2021 Formula One Season: Championship Decider Abu Dhabi - Verstappen Wins in a Controversial Race! 🏆 🍾

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I am a novice F1 supporter only but surely the rules need to change. Hamilton was disadvantaged in every single way and Max was the beneficiary of every single action;
  1. Hamilton lost his entire lead he had created through the race. This is just dumb.
  2. Hamilton could not pit as he would lose race position and hand the title over.
  3. Max could pit simply because Hamilton couldn't.
  4. Back markers were the only possible defence Hamilton had left and they were removed - but worse they were removed against protocol for the pure benefit of Max.
Every single decision went Max's may.

One thing I don't get - did Hamilton make an error when Max got through? He did not seem to defend that corner very well?
 
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I am a novice F1 supporter only but surely the rules need to change. Hamilton was disadvantaged in every single way and Max was the beneficiary of every single action;
  1. Hamilton lost his entire lead he had created through the race. This is just dumb.
  2. Hamilton could not pit as he would lose race position and hand the title over.
  3. Max could pit simply because Hamilton couldn't.
  4. Back markers were the only possible defence Hamilton had left and they were removed - but worse they were removed against protocol for the pure benefit of Max.
Every single decision went Max's may.

One thing I don't get - did Hamilton make an error when Max got through? He did not seem to defend that corner very well?

Hamilton was a lap down at a race earlier in the year. He was allowed to unlap himself due to a safety car.

If that didn't happen, Max would already have won championship before this last race.

And that's just one of several incidents this season where Hamilton was given plenty of advantage.
 

Simon_Nesbit

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I mentioned your alternate scenario earlier. But I agree, I don't think it's viable.

The reason for the "full" safety car is that it bunches the field and so let's marshals have a period where they can safely move around on-track knowing that the field is all in another part of the track. The VSC doesn't do that, it only slows them down, but they're all still lapping spaced-out around the track.

The problem with the red flag scenario is the amount of time it takes to get the race going again.

I think there's a fair amount of "knee jerk" going on with people wanting to change the safety car rules just because of what happened in this race. But the collection of circumstances is so rare as to make it near impossible that anything like this will happen again ...

Maybe I wasn't clear - the Safety Car is only used as a pre-cursor to the Red Flag (which is called more often).

1. Caution - no overtaking (single yellow). Car temporarily off track, minor debris. (Single Marshall station). VSC Delta employed automatically when flag called.
2. Prepare to Stop - (Double Yellow). Remote enforcement of speed limit (Pit Limiter) during this sector. (Dual Marshall stations including before the incident location as well)
3. Marshall/Rescue Vehicle on Track - (Red Flag - Safety Car). Safety Car immediately deployed, ALL cars must stay behind safety car and return to Pit Lane in track order. Start/Finsih line time from previous lap is counted. No work can be completed to cars in pit lane.

ie if Hamilton is 8 seconds in front of Verstappen, but about to lap Bottas (sorry Valterri!), who was 3 seconds ahead of Hamilton on track. In the pits they are lined up Bottas - Hamilton - Verstappen. If Mazepin was between Hamilton and Verstappen then that's where he lines up.

When race restarts, Bottas gets Green light flash and takes off (light red again), field rolls up one spot. 3 seconds later Green flash for Hamilton, then 8 seconds for Verstappen, etc. As time was taken on a racing lap, it's unlikely Bottas gets around before the last car leaves the pits.

It's about being fair - putting all positions and gaps into stasis, and removes the unfair advantage the Safety Car or Red Flag restart causes.
 
Oct 7, 2001
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Think this is my last word on season 2021.
I fully admit to barracking for a Max victory in the last race.
Not because I’m a Max fan, I think he is a loose cannon but great entertainment. No, I wanted a Max victory to break the stranglehold that Mercedes have had on the championship for close on a decade.
Is Lewis the GOAT?
I do believe he is the best driver of this generation. His ability to turn a near impossible situation, in qualifying and a race, is pretty much unsurpassed. But how much of that is Lewis and how much the car and the team behind him?
As a consumer of the entertainment that is F1, and it has to be entertain die, I really don’t give a stuff about how the end came about.
I look at the season as a whole. The Wins and podiums that Max has had makes him a deserving Champion. The race where the tyre failed after a dominating race could have been the defining result, making the Abu Dhabi result null an void. Even a top 5 finish in the race that Lewis punted him off could have made the difference.
Kudos to RB and Max. They took on the unbeatable and beat them.
Lets celebrate, look to 2022, and know that F1 is in the best position that it has been in a long, long time.
 
ie if Hamilton is 8 seconds in front of Verstappen, but about to lap Bottas (sorry Valterri!), who was 3 seconds ahead of Hamilton on track. In the pits they are lined up Bottas - Hamilton - Verstappen. If Mazepin was between Hamilton and Verstappen then that's where he lines up.

When race restarts, Bottas gets Green light flash and takes off (light red again), field rolls up one spot. 3 seconds later Green flash for Hamilton, then 8 seconds for Verstappen, etc. As time was taken on a racing lap, it's unlikely Bottas gets around before the last car leaves the pits.

It's about being fair - putting all positions and gaps into stasis, and removes the unfair advantage the Safety Car or Red Flag restart causes.
It's an admirable aim, but again, unworkable.

