After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, there was quite some commotion. Formula 1 received a lot of criticism on how they handled the final stage of the race at the Yas Marina Circuit. The FIA recognises that some things may need to be clarified in the future to 'safeguard the integrity of the sport'. For that reason, all parties involved will sit down together for an analysis of what happened.
On its own website, the FIA writes: "The circumstances surrounding the use of the Safety Car following the incident of driver Nicholas Latifi, and the related communications between the FIA Race Direction team and the Formula 1 teams, have notably generated significant misunderstanding and reactions from Formula 1 teams, drivers and fans, an argument that is currently tarnishing the image of the championship and the justifiable celebration of world titles for Verstappen and Mercedes."
A report will be drawn up detailing all the events that took place from the time of Latifi's crash. Jean Todt, as president of the International Motorsport Federation, has asked the World Motor Sport Council if a detailed analysis and clarification for the future with all relevant parties can take place. This proposal was voted for unanimously.
Discussions in F1
"This matter will be discussed and addressed with all the teams and drivers to draw any lessons from this situation and clarity to be provided to the participants, media, and fans about the current regulations to preserve the competitive nature of our sport while ensuring the safety of the drivers and officials. It is not only Formula 1 that may benefit from this analysis, but also more generally all the other FIA circuit championships."
The FIA hopes to draw conclusions before the start of the new season based on the report delivered and the discussions held.
I'll never watch another race until the 2021 World Championship is bestowed on its rightful owner. Lewis Hamilton. Period.
2 Things could doing better. Or RED FLAG by stopping the race and everyone had the same chances FOR ALL changing tyres! Or should all the LAPPED CARS going through the process normally. ANY OTHER decisions were WRONG just beacouse seemed one direction action between drivers.
"The circumstances surrounding the use of the Safety Car following the incident of driver Nicholas Latifi, and the related communications between the FIA Race Direction team and the Formula 1 teams, have notably generated significant misunderstanding and reactions from Formula 1 teams, drivers and fans," Yeah, because you F"cked us all out of a good race FIA!!! The race should've been an immediate RED FLAG, not just because of the accident but because of the timing of the matter. This would've kept everyone (FIA) from making kneejerk decisions and reactions. I'm sure you'll find no faults in your wrongdoings however!
The FIA clowns should also investigate the Belgium Gp sham, and awarding victory to Red Bull What a pathetic circus of incompetence
FIA should also investigate why Lewis made no attempt to defend turn 5 which could put the blame on himself for losing the 8th title, not FIA
FIA credibility is damaged beyond repair. Happy to move forward with troll yob fans & sideline the gentlemen in the sport. Bending rules for TV crews & screaming Red Bullies. It's only interested in $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Not moved on from Eccleston days. Sad day for the sport.
FIA should also investigate why Lewis made no attempt to defend turn 5 which could put the blame on himself for losing the 8th title.
Sir Lewis is far too noble to accept a WDC handed to him in court, the 2021 WDC will forever be tainted, and hopefully, 2022 will not see the rise of thugs, wife beaters, cheaters in our British sport. Merry Christmas!
Having just joined this Blog. I would just like to say it's Brilliant. Racing aside I think everyone involved in Producing and maintaining the Blog should be Congratulated. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. And a Safe One
Report. We don't need a report, we know what went on with this dibacle. We all know it was a fix. If there is a report we want to know who coluded with who. Massi, Horner,Brawn, and the dwarf Ecclleston. It was premeditated. We all know that. The sooner they've all gone gone it won't stink so much. Drain the swamp
Not sure why Merc has stayed silent. Today is the deadline,will be interesting to see if they appeal. One thing is for sure,whilst the FIA messed up the race and did F1 no service,it was a very tough decision made under huge pressure..... Whilst Mercedes are taking their time,keeping us all on a leash..... Merc is acting like they are bigger than the sport and it is at odds with both Hamilton Snr and Jnr,who I think showed their class,congratulating Verstappen Jnr and Snr post race. Personally think Hamilton has done as much as he could with that team,maybe the time is right to switch to another manufacturer.
Being quite is the best way to treat these situations. It annoys people.
The sheer audacity of the FIA. It knows no bounds. The FIA here is saying that the debates, discussions, finger-pointing at Masi etc etc is the thing that is 'tarnishing the image of F1'. They completely fail to mention the cause of all of those things, that being Michael Masi's decision to break with protocol and regs in order to engineer a specific race result just as Red Bull asked him to. It was Masi who has tarnished the image of F1 by not following the options open to him. Rigging the rules to force a 1 lap finish despite Mercedes strategy, when the SC was deployed, being contingent on those rules being followed. The FIA are blaming the public for tarnishing the image of F1, not Masi. Add to that, this investigation which is essentially the FIA investigating itself. The whole thing is a joke, especially when they said that the integrity of Formula 1 was foremost for them. You can't make this nonsense up.
