Formula 1.... the final race!!!

[ReginaaPhalange]

Anyone here watching and want to chat?

Mazepin out with covid! :(

Daniel Ricciardo joking on Instagram saying he's going to win today! (He's my fave hehe..... Perez or Ricciardo for P1!! 😜)

I really hope it's a fair race, no dirty tactics and the best driver wins!! Let's gooo!!!

But for the rules to be only partially changed to absolutely benefit 1 driver removes the integrity of the sport

The rules have been changed to benefit a single driver throughout the whole all season, unfortunately. It’s not something new. At the beginning of the race they changed the same rule that gave Max a penalty only one week ago.

The issue this season has been the FIA. The inconsistency has been unbelievable.

If positions were reversed yesterday, and Masi didn’t restart as he did, the backlash would have been even bigger. Not on a UK forum, but in the whole F1 community and international fanbase.

Everybody agreed yesterday was a disgrace, how the FIA handled things. They were simply making decisions on the spot, but it’s not new. They’ve been doing it all season. People have been demanding Masi go for months now.

@BHX3000

People seem to forget it’s not one race that wins you the championship, it’s a whole season. It so happened that they arrived level on points to the last race, which has only happened twice in 50 years. So for the majority of fans it simplified the whole thing.

How the FIA handled it yesterday was a joke. How they went back and forth with their decisions was a joke. But the championship started back in March and had we seen yesterday’s exact race 6 months ago, there wouldn’t have been as much drama made of it. Masi wouldn’t have doubted about doing a normal SC restart - all lapped cars let through first, and off we go. Like it happens every single time there is a SC. Regardless of who’s on fresher tyres or not.

If you’ve been watching every quali and race since the beginning of the season, you’ve seen that Max has driven almost faultlessly. In a car that, in the second half of the season, was inferior to the Mercedes. There were 3 incidents between him and Lewis, two of which were Max’s fault and one was Lewis’. They got penalised for it.

Red Bull’s strategies have been spot on all year. Merc’s haven’t. Lewis has made mistakes in qualis and races that have cost him a lot of points. Merc’s strategy yesterday was perfect, but in other occasions it wasn’t.

Max hasn’t made any mistakes to cost him points, in the contrary, more than once he lost points through no fault of his own (Hungary, Baku, Silverstone).

The FIA is to blame for yesterday, race control did a very poor job. The championship deserved to go to either driver because they’ve done an amazing job all season.

Lewis is an absolute legend and it will be interesting to see what he has to say when he finally appears on media. Yesterday he didn’t attend any of the press conferences he’s required to after being on the podium. He didn’t even park his car where he had to.

Exactly this.

To win you have to be ruthless and dedicated, there is no room for emotion Max’s meal ticket was planned by his father to the tune of £28m a year at 24 yrs that seems to be a pretty good achievement. If It was really bad he would have rebelled against the discipline, Hamilton had exactly the same dedication to his goal, as do all great sports people, dedication and sacrifice is the name of the game, no more so than F1.
Equestrian is probably harder because not only do you have to train yourself but maintain and train the horses 24/7 which is far more of a commitment. As those of you in business know if you are going to succeed sacrifices have to be made, at least the success rate is better than trying to make a living from sport.

No way did Max deserve the Championship. The final lap of the race was a total farce and Max was handed the win by Masi.

Of course Toto was furious. So was I and any real F1 fan I would imagine. Can you even imagine Horner's reaction if Lewis had "won" in that manner?

Lewis showed what a true gentleman and sportsman he is by congratulating Max. I doubt Max would have done the same if the roles were reversed. Sulky boy stormed of the podium the week before.

I really don't think Masi has done F1 any favours, just made himself and the sport a laughing stock

Of course Toto was furious. So was I and any real F1 fan I would imagine.

So were you also furious when Masi initially said lapped cars to remain where they were? I was furious then too. Because that has literally never happened before, and no one understands why Masi even thought of it as an option.

Track is clear, lapped cars should overtake (all of them, not half like they did yesterday), race should be restarted.

When has that not happened before? Excluding wet, rainy dangerous situations?

I’m a massive Lewis fan. Yesterday he showed he was a true sportsman and gentleman, yes. Even though he ‘stormed off’ the media obligations he’s required to attend.

Yesterday he was impeccable. A few years ago, aka last time he had a challenger/s in the championship, not so much. People evolve, people change, Hamilton did his share of dodgy moves and comments back in the day.