Unless you're within 20 laps of the start of the race, the chances are that the leaders are already approaching the back-markers. If that's the case, then the first car out of the pits in your proposal will already be approaching the pit exit by the time the last few cars are released. So you'll have one car with fully warm tyres approaching a few cars who've just come out of the pits on cold tyres.

It would be a nightmare of moving chicanes. And if cars (either leaders or back-markers) are battling each other for position, it would only be worse, more dangerous.

Having all the cars restart at the same time, under the same conditions is the only way it can work in F1.
 

Achy Blakey Heart

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Hamilton (and Wolf) are the biggest sore losers in sporting history. There is no two ways about it. Epic offended. Acting like a couple of spoilt little shits. His behaviour since he left the podium at Abu Dhabi effectively renders his contrived efforts to look gracious as nothing but a sham. It’s a terrible look for his brand. Appalling behaviour that I’ve actually shown my kids to teach them how not to behave when you are beaten in life. What a cockkhead.
 

darth_timon

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Hamilton (and Wolf) are the biggest sore losers in sporting history. There is no two ways about it. Epic offended. Acting like a couple of spoilt little shits. His behaviour since he left the podium at Abu Dhabi effectively renders his contrived efforts to look gracious as nothing but a sham. It’s a terrible look for his brand. Appalling behaviour that I’ve actually shown my kids to teach them how not to behave when you are beaten in life. What a cockkhead.

What's Hamilton done exactly? He's been pretty quiet across pretty much every avenue.
 

Achy Blakey Heart

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What's Hamilton done exactly? He's been pretty quiet across pretty much every avenue.

Boycotts the gala like a complete sook. Rumors circulating about retirement. Get over yourself Lewis, you have been on the right end of lots of decisions, dont see you going crook then. He can't cop losing. He sooked when Rosberg won. Suck it up.
 
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Yep that's what happens when you're consistently on top -end up being sooky entitled shiits Schumacher did it Djokovic dit it Aussie cricket team etc etc
Chris Scotts

But anyway haven’t been back here since early that night.

One of the greatest sporting nights of my life and probably one of the most epic Races in my 53 years of viewing motor sports
 

darth_timon

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Boycotts the gala like a complete sook. Rumors circulating about retirement. Get over yourself Lewis, you have been on the right end of lots of decisions, dont see you going crook then. He can't cop losing. He sooked when Rosberg won. Suck it up.

It's rumoured he's the reason Mercedes dropped their protests, he was among the first to congratulate Max, and if he's grumpy after losing then he joins a long list of people who don't like losing. F1 has a long history of temperamental characters.
 

Achy Blakey Heart

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It's rumoured he's the reason Mercedes dropped their protests, he was among the first to congratulate Max, and if he's grumpy after losing then he joins a long list of people who don't like losing. F1 has a long history of temperamental characters.

Not going to the Gala for the first time when you lose is absolutely appalling behaviour and unbelievably disrespectful to the champion. Poor form.
 

darth_timon

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Not going to the Gala for the first time when you lose is absolutely appalling behaviour and unbelievably disrespectful to the champion. Poor form.

Would you rather he got into a shoving match with other drivers, or punch-ups? He's angry and he's allowed to be. Nor does not attending the gala erase congratulating Max or having his team call off legal proceedings.
 

Achy Blakey Heart

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Would you rather he got into a shoving match with other drivers, or punch-ups? He's angry and he's allowed to be. Nor does not attending the gala erase congratulating Max or having his team call off legal proceedings.

Why would he shove other drivers? If that is his level of emotional disregulation he needs professional help.
 

jabba5114

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I doubt very much lewis is retiring. He will want to drive the new cars. I don't think he would leave it this late either and put Mercedes in a bad spot.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 

Achy Blakey Heart

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I doubt very much lewis is retiring. He will want to drive the new cars. I don't think he would leave it this late either and put Mercedes in a bad spot.

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He is just enjoying taking the attention away from Max and his brilliant championship and putting it all on him. He is an attention whore. His ridiculous fashion statements tell you that.
 
apparently piastri was interviewed at the test. a mate said he came across as a big head. anyone see it?

I saw an interview with him and he came across perfectly normal.
 

darth_timon

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Why would he shove other drivers? If that is his level of emotional disregulation he needs professional help.

So... would you say Max needs professional help then, seeing as he shoved Ocon at either the 2019 or 2020 Brazilian Grand Prix? How about Nelson Piquet, who started throwing punches after a collision with a back marker in I believe 82? Senna and Mansell got into a fight once, is that more or less serious than attending a gala?
 

matty p

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I am a novice F1 supporter only but surely the rules need to change. Hamilton was disadvantaged in every single way and Max was the beneficiary of every single action;
  1. Hamilton lost his entire lead he had created through the race. This is just dumb.
  2. Hamilton could not pit as he would lose race position and hand the title over.
  3. Max could pit simply because Hamilton couldn't.
  4. Back markers were the only possible defence Hamilton had left and they were removed - but worse they were removed against protocol for the pure benefit of Max.
Every single decision went Max's may.

One thing I don't get - did Hamilton make an error when Max got through? He did not seem to defend that corner very well?

Safety cars affect the outcome of plenty of motorsports. It’s a part of the sport that all fans accept (until it goes against their favourite driver). If you don’t like it, definitely don’t watch NASCAR!
 
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