2021 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

WiisardNic · Dec 17, 2021

Jean-Pierre Sarti said:
Thanks to F1 TV I've watched the last lap a few times from Hamilton's in-car camera. Just before the race resumes his engineer says, "you have overtake on each of the straights". Since Hamilton is ahead, this presumably means he'll be threatened on the straights. But Verstappen passed him on a turn before the straight. So, bad advice from the team, or was Hamilton just caught out? In all the fuss about the officiating (which in my opinion was more about poorly communicated decisions that flat out wrong ones) it's kind of been lost that Hamilton was in the lead after the safety car went in and got passed.

In that respect, I think he was just caught out. I mean, he would have used overtake on the straights either way, and probably did considering he was alongside down the second straight. But some people (I've seen) tend to thing that Max's overtake was over the limit as well..

RedBarchetta · Dec 17, 2021

It's Thursday and F1 is still a joke

jonelsorel · Dec 17, 2021

WiisardNic said:
Yes, that is the only time they could have pitted, and came out ok, immaterial to how the safety car restart eventually took place.

I've been separating the issue of "how the restart went down", and Mercedes tyre choice. They are two separate issues.
The offset in tyre-choice between Max and Lewis was baked in from the moment Mercedes told Lewis not to pit when the safety car was initially deployed. Masi's original decision to not let lapped cars pass was made 2 laps later.

All I've been saying is that people who are saying "Oh, but the tyres, that's SO UNFAIR", etc etc, don't get that Mercedes put themselves in that situation. Sure, the restart process became a shemozzle, and that's something that should, and hopefully will, be be addressed and clarified by the FIA. But at Lap 54, there was still always a chance that the race would restart correctly. To blame Masi for Mercedes not pitting (Which is what is initially being suggested) for new tyres is just simply incorrect. I can accept that you didn't make that direct claim, and while tyre choice did AFFECT the outcome, it wasn't the CAUSE. This is what I've been trying to say. I can 100% imagine that if it was the other way around, or with different drivers, the same decision would have been made by Masi. Doesn't make it 100% right, but I'm quite certain there was no intent to favour one specific team/driver over another. Otherwise there'd have been a safety car period when Giovinazzi stopped on track.

This is effectively what I'm trying to say.
I mean.. it is a little more controversial, but that is mainly due to the confusion caused by the FIA regulations.

I guess it's kind of like the FIA have taken 15.3 to be the same as Football's "spirit of the game" law.

Your mark for reading comprehension is F. Happy holidays!

WiisardNic · Dec 17, 2021

jonelsorel said:
Your mark for reading comprehension is F. Happy holidays!

My comprehension is fine, I'm just pretty sure we are speaking two separate issues now. If we are talking the same issue, then I take it your answer to this following question should be "no."

Race Control originally passed the message "No lapped cars may overtake" at Lap 56. This is where Masi's errors all began. Hypothetical sake, at that point he instead had allowed ALL lapped cars to overtake, in preparation for a restart the following lap. Does that change mean Merc would have pitted Lewis? 'Yes' or 'no'

Zolazem · Dec 17, 2021

Hamilton leaves F1 better today then tomorrow and please take Toto with you. We don’t need any of this unsportsmanlike in F1!

randomcallsign · Dec 17, 2021

And yet you were complacent with that behavior all year with another team boss and owner. Makes you think about all those high roads being taken.

Damage Inc · Dec 17, 2021

Dzul said:
. . . I don't think he'll just walk away but... is Lewis considering a sabbatical ?

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-hopes-disillusioned-hamilton-doesnt-walk-from-f1/6885887/

View attachment 525486

I really can't see Lewis doing that!! I thought all this would motivate him more for next year. Then again he has nothing to prove, he's a legend and clearly one of the greats.

Damage Inc · Dec 17, 2021

Mod-edit: removed

RichardHessels · Dec 17, 2021

Jean-Pierre Sarti said:
Thanks to F1 TV I've watched the last lap a few times from Hamilton's in-car camera. Just before the race resumes his engineer says, "you have overtake on each of the straights". Since Hamilton is ahead, this presumably means he'll be threatened on the straights. But Verstappen passed him on a turn before the straight. So, bad advice from the team, or was Hamilton just caught out? In all the fuss about the officiating (which in my opinion was more about poorly communicated decisions that flat out wrong ones) it's kind of been lost that Hamilton was in the lead after the safety car went in and got passed.

