I think if this wasn’t for the title/last of the season they wouldn’t have made this decision and now they’ve done it, the stubbornness and refusal to accept they’re wrong will mean this goes on and on.
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Do you know what else I just don’t get, If Max was given the benefit of the backmarkers being able to unlap why wasn’t Sainz? Sainz was in P3 but couldn’t get in on the fight as he still had the other backmarkers in front of him?
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Yep, good thread.
I think Masi has made his position untenable at this point.
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Because Max was the only person who mattered to Masi. Because he wanted to ‘let them race’, because he didn’t wanted to have the championship end in an anticlimax, he made the rules up on the fly to fix the race. He’s been about as meddlesome as Vince McMahon, might as well rename the sport WWF1 and tonight the Abu Dhabi Screwjob.
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I think the thing that grates me the most is Horner(who I already think is the worst person in F1) saying to Masi on the radio “We just need 1 racing lap”
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From what I can remember (and please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), under safety car conditions lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves until the “safety car in this lap” is announced and then all cars hold station, and the lead car becomes the safety car until they reach the start/finish line, whereupon the race resumes.
Was there some breach of this, or is it just the F1 teams blustering because results didn’t go their way???
Horner is always going to want that and Toto will want it finished under a safety car.
What Masi should have done is make a decision based on the rules and not what made great drama and entertainment.
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Issue here is Masi handpicked the lapped cars to unlap themselves and they were only the ones between Max and Lewis. He physically singled out their car numbers.
And safety car is supposed to end the lap after cars not same lap
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Lapped cars are only allowed to unlap themselves when (if) the race director says they can. Also, it’s either all lapped cars or none of them, not ‘just the ones in front of Max’.
The safety car then goes around one more time before coming into the pits.
This is because once they pass the safety car, the cars unlapping themselves are going hell for leather to get back behind the main train, so that they are in position to go racing for position again once the safety car finishes.
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Politics interfering with sport once again then 
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Lewis 100% COULD have pitted. They chose not to! Everyone seems to be forgetting this in all the furore. Evidenced by the fact that his radio message after realising Max HAD pitted was just bleeped out, realising how much trouble he was in and maybe regretting the decision.
They opted for track position, which is fine and normal. But it’s also up to teams to use their eyes and brains, a car in the wall was always going to be a safety car, not a virtual safety car. Conversely, if they had pitted, I’m sure Max would have stayed out, hoping that the crash took longer than fix and the race finished under SC.
Red Bull had to roll the dice, they got lucky. Lewis got unlucky - simple as that. There have been many different times during the season where they have had their share of good luck.
What’s annoying is Masi’s handling of it, which was appalling.
I also think it’s terrible that the team principles can just radio message into Masi and seek to influence him. Masi should just make the calls and then stand by them.
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Exactly, you said it yourself, track position, if he had pitted and the rules HAD been followed he would’ve lost!
Disagree, there was no dice rolling for them, they remained in P2 regardless of what they did, they got handed the win because Masi rewrote the rule book. Any team in that position would have done that pit for fresh tyres. If it restarted they’d have a good chance, the point is it shouldn’t have restarted! And if it did in the manner it did the Max should have had the lapped cars between him and Lewis, he disadvantaged himself by putting, Masi removed the disadvantage, and only his disadvantage
Agree completely, it should be a 1 way communication channel.
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Yes, and then Max would have won. Which is why they didn’t pit.
I’m sure there has been at least one race this year when Mercedes did a safety pit for fresh tyres, giving up track position, and subsequently list the race. Realistically the only think they could do way keep Lewis out; he would’ve needed a 20+ second lead to make pitting possible without losing track position.
Red Bull, running second, had the advantage as they just had to do the opposite of Mercedes. It was a no-risk position for them, as they had no chance of winning don’t the same thing, so they had to roll the dice.
ETA: another example, the race where Hamilton was the only person who lined up on the grid for a restart. Because he was first, he couldn’t risk pitting, but everyone behind him gained advantage instead.
Huh?
Huh? Of course races should be restarted if they can be. They don’t hold them under safety cars just so Lewis can win races and Lewis fans can be happy. People want racing.
You realise those rules exist with the sole purpose of having the ability to get rid of irrelevant cars so the actual cars racing each other can race, right?
And you also realise that even if they let ALL of the lapped cars through, not just the five between Max and Lewis, Max still would have won?
I say again… Lewis could have pitted! They screwed up, and now they dig through the rule book to try and overturn it.
Not necessarily, which is why it was unlucky.
I can’t see Toto whining like Spice Boy did, nor Masi caving in the same way. Had it been that way around, I suspect Masi would’ve been more “you made your strategy choice, it’s not my fault it have worked out for you”.
Not sure which bit confuses you.
I agree they should be restarted if they can be but not ignore the standard rules for restarting the race. Masi gave into peer pressure from Horner and that’s about all there is to it.
Yes, so why only let Lewis and Max race? What about Sainz?
He wouldn’t though because if rules had been followed it would have ended behind the safety car, like any other race would have done if it wasn’t the decider, look at Spa, Masi has no problem with running and finishing a race under a safety car.
Disagree with your assessment but it is what is. Rules should have been followed, not changed for excitement purposes or fixing.
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Honestly
It is quite clear from the Stewards decision that the rules were followed.
That Article 15.3 allows the Race Director to control the use of the safety car, which in our determination includes its deployment and withdrawal.
That although Article 48.12 may not have been applied fully, in relation to the safety car returning to the pits at the end of the following lap, Article 48.13 overrides that and once the message “Safety Car in this lap” has been displayed, it is mandatory to withdraw the safety car at the end of that lap.
It’s a valid point, so I believe it was purposefully fixed for Max to win? No I don’t think so. Was it fixed for entertainment purposes with little thought for the outcomes? Yes definitely