What some spectators don't understand,is that if back markers goes past the safetycar,they go at higher speed to catch up with the pack witch causes an extremely dangerous situation had Masi alow them through wilst there is still marshall on track.
There we have it , the backlash continues. Can't wait to see the awards ceremony, wonder if Mercedes will be there. FIA has got some issues now they blaming fans for the misunderstanding.
Stupid Mercedes lost their gamble stupidly thinking and was hoping for The Race Director ending the most captivating season Championship on a Safety Car. And when HE DID THE RIGHT THING to End ot by Racing, Stupid Mercedes throw tantrum and blame. Surely all these epitomised best by their Principal Toger Wolff. That was all about it. Nothing substantial. Watch the last 8 laps again, you will see how stupid Mercedes assumptions against the commentators anticipation that the most common scenario for F1 in this sort of peculiar situation was bringing in Safety, Clear the Lapped Cars and Go Racing ASAP with the remaining lap. And that what exactly and correctly happened. To you stupid lots, If The Race Director have allowed the lapped cars to remain in between lewis and Verstappen with only 1 lap remaining they will be subjected to oblige to SLOW DOWN and give way to Verstappen and that WILL JEOPARDIZE their result as well. Therefore the best decision was to let the involved cars clear for a racing space and Sainz was never in it at all. Most of you talk much but think a lot less. Product of a disfunctional current miseducating brain dumbing music and Tv Shows.
The only mistake was Race Control initially and mistakenly send out order that lapped cars not allowed to overtake, BUT IF YOU CARE to watch the race again THIS WAS AFTER Mercedes chose to pass the pit lane entrance and HOPING that the race will end on a Safety Car while lewis was questioning why do they not pit. MERCEDES WAS DELUSIONAL TO HOPE FOR THIS. Mercedes Merceded. YOUR CALL YOUR LOST. DESERVED
Mercedes were not delusional at all. They didn't pit because a) they'd have lost track position and likely the race. b) Their strategy was decided based on the SC rules being followed - which they weren't as Masi decided to change those rules twice. Doing so, it wasn't just Lewis' race that got screwed either, he screwed over a few other drivers. 1)Masi put out the msg - No cars to pass 2)Horner asks for 1 lap of racing with the cars between Max and Lewis out of the way 3)Masi put out the msg - Only the cars between Max and Lewis can unlap, then he re-started the race immediately. The only thing Mercedes were hoping for was a Race Director who followed the rules. They didn't even get that.
Nice Try A) WHAT RULE ? What rule in the FIA explicitly compelled the Race Director to complete whole procedure to a T. NONE ! YOU ALL MADE THAT UP BUT What was clear is ALL TEAMS HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR EXPECTATION PRIOR that race should finish on a Green as much as SAFELY POSSIBLE. SO DO THE MOTORSPORT FANS AROUND THE WORLD AND MASI was conferred that Power by ARTICLE 15.3 Over the Use of Safety Cars and The Restart of the Race DID WHAT NATURALLY WAS EXPECTED BY THE ENTIRE PLANET EXCEPT Mercedes So Who The Heck Should nor Cares About your Self Centredness. We Have Much More Important things To Do. One of it is to Celebrate such a Phenomenal F1 TRIUMPH by Max Verstappen in recent memories. They have NO CASE except throwing blames and tantrums and know they will be humiliated and lose in Court. So smartly both of them withdrew as they should. Because Right Now they are creating their own F Class with this nonsensical immature antics.