Look at this (old) description from Mercedes about where the team members sit:

You have to wonder whether Wolff's tantrums might have an adverse affect on team communications with the drivers.

Also, from the same article:

Oh yeah?

I don't think I'd like to work for Mr. Wolff.

Hamilton did not expect Verstappen to try at T5.
He ran wide to take more speed in to the straight, as DRS was not on.
But than Verstappen was already there.
Keeping the car on the inside of corner with fresh tires was much easier with new softs.
Hamilton should already have blocked him there, by driving the inside line.
Going around the outside is much trickier, with the amount of dust and marbles there.
So the ruined his own exitspeed with that.

Deleted member 379375 · Dec 17, 2021

randomcallsign said:
And yet you were complacent with that behavior all year with another team boss and owner. Makes you think about all those high roads being taken.

Hang on , I'm not having that!!
I'm sure if the roles were reversed and Lewis was gifted the title they would be consistent and defend the decision and congratulate Lewis and his hard fought victory.

Damage Inc · Dec 17, 2021

winston malcolm said:
Hang on , I'm not having tnat!!
I'm sure if the roles were reversed and Lewis was gifted the title they would be consistent and defend the decision and congratulate Lewis an his hard fought victory.

But what you want is a FAR worse form of gifting, letting the race run out behind the SC denying Max the chance to capitalise on Latifi's crash which changed EVERYTHING....just how is that fairer? I'm truly amazed people actually think finishing a race behind the SC is "fair"..........

Richard Wilks · Dec 17, 2021

winston malcolm said:
Hang on , I'm not having tnat!!
I'm sure if the roles were reversed and Lewis was gifted the title they would be consistent and defend the decision and congratulate Lewis an his hard fought victory.

Probably not. But what ifs are just that, and the reality is that Toto is being a massive sore loser, and i wouldn't mind at all seeing him go.

Let's not forget Horner got a fine and a slap on the wrist for using the expression "rogue marshall". Toto is now actively undermining the FIA authority and saying in no uncertain terms that they "robbed" the title from Lewis.

Like Todt said in the FIA gala, team owners and coaches in football get suspensions for much less than that.

If he wanted to appeal, he should have done it. If he was prevented, or feels he couldn't win because the FIA controls the sport's sporting side, then he is in the wrong line of business. But you can't have it both ways, NOT appeal, and instead undermine and tarnish the sport at every opportunity. How Horner or RB would or would not behave is beside the point.

Stuart Thomson · Dec 17, 2021

Damage Inc said:
But what you want is a FAR worse form of gifting, letting the race run out behind the SC denying Max the chance to capitalise on Latifi's crash which changed EVERYTHING....just how is that fairer? I'm truly amazed people actually think finishing a race behind the SC is "fair"..........

In which case everybody should have their points nullified from Spa.

Can't have it both ways, old boy.

muzikant · Dec 17, 2021

Stuart Thomson said:
In which case everybody should have their points nullified from Spa.

Can't have it both ways, old boy.

Most of Fia points going to Merc I think. They came back for free in the championship wit ridigilous penalty's Max is the deserved champion maybe the karma for merc this year

Stuart Thomson · Dec 17, 2021

muzikant said:
Most of Fia points going to Merc I think. They came back for free in the championship wit ridigilous penalty's Max is the deserved champion maybe the karma for merc this year

The above has absolutely nothing to do with my comment. The fact I disagree broadly with your view on your stated point is immaterial. This is not a conversation I'm going to have.

I was replying specifically about the "finishing behind a SC is unfair" comment, in the general overview of the season rather than between 2 specific teams.

If finishing a race behind a SC is genuinely unfair (I'm not saying thats my view, I'm just using that premise) , then Spa - by definition - was also unfair. That's all.

Gevatter · Dec 17, 2021

Zolazem said:
Hamilton leaves F1 better today then tomorrow and please take Toto with you. We don’t need any of this unsportsmanlike in F1!

