2021 Formula 1 Season Thread

[The-Real-Deal82]

Ferrari might be the big surprise next year. Unlike Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari quit developing this years car and went all out on next years car.

So did Mercedes’ though in the first quarter of this season. I’d be surprised if they didn’t have a decent car next year.

I’d like to see Russell giving Hamilton a run for his money and Lando up there. As long as it’s a British world champion next year I am easy.

 

[CWallace]

And if Mercedes' protest is upheld and Lewis is given the WDC, do we put an asterisk next to that one because it was granted by the FIA Court of Appeals?

I mean who is to say the four cars in front of Max would not have all peeled off to the right side of the track on the straight to give Max a run against Lewis rather than end up blocking him and being pilloried on social media for affecting the outcome of the WDC?

Frankly, the Race Director made a bad call that at least influenced the outcome of the WDC, but having the FIA Court of Appeals directly decide the outcome would be an even worse call, IMO.

Masi needs to resign or be fired for his calls at Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The FIA needs to do a thorough review of how the stewards handle cases (seriously - we need to get rid of this "review after the race" nonsense and issue a decision within a few laps).

And if we need to go the NASCAR route of always throwing a Red Flag for a late-race caution so we can have a Green-White-Checkers finish to a race than that is what needs to happen so we don't have races - and now, championships - decided by late-lap incidents.

 

[UBS28]

And if Mercedes' protest is upheld and Lewis is given the WDC, do we put an asterisk next to that one because it was granted by the FIA Court of Appeals?

I mean who is to say the four cars in front of Max would not have all peeled off to the right side of the track on the straight to give Max a run against Lewis rather than end up blocking him and being pilloried on social media by all of Max's / RBR's fans?

Frankly, the Race Director made a bad call that at least influenced the outcome of the WDC, but having the FIA Court of Appeals directly decide the outcome would be an even worse call, IMO.

Messi needs to resign or be fired. The FIA needs to do a thorough review of how the stewards handle cases (seriously - we need to get rid of this "review after the race" nonsense and issue a ruining within a few laps). And if we need to go the NASCAR route of always throwing a Red Flag for a late-race caution so we can have a Green-White-Checkers finish to a race than that is what needs to happen.

No, because Lewis is the rightful champion according to the sporting regulations. He 100% deserves it as it was stolen from him by the FIA.

If the sporting regulations were followed, the race would have ended under the safety car (which is why the FIA started breaking the rules as they did not like that outcome)

The only person who gets an asterisk next to his name is Max if this situation is not fixed.

 

[CWallace]

No, because Lewis is the rightful champion according to the sporting regulations. He 100% deserves it as it was stolen from him by the FIA.

If the sporting regulations were followed, the race would have ended under the safety car (which is why the FIA started breaking the rules as they did not like that outcome).

The other option under the Sporting Regulations - the option that was originally going to be taken - was to not allow the lapped cars to overtake and the final lap run under Green with the four lapped cars between Lewis and Max as they started that final lap.

Those four cars would have been immediately shown Blue Flags to clear a path for Max. And if they all did, Max could have had a clear run on Lewis into the first corner. Max also had much better tires than those four cars so even if they had not immediately moved aside at the Start/Finish line, Max could conceivably gotten past them, though it is unlikely he could have caught Lewis in such a scenario.

So one cannot categorically state Lewis would have won as there was the possibility Max could have cleared the cars and caught him. A more likely possibility if the lapped traffic had moved aside immediately then if they had not, but still a possibility in either situation.

And if the cars had not moved aside per the Blue Flags, would that have opened an opportunity for RBR to protest that Max was impeded by them?

 

[Pezimak]

And if Mercedes' protest is upheld and Lewis is given the WDC, do we put an asterisk next to that one because it was granted by the FIA Court of Appeals?

I mean who is to say the four cars in front of Max would not have all peeled off to the right side of the track on the straight to give Max a run against Lewis rather than end up blocking him and being pilloried on social media for affecting the outcome of the WDC?

Frankly, the Race Director made a bad call that at least influenced the outcome of the WDC, but having the FIA Court of Appeals directly decide the outcome would be an even worse call, IMO.

Messi needs to resign or be fired for his calls at Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The FIA needs to do a thorough review of how the stewards handle cases (seriously - we need to get rid of this "review after the race" nonsense and issue a decision within a few laps).