If Red Bull were in that same predicament of having to defend thier position and this was the outcome, Yes they would have blamed thebsituation but not feeling high enough so as not to partly share of the blame. Mercedes with their spiced up engine had the chance eirlier to pit for fresh tyres. Even if they lost the lead they could have easily came back and retook the lead, but that did not happened because they were paralyzed in unfounded fear which was later compounded and put them into such a precarious situation. Mercedes was a victim of themselves and DESERVEDLY So for all the unjustified situations they threw at Max and Red Bull. Have Some Class
MASI DIDN'T Change the Order twice as you all misclaimed it. MASI ORDERED NO LAPPED CARS TO OVERTAKE THE SC AND THEN MASI SPECIFICALLY ORDERED THE CARS IN CONTENTION BETWEEN LEWIS AND VERSTAPPEN TO OVERTAKE THE SC AND HAVE AN UNINTERUPTED RACING SECTOR OF THEIR OWN FOR THE FINAL 1 LAP. HE ALREADY WAS PREPARED FOR SUCH SCENARIO AND INTENDED A RACING FINISH FOR THE ENDING OF THE SEASON AS WAS GIVEN THE POWER AND EXPECTED. THAT WAS WHY THE ORDER WERE NO CARS TO UNLAP EXCEPT SO AND SO AND SO TO FIT IT WITHIN THE LIMITED AVAILABLE LAPS. OTHERS WERE NOT IN CONTENTION HENCE NOT AFFECTED AND THAT INCLUDED SAINZ. MERCEDES MADE MISTAKES AND MISINTERPRETE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND BLEW THIS OUT OF PROPORTION. NOTHING MORE TO IT.
Give them something to do while the world celebrates the 1st real World Champion since Schumacher. MAX SUPERSTAR VERSTAPPEN.
If they really want to tidy everything up they need to get rid of Masi and then change the rules. Whenever a virtual or real safety car is deployed cars cannot enter the pits except in emergency cases and if they rejoin the race they move to the back of the field. If the race is stopped under red flag conditions the cars must not be touched and continue racing in the same condition as before the red flag. There is now very simple timings available so that if a safety car or red flag is deployed the time gaps between the cars are applied at the end of the race to calculate the true positions.
Especially the turn 6 debacle where the fake should have been ordered to give the lead back Absolutely disgraceful. Almost cost Max the WC
After spending billions (Petronas, INEOS, UBS, Epson, Bose, Tommy Hilfiger, IWC, Hewlett Packard, The Ritz-Carlton, Monster Energy, Pure Storage, CrowdStrike, TIBCO, AMD, Puma, Police, OZ Racing, Endless, Axalta, Belstaff, Marriott Bonvoy, TeamViewer and Pirelli)………..you just know…. Sponsors angrily called FIA Executives,, FIA Stewards, F1 officials, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, etc. FIA, F1 and motorsports do not exist without sponsors.
So basically once again they are going to spell out in English to all the sore losers why Max is The WORLD CHAMPION. Turn 6 is the only one requiring an explanation. But no doubt the squealing will continue.
Mercedes & their petulant divo wannabe prove yet again that they will lie cheat & steal to accomplish another rigged farce title. Ham should've never been in the WDC after Silverstone,nor should he have been allowed to keep 1st place after cheating.(notice not a single Ham fan responds to these facts whatsoever, because they lie to themselves)
How about when rules and tests are made they remain so for the entire year. If elements pass the tech and tests then dont change the tech and tests in the middle of the season i.e. forcing Red Bull to engineer, develop, and manufacture a new rear wing because another team can't engineer something that works in a similar fashion. The FIA has been cr@p for decades. I don't see that changing in my lifetime.
Some insane comments here , you guys need to get a life , you snowflakes are degenerates
They are going to provide CLARITY . We need that for this bloody GP.
The first title of the dutch peasant with the golden shoes will be investigated...Even if he will retain his title in the memory of people will remain just that the title has been investigated..
Not the title mate, the circumstances. Hate to brake it to you, but apart from some Hamilton fanboys like yourself, the world recognizes MV as the champion. They do question though the events that took place, but that does not take away that he deserved the title. He still had to make the pass. I listened to several english podcast and even THEY acknowledge that. So, have fun fuming on these kind or boards. Nobody will remember at the start of next season ;-)
The whole world? Even the people from Groenlanda or Tibet? ? Don;t you think that you exaggerate to much , you, max' fans? The title of Verstappen comes from this strange decision and it s in connection with it. whether you like it or not
Just watch the movies from all over the world. And check the board like this for all these fuming comments from non-brits. They are hard to find. Even the petition they started is stuck at around 23.000 votes. Wow, they almost have 0,001% of all viewers across the world (I took a guess at the total, I actually think it is even way more than that) to sign the petition. In other words, in your mind and very little world it might be an enourmous thing to get title invalidated, it is not on the global scale. What is on people's mind is how to address the issues within the FIA. But no one is focussing on Max ;-) Good luck tomorrow. Edit: There were 14 Million people watching from the UK alone, so I guess we need to update the number ;-) But a stunning 0,016% of the brits supported the petition...
Ah. So very “ Key F1 sponsors” have threatened FIA to sort this. Got it! So we can expect Masi to be sacked or removed shortly. Ralf Schumacher said it best “Masi & FIA messed up with Brazil GP decisions”. What happened with Horner’s accusation about that Mercedes wing? Then had FIA chasing their rear for a lie.
