Formula 1 Round 22 Abu Dhabi GP

Yeah I agree that it doesn't sit right and the chosen approach seems odd. I think masi was in a tough position and didn't know what to do, hence all the confusion around un lapping or not. I don't think he was purposefully trying to manipulate the race for a show.

With hindsight, the fairest solution was a red flag. The crash didn't merit a red flag and in that context alone the call was correct. When we then learn about the implications for the championship then that changes. Hard to blame him for that, although all subsequent decisions are on his shoulders

Wouldn't agree that it has been manipulated. I do agree that his job is to get the race underway. Standard procedure is always fair and your point stands in that context. Normal safety car procedure in the middle of the race would have been fair without question, safety car to the end would have been fair without question.

He did take a different approach than usual so it appears that it is his job to use his judgement to achieve that. And judgment has to be fair, otherwise you are in the realm of being open to clearly biased decision making. In this case it is not clear that the judgment was fair. I'm a max fan and trying to be as objective as possible

I have a feeling he's going to quit.

Hope Im wrong.

It's not about "being fair" to anyone.

Each party had the same options to pit or not. It should be about getting racing as soon as possible. Which it was.

If he had won on Sunday then I’m certain he’d have done a Rosberg and retired that night! Now he’ll have the weigh up what next years car is going to be like. If he thinks he has a chance at #8 then he stays!

He wont???

He finished 15th with 16 points.

I know hes going to the team with the best car, and will improve on 4 points finishes, but hes not going to challenge Hamilton!

How do you know that?

How do you know who the best driver in F1 is?

There was one car miles ahead of everybody, now there's two close together at the top and a mile back to everybody else. The best driver could be Mick Schumacher or Giovonazzi or Norris. There's no way to know unless you put them in cars that can compete with each other.

Bottas isnt a very good barometer is he tho? Going on the season he had, never really shown the pace the car had.

Russell , i think, will be similar to Bottas next year..

To be fair to Bottas, I don't rate him at all, but his performance this season has been heavily influenced by the way Mercedes used him - giving him compromised aero to ensure he gave Lewis maximum tow at some circuits, completely compromising his strategy to interfere with Max at others, and using him as a test mule with multiple engine changes ahead of giving Lewis that souped up engine at Brazil - that was the point where he really dropped back from his teammate, due to the engine deficit.

Despite all that he only scored one fewer pole position than Lewis and there there were a bunch of races when he wasn't compromised where he showed he could perform better than his teammate in the right conditions, such as at Monaco, Austria or Turkey.

That said, you'd still expect Russell to do significantly better. Wolff stated that Bottas was specifically hired not to be a repeat of Rosberg and his willingness to completely sacrifice his own performances to help his teammate time and time again is why they kept him for so long. It's hard to imagine Russell being treated in the same way.

This made me laugh

In fairness it was a ridiculous ending to a GP. It should have ended under safety car. The Latifi incident should not have decided the winner of the GP. Not letting all lapped cars through made it very easy for Max on fresh tyres to pick off lewis but also he didn't have to worry about a challenge from Sainz albeit on worn hard tyres behind as he was 2 cars back but it wS one less thing to worry about. Farce. I can see why Hamilto is aggrieved.

The above comment sums it up which is why there is so much controversy

So what about the Russell/Bottas crash at imola. That gave Hamilton a 2nd place he wouldn't have got near otherwise. LH was able to unlap himself and LeC missed out on a podium. Was LeC robbed that day too.? Or is that just another example of the unpredictable nature of motorsport when there is red flag or SC.

If Latifi didnt bin it on Sunday and LH won, would Imola or Silverstone be deemed to have robbed Max of the title? Remember Merc admitted they gambled on leaving LH out that day with a damaged car because they reckoned there would be a red flag.

Sainz was never in a million years going to get near LH or Max so that argument is nonsense to be honest.

And again, it was agreed beforehand by all accounts that every effort would be made to finish under green flag. That's what happened. What tyres LH/Max are on is of no concern to the race director and should not dictate his decision making.

What sort of nonsense is this?

And why are you only looking at means to be fair to everyone if this circumstances ever arise again, however unlikely that is?

Why not be fair to LeC at Imola and promote him to the podium? Max pitted under VSC, the same VSC when Hamiltons team principal was on the blower to the race director pretty much ordering him not to throw a SC.

Remember Hamilton at silverstone and then compare that to his comments about Vettel from 2018 when he contact with Bottas and finished ahead of him. What about Morals then? How about we call the silverstone 2021 race off and come back when Max is able to and his car is repaired? To be fair morally like? Where does this morally right stuff end?

This whole morally responsible stuff is utter bullsh1t. Safety cars etc are part of the sport. Masi cleared the track and got the race finished under green flag conditions.

I haven't checked the rules but my understanding is that a red flag at that stage would mean the race would not be restarted. Anyway, it was never a red flag situation