If in 15 years’ time Max is still storming off podiums you’ll have a point. But they’ve all showed some questionable behaviour in the past, including Lewis.

@BHX3000

Of course Toto was furious. So was I and any real F1 fan I would imagine.

So were you also furious when Masi initially said lapped cars to remain where they were? I was furious then too. Because that has literally never happened before, and no one understands why Masi even thought of it as an option.

Track is clear, lapped cars should overtake (all of them, not half like they did yesterday), race should be restarted.

When has that not happened before? Excluding wet, rainy dangerous situations?

ALL the lapped cars should have been allowed to pass or none, not just the ones between Verstappen and Lewis. You shouldn't just change the rules like that.

Convenient and strange that Masi changed the rules when Whinging Horner had pleaded for "just one lap" too.

Max is not a true champion

@BHX3000

I’m a massive Lewis fan. Yesterday he showed he was a true sportsman and gentleman, yes. Even though he ‘stormed off’ the media obligations he’s required to attend.

Yesterday he was impeccable. A few years ago, aka last time he had a challenger/s in the championship, not so much. People evolve, people change, Hamilton did his share of dodgy moves and comments back in the day.

If in 15 years’ time Max is still storming off podiums you’ll have a point. But they’ve all showed some questionable behaviour in the past, including Lewis.

Verstappen will never change. He is an ignorant, arrogant thug like his dad.

I'm not a Max or Lewis fan but an avid (Papaya) race watcher.

I was shocked about yesterday's farce, the inconsistent FIA decisions at the end left a bitter taste. It seemed like it was decided for maximum TV impact, putting on a show of an exciting grand finale. Very odd.

Overall I think Max and Red Bull had a better season as some of the Merc strategies have let them down. I feel for Lewis but he was gracious. I knew Max would be a world champion at some point but didn't think he was quite ready this year. I'm all for elbows out racing and overall he does seem to have matured with some less risky moves but I wouldn't call him a clean racer.

As a race fan I just feel quite meh over the way it finished.

ALL the lapped cars should have been allowed to pass or none, not just the ones between Verstappen and Lewis. You shouldn't just change the rules like that.

Yes, he should have allowed all cars through. He shouldn’t even have contemplated them keeping position, the track was clear and there was no reason why that message was displayed as early as it was. Not once before have they not unlapped cars before a SC restart. The first mistake by the FIA was saying they should remain where they were.

Convenient and strange that Masi changed the rules when Whinging Horner had pleaded for "just one lap" too.

Toto asked him not to deploy the Safety Car. With a crashed car in the middle of the road!? Toto and Christian have been whinging and playing stupid mindgames all season. It adds drama. That’s all it does. Toto complained about the RB wing in spring. Christian complained about the Merc wing later on. Toto said Max had broken Lewis’ rear wing by touching it… a wing that’s designed to resist tonnes of pressure upon impact, putting your finger on it won’t break it and it doesn’t take an engineering degree to know that. Even the FIA laughed at that protest.

Max is not a true champion

He’s won this championship through the season. If people are happy to just wipe out the previous 21 races then I’m sorry, but that’s not how F1 works. You start your work in March and every single point counts. The 25 points Max got yesterday are a tiny percentage compared to the 369.5 he already had.

Is anyone claiming Lewis’ 2008 championship is not a true one, because it was gained in the last corner of the last lap of the last race? No, he deserved that championship. The same way Max deserved it today.

What none of us deserved was seeing the FIA incapable of taking decisions properly, just like we’ve seen all season. I do hope they’re taken to court and something is changed, because it’s a disgrace how the races are run recently.

I was just reading an article on how the last few laps being handled like they were, denied many of the midfield runners the chance to even take the restart properly and try to overtake a few cars in the process. It was an unfair decision, on both the fans and drivers.

They should have unlapped all the cars when the track was clear, or they should have finished under the SC. Either decision would have been much more reasonable than that shitshow they put on yesterday.

I do hope Mercedes take the FIA to court and they declare this race void. Although that would be inconsistent yet again, because there were so many moments this season, when questionable decisions were made that affected the outcome. And you can’t just go race by race and declare half the results void, can you.

I too hope Mercedes take the FIA to Court and the race is declared void. Of course Verstappen will still be champion because he has won more races but it would be the right thing to do.

In sport you see lots of disputed victories, mine more than Soccer, very often the referee missed a foul or interpreted the rules differently but the result stands.