And if we need to go the NASCAR route of always throwing a Red Flag for a late-race caution so we can have a Green-White-Checkers finish to a race than that is what needs to happen so we don't have races - and now, championships - decided by late-lap incidents.

I think you'll find Masi won't be going anywhere, the FIA will give him their full support.

 

[UBS28]

The other option under the Sporting Regulations - the option that was originally going to be taken - was to not allow the lapped cars to overtake and the final lap run under Green with the four lapped cars between Lewis and Max as they started that final lap.

Those four cars would have been immediately shown Blue Flags to clear a path for Max. And if they all did, Max could have had a clear run on Lewis into the first corner. So one cannot categorically state Lewis would have won as there was the possibility Max could have cleared the cars and caught him.

Masi should have simply red flag it if they did not want to finish the race under the safety car. It is quite simple really. But don't start making up rules on the spot.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

And if Mercedes' protest is upheld and Lewis is given the WDC, do we put an asterisk next to that one because it was granted by the FIA Court of Appeals?

I mean who is to say the four cars in front of Max would not have all peeled off to the right side of the track on the straight to give Max a run against Lewis rather than end up blocking him and being pilloried on social media for affecting the outcome of the WDC?

Frankly, the Race Director made a bad call that at least influenced the outcome of the WDC, but having the FIA Court of Appeals directly decide the outcome would be an even worse call, IMO.

Messi needs to resign or be fired for his calls at Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The FIA needs to do a thorough review of how the stewards handle cases (seriously - we need to get rid of this "review after the race" nonsense and issue a decision within a few laps).

And if we need to go the NASCAR route of always throwing a Red Flag for a late-race caution so we can have a Green-White-Checkers finish to a race than that is what needs to happen so we don't have races - and now, championships - decided by late-lap incidents.

Masi needs to go. Hamilton had done enough to win that race and the world championship. The decision making at the end removed the advantage Lewis had earned and gifted it to Verstappen and that just undid so much work. Might as well just have one lap races and flip a coin to see which driver gets old tyres and which one gets new. Even Rosberg’s title was earned by consistency and fortune with reliability. This whole year was exciting to watch and the FIA just fabricated the end. I would be miffed if I were Max too as he knows as well as anybody that the FIA orchestrated his win at the final fence.

 

[CWallace]

Masi should have simply red flag it if they did not want to finish the race under the safety car. It is quite simple really. But don't start making up rules on the spot.

Well that is obvious - I mean I said as much immediately after the race was over.

But hindsight is always 20-20 and when Masi didn't Red Flag right after the crash, the opportunity to do so pretty much evaporated.

Which is why I would prefer the FIA adopt NASCAR's rules and if there is a major incident with between five and three laps left, they automatically throw the Red Flag and then resume under the Safety Car with a rolling re-start and at least one full lap to the Checkered Flag. If it is less than three, then the field is frozen and the race ends with those results (none of that "previous lap" nonsense that caused that one incident where the race winner was retroactively changed because Race Control became confused on when the field should have been frozen).

 

[Apple fanboy]

The other option under the Sporting Regulations - the option that was originally going to be taken - was to not allow the lapped cars to overtake and the final lap run under Green with the four lapped cars between Lewis and Max as they started that final lap.

Those four cars would have been immediately shown Blue Flags to clear a path for Max. And if they all did, Max could have had a clear run on Lewis into the first corner. Max also had much better tires than those four cars so even if they had not immediately moved aside at the Start/Finish line, Max could conceivably gotten past them, though it is unlikely he could have caught Lewis in such a scenario.

So one cannot categorically state Lewis would have won as there was the possibility Max could have cleared the cars and caught him. A more likely possibility of the lapped traffic had moved aside immediately then if they had not, but still a possibility in either situation.

And if the cars had not moved aside per the Blue Flags, would that have opened an opportunity for RBR to protest that Max was impeded by them?

Which I think was the most likely outcome. But then it would have been less controversial and we could all just say well done Max and move on. But the way it went down, not good.

 

[NotTooLate]

Masi needs to go. Hamilton had done enough to win that race and the world championship. The decision making at the end removed the advantage Lewis had earned and gifted it to Verstappen and that just undid so much work. Might as well just have one lap races and flip a coin to see which driver gets old tyres and which one gets new. Even Rosberg’s title was earned by consistency and fortune with reliability. This whole year was exciting to watch and the FIA just fabricated the end. I would be miffed if I were Max too as he knows as well as anybody that the FIA orchestrated his win at the final fence.

