battle that was always too close to call.
Some called it as Hamilton being robbed last Sunday, but in reality, it was the fans. There’s no doubt that those responsible for Formula 1’s popularity boost in recent years were frothing at the thought of a last lap straight shootout for the title. In fact, it’s a scenario that we all were dreaming for – but the ugly circumstances around how it all happened sent shock through everyone’s systems as they watched Verstappen cross the line in first place. People were still adjusting to what had happened before realising Mercedes had been defeated, for the first time in the turbo-hybrid era.
Bed time in Abu Dhabi did not signal the end of the story. The matter will still rumble stumble on, discussions and opinions will be dished out, as one of the most enticing battles in Formula 1’s history reaches its ugly conclusion. Of course, the ordeal should have officially culminated with the waving of the chequered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit.
In all of this, no fault can be dished to Red Bull, nor should its championship success with Verstappen be discredited. Lady luck was on their side, and sometimes, that’s just how racing goes. They followed procedure, pitted late on when it had the chance and nailed the title-defining overtake on the last lap.
So well done to Max Verstappen, who entered the sport as a baby-faced kid, still fresh in the world of single-seaters. In his seventh Formula 1 season, he dove masterfully to his first world title, overcoming the challenge provided by statistically the greatest the sport has ever seen. In his own words, he has ‘completed F1’.
“My life will not change now,” Verstappen said. “I am, of course, very happy that I won the championship, [it’s] that final achievement that I wanted in Formula 1 so everything else that comes now is a bonus.”
What comes next remains to be seen. But this year Max has raised his game and proven he is an ultimate force to be reckoned with. Not bad for a 24-year-old.
This opinion article originally appeared in issue 445 of our weekly digital motorsport magazine, Motorsport Monday. Completely free to read with no sign-up necessary, Motorsport Monday is published every Monday morning and is packed full of motorsport content. Check out the latest issue here.
It’s obvious.
For fairness, cancel all Abu Dhabi results & points!
If there is decency and justice then The F1A will award the title to both Lewis and Max.. that is the only way o solve this for posterity…Lewis deserves his 8th title and Max his 1st and the decision is almost like Solomon’s to make …do this today and make Christmas a happy time for these two amazing drivers….PLEASE
We know for a fact that all teams have agreed that it is preferable NOT to end a race under safety car (even though it is not written clearly in the rule book).
Therefore, the main relevant question is :
Does the race director have the discretion to only unlap the cars impeding the main race (and in this case, title) contenders, in order to finish the race in racing conditions?
If the answer is negative, Mr.Masi should resign immediately and some rule clarifications issued.
If the answer is positive, he should be left alone and all “live” lobbying channels between himself and team managers should be shut down (as planned).
Perhaps the best option would be to automatically declare a red flag instead of a safety car when 10 laps or less are remaining in the race.
Masi has authority over when and when not to deploy the SC but he has to always follow the written rules. They have precedence over verbal or written agreements. There is even an article in the FIA sporting code that states nobody has the right to add new rules or alter them.
You are right there was an agreement to always TRY to end under green flag, IF the conditions allow it. Masi could have achieved both. He should have let the lapped cars where they were, remove the SC, restart the race for 1 lap. That would have been 100% legit and achieved a green flag. But then Max would not have been able to win as you can never overtake 5 backmarkers, even under a blue flag, and take the leader. And that is precisely why Masi let only those 5 cars passed. In other words, Carlos Sainz who was on 3rd spot was taken away an equal opportunity to make Max’ life more difficult. With Sainz up his tail Max should have been more cautious as any mistake could lead to losing his position to an attacking Sainz. Masi, by fixing it, ensured Max could fully focus on Lewis. That must be the biggest rigging and fixing since the history of the sport. And the fact the FIA still haven’t corrected this is a statement for the HUGE corruption this organisation clearly is.
I am a bit fed up with the ‘he deserved that title’. He did not. Laps lead, poles and all are not at all representative here. Everyone who followed the details of F1 know the reasons for that:
– FIA invented new aero rules this season which crippled the low rake design Mercedes and Aston use to benefit high rake concepts such as Red Bull’s.
– Red Bull has been driving an illegal car until Azerbadjan where their rear wing illegally flexed. That was not a loophole. IT was a FIA Test that was broken but rules explicitly forbid flex wings for more than 45 years already. Red Bull and Max gained an illegal advantage of up to .6 seconds a lap. Without that they would not have had a few poles nor wins. FIA just didn’t have the balls to DSQ them as they should have.
– Max has been driving unfair: his one most talked about controversial move is always to brake way to late, dive in the corner understeering and going straight instead of making the corner. As such he leaves the rival who is steering in with 2 options: move over or I crash into you. This is explicitly forbidden by the rules but the FIA never ever penalised him for it. The entertainment for Liberty Media was more important than fairplay.
– Next, while Red Bull was always allowed to fix broken wings in park fermé, sometimes after qualifying, Mercedes got DSQd in Brazil over 0.2mm, on just 1 side because of 2 failed screws. They did not gain any advantage with that. Yet they DSQ Lewis. Another scandalous difference in behavior which benefited Red Bull.
– Silverstone: I have been analysing the footage 100 times from all angles. I have been racing 10 years: 6 in karts, 4 with AMG and GTR type cars. At the 50m sign Lewis is fully alongside. From that point max no longer has right to the corner alone and he has to allow his rival to make it too. Since Max had earlier pushed Lewis in the wall to make his life difficult – a dirty yet legal move as he left a car’s width – he should know when Lewis still managed to stay next to him at the 50m sign he’d always had a slightly wider line. Still Lewis was perfectly aimed for the apex and wasn’t missing it really. Had Lewis been on the ideal line, sure he’d be closer to the apex but still he wasn’t unacceptably wide from it. Still Max cut Lewis off as if nobody was there. I cannot even grasp why in this situation the stewards find Lewis predominantly to blame. I think they did it because of HOrner’s instant crying on the radio.
– Monza: as several ex F1 drivers said it: Max most likely took Lewis out with intent. He knew that was a hopeless move. He was on the outside, way off the race line, ignored 2 run-off areas, at 1 point was 100% off the track and instead of abandoning his move, he decides to force himself on the track and rams Lewis. It ends both race and Max keeps his lead on a Mercedes track, as such stealing an opportunity for Lewis to fight back.
I won’t even mention what he pulled after all that, in Jeddah for example.
So if we throw in all the luck and policing leniency Max and Red Bull had in the balance, in the end, they still lost. They still lost. They did. Masi – as everyone who witnessed it – invented new unwritten rules. Those rules altered the natural outcome of the last race. Mercedes did not make a mistake. Their call to keep Lewis out was the only right one. No safety car? Lewis wins. Safety car and ALL backmarkers unlap? Lewis wins as the raced ends behind the SC. They all agreed they’d opt for a green flag if possible. In that scenario there was no time to allow ALL cars passed the SQ because then the SC is only to leave the end of next lap = end of race. THa only legal option was then to leave backmarkers where they are. Lewis wins. It is not possible to pass 5 backmarkers and the leader in just 1 lap.
So no. Max did not deserve the title. Just not.