As much as I don't like him, re reacted very sportsmanlike after the race. I'd rather keep him and have Toto leave the sport.

JayOTT · Dec 17, 2021

They were both examples where the race directors were presented with an extreme situation and made a gut call at the time that may have been wrong in hindsight;

- An F1 race has never been outright cancelled after qualifying had taken place. On top of that, Masi may have felt at the time that it wouldn't be fair for no points to be awarded for the weekend when one of the two competitive sessions had been completed. Whether this justifies doing a parade lap and counting that as the race is debatable, but he was dealt a bad hand by the Belgian weather, and I don't think anything short of accepting the risks (which won't happen because modern F1 is risk averse) would've pleased the fans.

- Masi also found himself in a tough spot with how long it took to clean up Latifi's car at the end of Abu Dhabi. For any race, much less a championship deciding one, to end under safety car would be disappointing, but there was also a procedure of letting lapped cars through to consider. He ultimately chose a compromise on that procedure to actually get a green flag lap in, but the initial statement that lapped cars would not be permitted to pass and lateness of the call otherwise made him look like a great fool.

This isn't intended to defend Masi, as I wouldn't be shocked or sad if he was fired for his handling for this season in general. But there was reasonable logic behind a lot of what he did even if you believe them to be poor decisions.

Deleted member 379375 · Dec 17, 2021

Richard Wilks said:
Probably not. But

I rest my case your honour.

Stuart Thomson · Dec 17, 2021

JayOTT said:
This isn't intended to defend Masi, as I wouldn't be shocked or sad if he was fired for his handling for this season in general. But there was reasonable logic behind a lot of what he did even if you believe them to be poor decisions.

Yeah, he's been a bit of a competence vacuum a few times now...but on this, I kind of agree with Martin Brundle - you sack him, who replaces him? Bin him now, and we'll never know if he's actually learned from 2021.

If he continues getting himself in the middle of things and being the focus for where things went wrong next season, then maybe it needs to be looked at again, but there's no way anyone is going to get up to even where Masi is now in this very short close season.

paracletus · Dec 17, 2021

Masi is too young and inexperienced. No clue who'd replace him though, if they are going to do that.

1	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	1:22.109
2	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	1:22.480
3	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	1:22.931
4	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	1:22.947
5	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari	1:22.992
6	Valtteri BOTTAS	Mercedes	1:23.036
7	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	1:23.122
8	Yuki TSUNODA	Alpha Tauri	1:23.220
9	Esteban OCON	Alpine	1:23.389
10	Daniel RICCIARDO	McLaren	1:23.409
11	Fernando ALONSO	Alpine	1:23.460
12	Pierre GASLY	Alpha Tauri	1:24.043
13	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	1:24.066
14	Antonio GIOVINAZZI	Alfa Romeo	1:24.251
15	Sebastian VETTEL	Aston Martin	1:24.305
16	Nicholas LATIFI	Williams	1:24.338
17	George RUSSELL	Williams	1:24.423
18	Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN	Alfa Romeo	1:24.779
19	Mick SCHUMACHER	Haas	1:24.906
20	Nikita MAZEPIN	Haas	1:25.685

1	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	LAP 58
2	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	2.256
3	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari	5.173
4	Yuki TSUNODA	Alpha Tauri	5.692
5	Pierre GASLY	Alpha Tauri	6.531
6	Valtteri BOTTAS	Mercedes	7.463
7	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	59.2
8	Fernando ALONSO	Alpine	61.708
9	Esteban OCON	Alpine	64.026
10	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	66.057
11	Sebastian VETTEL	Aston Martin	67.527
12	Daniel RICCIARDO	McLaren	+1L
13	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	+1L
14	Mick SCHUMACHER	Haas	+1L
15	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	DNF
16	Nicholas LATIFI	Williams	DNF
17	Antonio GIOVINAZZI	Alfa Romeo	DNF
18	George RUSSELL	Williams	DNF
19	Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN	Alfa Romeo	DNF

2021 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Who will win the 2021 World Championship?

Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton

Qualification Results​

Race Results​

Comments

Article information

Share this article

On national tv

Eurosport app/website

WEC app/website

Watch party

At a friends house

At Le Mans

Qualification Results

Race Results