F1 2021 and we have a Schumacher on the grid again

[en0la]

In the absence of a F1 forum I'd like to chat about all things F1 Grand Prix.

How will the season go? How will the newest Schumacher fare ?

I can't wait for the first race.

The Daily Mail describe GH as 'gushing' and they're not wrong.

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10301689/Geri-Horner-looks-chic-white-gushing-husband-Christian-Abu-Dhabi-Grand-Prix.html

Lewis could have been on fresh tyres too though and his team opted not to ...

If Mercedes had brought Lewis in for fresh tyres, Max would have stayed out and been ahead. If the safety car had stayed out, Max would then have won. Even if it came in, Max would have had track position and, with lapped cars between them (assuming Masi stuck to the rules), Lewis would have been unlikely to win. They did the right thing but were messed up by Masi deciding to ignore the rules.

I did think, though, that Merc should have left Lewis out longer on his Medium tyres. His hards would have been a bit younger.

Lewis could have been on fresh tyres too though and his team opted not to ...

Mercedes seem to have made the decision not to based on the presumption that the regulations would be followed.

Whatever happens now is deeply unsatisfactory and bad for the sport.

Either the result stands, which I think would be widely considered unfair with the championship decided by a reckless FIA decision.

Or the result is in some way altered in a boardroom hours after the event (or even months, if it escalates) which not only takes the joy and intensity out of watching live sport, but also isn’t fair on Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who were not to blame for that shitshow. And nor is it how Lewis would want to win, it’s hardly comparable to the exhilaration of crossing the finish line in first.

No, they are definitely not wrong @Sparklingbrook !

I totally agree @Mindareno. And i can't see there being a huge investigatiion resulting in the trophy being mailed to Hamilton any time soon.

Roll on 2022, I think it's good that that was the last race this season, feels like it ended on such a low.

@ohfourfoxache

It was lovely to see Kimi’s kids on the track with him before it started. Looks like having a family suits him!

Loveliest picture of the evening so far!

@Swirlywoo

No, they are definitely not wrong *@Sparklingbrook* !

'Great strategy' she gushed. I bet she couldn't explain what the strategy was if she was asked.

Even if it came in, Max would have had track position and, with lapped cars between them (assuming Masi stuck to the rules), Lewis would have been unlikely to win.

Leaving the lapped cars between whoever was in first and second position, regardless of the order, would not have been sticking to the rules. It would have been seen as Race Control gifting the win to whoever was in first position at the restart. That would've been 'ignoring the rules' - that they have applied for years - as Christian rightly said during the madness we saw int the 56-57th laps.

The track was already clear when they instructed lapped cars not to overtake. It was safe enough, and still early enough, to allow them to unlap themselves. Which is something that has happened every single time there's been a safety car since the rule was first introduced. The first mistake was to say 'lapped cars not allowed to overtake SC'.

I think regardless of what they decide tonight (or in 2 months' time in court), this needs to be a call to the FIA about how inconsistent it all has been in recent years.

That farce of a 'race' in Spa.
Masi not red-flagging Baku immediately after the two tire blowouts.
All of that bargaining and haggling in Jeddah about the restart positions between Max, Lewis and Esteban. It sounded like your local village market on a Saturday morning, how they were negotiating. An absolute joke.

People are asking for consistency but as it's been said before, cash is king here. I guess the more drama they produce, the more money they make. So screw the rules is their new motto...

The regulations say that Race Control can direct lapped cars to unlap themselves, not that they have to direct that. It's true that it's usually done that way, but with only a few laps before the end of the GP it's not inconceivable that it's safer to leave them lapped.

I agree that the first mistake was not directing them to unlap themselves as soon as it was clear; the Race Control errors cascaded from there.

Apparently Mercedes have brought a Barrister into their ongoing stewards meeting.

This could run and run. It's already nearly 10pm in Abu Dhabi....

I bet she couldn't explain what the strategy was if she was asked.

I'd love to watch her try!

And agree, it's a complete travesty but not the drivers' fault, and a lose-lose situation now. Roll on next year.