2021 Champion* The awkward pauses anytime the words champion and verstappen have to be used in the same sentence ? ? I wonder if Alonso is also looking into getting Alpine in the room with Masi for a pre season strategy. McLaren should try it too. They have deep pockets. Not sure what Masi's asking price is for next year. Prices Might have gone up
FIA investigating......the FIA?!? If we all thought verstappens gifted title was a joke before, here we have an even bigger joke ? ? ? ? ?
So the FIA is going to investigate there own doing. Where is the independence in that. I don't see things change for the best on how this is handled.
Ross Brawn has just admitted in his statement Massi was wrong by the comments he made referring to the communication with Horner. Horner said let them race we only need 1 more lap.
So? Toto also made remarks to influence Masi. They both did.
Sounds like a deflection in light of the imminent appeal. The big question is, what happens if this proposed FIA investigation finds wrongdoing on the part of Masi and company? Are heads going to roll and will Max still be classified as a champion?
They cannot strip Max from his title. He did nothing wrong. In the best scenario, the race will be declared void and null, meaning no points will be awarded and stripped from the results. Which means Max is still champion.
That would be the best scenario for Max since he unduly benefitted as he was lagging behind with 7 points in the race before the controversial decision was made by Masi. What are the other possible scenarios?
Safetycars happen in races, so whether Lewis was in front for 7 secs or 30 no longer matters. Point is, both teams (Merc & RB) did nothing wrong (well maybe lobbying Masi was not illegal, but wrong). That means that whatever you do on the outcome of the race, it will not be fair to either team. The FIA screwed up, not MB/RB. So they will not change anything. And if they do change, then declaring the race void is the only thing they can and will do.
Yes, in all fairness, Lewis should have won that race. But unfortunately it is motorsport and things are not always fair. Max should have won Baku, did not happen. Max should have and so on.... It does not matter. Both had bad luck over the course of the season. And in all fairness, Lewis was extremely lucky to even be in contention. He drove a briliant 2nd half of the year, but should have gone into the summer trailing over 50 points. So I guess that balances it out then.
That sounds logical and I agree for the most part, but in all fairness (if it is deemed/or accepted that all cars should have been allowed to unlap themselves) the person disadvantaged the most would be Lewis because the race would surely have finished under safety car. The decision ought to take that into account. But at the end of the day, that's my view and I'm a Merc fanboy, so obviously biased in my outlook.
What would be good changes for the future though: - No changes to cars under red flag conditions. It is a neutralization, not a way to get your car in best condition possible. No tyre changes, no wing changes, no damage repairs unless starting then back of the grid. - Prolong the race with as many laps the SC needed if the SC is in the last 10 laps of the race. - Close the comms to the teams to the RD (they already said they will do that) - Add additional assistant RD next to Masi to shield him from the teams - Change the SC procedures. Why do lapped cars need to pass the SC. Just let them fall behind to the correct place. Easier and faster.
I do not see any lasting advantage for anyone really, so I also see nobody being wronged by such a procedure. Anyway, it can be done easier/faster.
That's gonna be difficult to introduce. Meaning some cars in the end didnt run all the laps if I understand you correctly. If the SC picks up the nr 1 then nr 14 can drive on to the back of the pack, but in your explanation nr 15 should then fall back to behind nr 14. That means nr 15 have run 1 less lap, and he is 1 lap behind nr 14. It is impossible to just take away that lap down. So unlapping them seems like still the least harmful way.
No, not really. The whole idea of the unlapping is to restore the order of the pack and get backmarkers out of the way. So, nr 15 will just need to let him drop until after nr 14. All will start in the same round, not a lap behind. (even though he did not actually drove that round)
Ok i'll explain differently, I understand i might wrote it difficult haha If nr 15 was just lapped by the nr 1 but nr 15 is only lets say 3 seconds behind nr 14 and the SC comes on track. In your explanation nr 15 should fall back in the order meaning he is a full lap behind nr 14 instead of the 3 seconds. I know a SC is always beneficial to some and awful for the leader but this would hurt way more than just let them through and unlap themselves.
" just overtaken by the nr 1 and was only a couple seconds behind his competitor would lose any chance of ever gaining a position for the rest of the race" I guess you need to explain this one, as I cannot follow you here. As for refueling, yes, the team then need to take that into account. That it might happen, for which you will need fuel ;-) Extra strategic options...