On balance that is probably what will happen, Masi is the referee and he got it wrong, he should go.

They should have unlapped all the cars when the track was clear, or they should have finished under the SC. Either decision would have been much more reasonable than that shitshow they put on yesterday.

^ that's what I think too.

As an aside, Max is an arrogant violent man. Not someone I would want my son to see as a role model "champion". Perhaps he will grow up and make less aggressive moves and threats in his 30s. I'm disappointed by the decision.

I’ve become resigned to concept of golden goal in football but have to say Sunday’s F1 just seemed capricious and unfair to all. However I haven’t watched formula1 for decades so may not understand some of the newer (to me) safety regulations and seeming power of MM and F1 generally. Seemed very subjective from the first ‘incident’ onwards.

I am a Lewis fan, but i agree that some decisions over the course of the season were dubious and gave an advantage to Lewis, and that goes for Max too. The rules need to be made of concrete so there is no deviating or changing last minute.

That way when a decision is made to benefit Max or Lewis at least we can say "its in the rules, so the decision is the correct one", not have to go "WTF, thats not what the rules say."

If i was Lewis i would let Max have his victory and come back next season stronger and more determined to win that elusive 8th title.

If i was Lewis i would let Max have his victory and come back next season stronger and more determined to win that elusive 8th title

So would I. It would fire the pit of my stomach, but I'm a stubborn bastard.

We certainly missed Charlie Whiting on Sunday and at other points during this season. I hope the FIA race control team is strengthened next year, not necessarily by sacking Michael Masi but at least getting him extra support.

Seems odd to me that team bosses are allowed to lobby him during the race. How does he have time to run the race when he’s answering their whinging while 20 cars are simultaneously navigating 16+ corners? No wonder he is struggling to make the right call.

I’m no big fan of Max Verstappen but don’t begrudge him his title. He’s driven his (wheel) nuts off all season and even if he pushed fair racing to the limit and over the limit at times, he’s been testing what the FIA would let him get away with, which turned out to be quite a lot! Better that the regulation and management of the sport is improved to make clear what is and isn’t allowed in all circumstances than to resent a young racer for getting away with what they allowed him to in Brazil, Saudi and other places.

So F1 has a new champion, a big controversy which has brought a lot of new eyeballs onto the sport and some very visible governance shortcomings to address. It’s all good, if you ask me! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I’m looking forward to next year.

I just hope the new 2022 car regulations don’t take us back to huge gaps between cars and one team dominating. Finally in 2021 after years of similar design regs the car performances had converged to the point where we had an epic season of close racing. And now we are throwing all that out the window and might have 1s gaps in lap times as some teams get their car concepts spot on and others miss the mark and take years to recover.

@MarvinGerard

We certainly missed Charlie Whiting on Sunday and at other points during this season. I hope the FIA race control team is strengthened next year, not necessarily by sacking Michael Masi but at least getting him extra support.

Seems odd to me that team bosses are allowed to lobby him during the race. How does he have time to run the race when he’s answering their whinging while 20 cars are simultaneously navigating 16+ corners? No wonder he is struggling to make the right call.

I’m no big fan of Max Verstappen but don’t begrudge him his title. He’s driven his (wheel) nuts off all season and even if he pushed fair racing to the limit and over the limit at times, he’s been testing what the FIA would let him get away with, which turned out to be quite a lot! Better that the regulation and management of the sport is improved to make clear what is and isn’t allowed in all circumstances than to resent a young racer for getting away with what they allowed him to in Brazil, Saudi and other places.

So F1 has a new champion, a big controversy which has brought a lot of new eyeballs onto the sport and some very visible governance shortcomings to address. It’s all good, if you ask me! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I’m looking forward to next year.

I just hope the new 2022 car regulations don’t take us back to huge gaps between cars and one team dominating. Finally in 2021 after years of similar design regs the car performances had converged to the point where we had an epic season of close racing. And now we are throwing all that out the window and might have 1s gaps in lap times as some teams get their car concepts spot on and others miss the mark and take years to recover.

My first ever post on mums net and I’ve killed the whole thread! Crumbs..

I think his very sad demise meant they had little time to find a suitable replacement. Some of the old drivers briefings are funny, it’s 20 grown men dobbing each other in to dad.

Dh said next year their stopping all this team radio business but I haven’t read it myself. They’ve got 20 drivers to get through a season alive and they don’t need grief off team principals.