The lapped cars couldn’t unlap themselves immediately as it wasn’t safe - there were Marshalls clearing the debris. When cars unlap themselves, they go really fast to join the back of the pack. It wasn’t possible to do it at an earlier moment.

The two correct decisions would have been to either leave all the cars lapped - in which case Max would’ve had to overtake five of them and then chase Lewis down - Lewis would likely have won. OR, let ALL the cars unlap themselves, which would’ve resulted in the race ending under the safety car (as the cars behind Max were too far back) and Lewis would’ve won.

As it is, the FIA must definitely have made a mistake, as they’ve taken one rule, and applied it differently to the lapped cars in the race in exactly the same circumstances - that’s patently unfair.

but with only a few laps before the end of the GP it's not inconceivable that it's safer to leave them lapped

It wouldn't have been safer, as we've seen standing starts happening after every single red flag this season, and those are much more dangerous than a handful of cars unlapping themselves.

F1, Liberty Media (who own F1) and the FIA's motto this year has been 'let them race' and to put on a show. That's why we had standing starts all the time, loose application of the rules in many cases...

It would've been, yet again, wildly inconsistent to claim it was unsafe to let them overtake. Just like everything they've done this year... inconsistent.

Mercedes have lodged an appeal with the FIA, to which they should respond within 4 hours. They are also going to the CAS if nothing comes of it.

I see this running well into 2022. 1997 vibes anyone...?

@Roominmyhouse

I just don’t understand how you can be 12 seconds ahead and then someone else crashes, the safety car comes out and you completely lose any advantage when you aren’t involved in the crash. It’s madness.

Isn't this always what happens under a safety car?

Some parts of F1 will ALWAYS come down to luck. Like last weekend when redbull amongst many others got to pit during the red flag after choosing to stay out under SC just before.

Whether you agree with the decision or not during this race, I think there have been plenty of occasions throughout where Mercedes have benefitted from either luck or what I would call dodgey decisions by the stewards and I do believe overall Max deserved the championship. I think it would be wrong to take that back now. It wasn't his fault afterall, he did what ANY driver, Lewis included, would have done in that situation and won the race.

Well done verstappen, he deserved to win. Not sure what Masi was doing, need Charlie whiting back. Can't say I agree with stewards entirely, all season their decisions have been inconsistent.
But Toto wanted a race, he got one. Max had racing luck on his side and his overtaking skill and pit stop tactics meant he deserved this win.

As I understand it, there is precedent for a safety car coming in on the same lap as lapped cars unlap themselves, and not on the following lap as the rules currently dictate. You just can’t make it up

And yet more ad hoc decisions today and a completely random application of another rule we might not have been aware of. The FIA is the gift that keeps on giving

need Charlie whiting back

He died in 2019, so that's pretty unlikely.

Not sure what Masi was doing, need Charlie whiting back.
I think even Zombie Whiting could do a better job than Masi did today.

If Lewis had changed his tyres he would have come up behind , so using a excuse he could have changed his Tyres like Max isn't fair

I miss Charlie Whiting...

I'm happy Max won, but it's left a weird taste in my mouth seeing how it all unfolded from race control. Up until the unlap/not unlap chaos it was a fantastic race and they were both giving their all trying to win it. It was exactly the type of championship decider we wanted to see.

Max would've been champion one or two races ago if it wasn't for Bottas' shenanigans in Hungary, or his tyre blowout in Baku. At the end of the day, luck plays a big part in the sport and he didn't put a foot wrong all year, performance-wise, until that botched Q3 in Jeddah. Had he not won today, the championship would have been decided by his share of bad luck in non-racing situations.

Christian Horner has said he expects a decision by the FIA tonight. Then whoever has loses the protests, will take it to court and appeal there again.

Not sure which races you've been watching - Max is always petulant!! Storming off the podium in Jeddah...

Lewis was a true sportsman in the face of crushing defeat (and a dodgy call at the end by Masi) and was still gentlemanly enough to congratulate Max and celebrated with them on the podium - guaranteed it wouldn't have been the same if Lewis had won