I agree with almost all your points but... Extending the race if there is a SC in the last laps like they do with Indycar and Nascar is not poasible in F1 unfortunately. In Indycar and Nascar they can be refueled which can't be done in F1 so the cars will run out of fuel maybe. And no, please don't bring back refueling in F1. The other point i don't fully agree is your last. It's a tough one. If you let them all pass they unlap themselves freely, if you drop them back the one that was just overtaken by the nr 1 and was only a couple seconds behind his competitor would lose any chance of ever gaining a position for the rest of the race. So I think the first option might be better and more fair.
But Horner has begged for a one lap race....And Horner represents RBR.
Well, begged is an overstatement ;-) He mentioned it once.
Toto: No Michael, no safety car please. That will be very unbenifitial for us Michael
This will be a sham and nothing will change, no one trusts the FIA they manipulated the result, they wanted to stop Hamilton and Mercedes winning again and its a disgrace they have brought F1 into disrepute and heads must roll, it was the same with the ferrari engine deal that no one new anything about but the FI they are singlehandedly ruining F1
That is why I also hope they understand they must provide insight on what was found and what changes they will make. That is the only way to restore confidence. Backroom deals hurt the FIA way more and they should start to recognize that in the modern era.
BTW, I do not believe in conspriracy theories and so on, becuase if that was the case, Max would not have received so many penalties in the latter part of the season where Lewis got accuitted of the same offenses.
maybe nothing will be done. But in a world of social media, its not easily forgotten. I thing if it is swept under the carpet it will come back to the FIA and bite them hard!
I do believe that there will be ramifications for all the teams, especially the 2 involved. It appears that Max will (rightly) retain his WDC. It would be too much of an embarrassment to strip him of the WDC. There is a lot to be learned about what was done right, what can be improved. I think the right decision will be reached with no change to the end result. The clarity of the race director and his integrity will come under close scrutiny, as well as Merc and RedBull. We want the sport as a whole to get better and maybe we can have more racing like what we saw this season. The end result on Sunday is irrelevant now. The future needs to be made clear, rules need to followed.
The result would be very difficult to be undone The best FIA can do is say Masi did not follow the rule to the letter For FI to regain its integrity Masi should be fired
Good. For sure it's important that we have more clarity in the future. You can always learn to improve things, although controversy is a word that's always been linked to f1. Both protagonists had moments when they felt misjudged in the season. Masi must regain the confidence, but he has to be firm and clear, and guided by an improved rulebook.
So what. They know they messed it up. They all got free Red Bull for the rest of their lives. They sold F1 down the pan. Judases
Great, also look at the stewards please and do not make this just a paper, for the media, exercise, but make changes to the way the rules are drawn up, the influencing of the RD by the teams, the consistent application of the rules, penalties for all parties involved, no matter how many titles they have.
Depends on what they will do with it. The investigation is not to change this season, but what needs to change in future seasons. So I really do hope they draw some valuable lessons en provide clarity and consistency to all.
And MV does not even appear in Drive to Survice LoL ;- ) Stop it mate, no one takes you seriously...You sound like a broken record who cannot conduct a normal discussion
Yeah, sure. Since there are so much more Netflix viewers in the Netherlands than in Brtittain. I think i will be seeing the next little Brittain episode shortly, with the frase ....Netflix says No! Or ..Mercedes says No!
You and Netflix have a problem Id getting anoing Say somthing new.
Yes. They brought in the fixer. It's a PR nightmare for them and I think there is a deal with Mercedes that includes this PR exercise... but sadly... I will never look at F1 and think about integrity in the same sentence. FIFA and FIA have a bit in common. If anything I feel like they are insulting our intelligence by pretending to actually do something rather than just say we messed up.
Yep... still watching footie but not an ounce of trust whatsoever ...
Which basically means you have either accepted it, or no longer cares. Which is what 99% of the world will do. And the other 1% will hopefully cause the FIA to make some changes in the way they govern the sport.
To be really honest, if you followed F1 for any length of time and studied each decade carefully (really not even that careful), you would already know that F1 has many, many, many questionable decisions and actions taken in the past. Many controversial clashes and many controversial moments that were part of determining titles. This is not surprising in the least to those that have watched it over many years, especially the ones prior to the V6 Hybrid era. And it will not be the last F1 controversy either, it is bred into the sport.
You have some obsession with Netflix I see? They have a familiy subscription you know. Ask your mom and dad to get one ...
I don't think it will be a whitewash but it's clear that they know Masi did a FU, they need to make things clearer, you cannot have one guy deciding on what to do and not, ot should be rule based. The biggest issue is Masi changing his decision after that Horner talked to him, that is unacceptable
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