Max is 100% dont "know he was given the championship" , he came in to this weekend believing that everyone are against him , until Button forced his hand he didnt even say a word about Merc or Lewis (Button was his 2nd or 3rd interview) , he believes he got lucky , he even said it himself with a straight face.

It is what it is in sports sometimes , but the only reasonable outcome from this debacle is Masi been fired ,nothing else will do here (I am assuming Max keeps his championship , dont see that been taken from him) , but I think the Liberty folks are over the moon with how it turned out , he might get a bonus.

 

[Glideslope]

How about a Sudden Death 25 Lap with Lewis and Max in Haas Chassis’ to determine the 2021 WDC? ?

 

[Pezimak]

They back in with the stewards...

 

[Apple fanboy]

They back in with the stewards...

Hope it’s a quick decision.

 

[Apple fanboy]

First result in. Rightly so the overtaking the lead car (for a second) was not upheld as it was clear Lewis was in front at the restart, so no advantage.

 

[Pezimak]

First protest of Max overtaking Lewis has been rejected by the stewards.

Edit: never mind.

 

[UBS28]

Who cares about the 1st protest. Mercedes threw in that one because they could, but I doubt anyone expected a penalty out of it.

The 2nd one is the big one. Masi choose for the option to let the cars unlap themselves and according to the sporting regulations, all cars must unlap themselves and go to the back of the pack. And then after the safety car pits, then on the upcoming lap the race starts.

So it means that the race would have finished under the safety car, just like Mercedes predicted (and why they did not pit Lewis).

I will be waiting to see how the FIA will get themselves out of this one, because this is a slam-dunk case of the FIA illegally gifting Max the WDC.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Trouble is there is no fix now. It’s not going to satisfy both parties whatever they do. I can’t see them overturning the decision.

 

[Pezimak]

Max is declared the winner, they have rejected Mercedes second protest.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Looks like the second appeal has also been rejected.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Max is declared the winner, they have rejected Mercedes second protest.

No winners here. We are all losers thanks to a terrible set of decisions at the end of the race.

 

[Glideslope]

No winners here. We are all losers thanks to a terrible set of decisions at the end of the race.

So during the off season everyone in here and others fan forums should set aside some time write down their thoughts on what needs to be fixed and send their email to the FIA, Formula 1, and Liberty Media.

Never underestimate the power of millions of fans fed up with this seasons pressure from Liberty trying to continue their efforts to have F1 be an Elite version of NASCAR.

I‘ll be composing my thoughts over the next week or so, then off they go.

 

[UBS28]

Max is declared the winner, they have rejected Mercedes second protest.

Michael Masi is the 2021 WDC.

Seriously, this was a clear cut case that what Masi did was against the rules. Might as well throw the rulebook out of the window now.

 

[AreVeeDEE]

Max a bit lucky today. But he deserves the WDC.

 

[Pezimak]

No winners here. We are all losers thanks to a terrible set of decisions at the end of the race.

Had some time to reflect and I think this is what they asked for. They wanted to race so decisions were made to let them race. They can't complain then if it doesn't go there way or leads to controversy when the decisions are taken to allow racing. This decision will do wonders for the Sport as the same person didn't win again.
Lewis should have been made to give the place back on lap 1, he wasn't as they wanted them to race as they asked and the safety car on the last lap was the same.
Let's hope they get some rules in stone for next year and not use regulations that allows one driver to be out in front by 40 seconds.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Had some time to reflect and I think this is what they asked for. They wanted to race so decisions were made to let them race. They can't complain then if it doesn't go there way or leads to controversy when the decisions are taken to allow racing. This decision will do wonders for the Sport as the same person didn't win again.
Lewis should have been made to give the place back on lap 1, he wasn't as they wanted them to race as they asked and the safety car on the last lap was the same.
Let's hope they get some rules in stone for next year and not use regulations that allows one driver to be out in front by 40 seconds.

I don’t think anyone asked for moving goalposts. It will remain a controversial end to an otherwise great season. Such a shame for it to end that way. I don’t think it will do wonders for the sport. Taking it off pay per view and moving it to free to air will do wonders for the sport. Having consistency will do wonders for the sport.
Banning all radio to the race director will do wonders for the sport.