Racing: 2021 Formula 1 Season

[Khelandros]

Did the FIA mess things up? Sure, probably. Doesn't matter.

Did Mercedes make more mistakes this season than they did in the last 4 seasons combined? 100%.

The last lap happened because Mercedes gambled and it backfired. If they had pitted Lewis, he probably would have won. End of story.

 

[Albatros]

Lewis was merely fed to the lion, but Toto's feedback did make it entertaining.

 

[MXD]

The last lap happened because Mercedes gambled and it backfired. If they had pitted Lewis, he probably would have won. End of story.

He was also highly likely to come back behind Verstappen due to their respective position on track at the yellow flag. This is a gamble that absolutely no ones take in any circumstance.

If you're saying that Merc should'Ve pitted Hamilton at the VSC, fair enough. Though it would still have been Hards vs. Softs.

 

[max21]

Its true. Although I was rooting for Max, I didn't find myself cheering him on that last lap. I was just dull lol. I almost couldn't believe what I was watching.

I’m a Mercedes fan and I was just in awe. I wasn’t even pissed I was just like wtf is happening

 

[JoVel]

The last lap happened because Mercedes gambled and it backfired. If they had pitted Lewis, he probably would have won. End of story.

At the time it was still up in the air whether the race was going to finish under safety car or not. Imagine Mercedes makes that call to pit and Max doesn't, and goes on to win the championship behind the safety car...

 

[umma gumma]

I’m a Mercedes fan and I was just in awe. I wasn’t even pissed I was just like wtf is happening

Well, you knew he was going to get by before they even restarted, it was just a matter of where and how. Like MXD said he was a sitting duck. I'm glad Max won, just didn't like how it went down.

Shout out to Sainz, what a great season from him. Underrated driver. Being a tifoso its nice to have two solid drivers bringing the cars home again.

 

[MXD]

At the time it was still up in the air whether the race was going to finish under safety car or not. Imagine Mercedes makes that call to pit and Max doesn't, and goes on to win the championship behind the safety car...

I think that, when Lewis could pit for the first time, Max had already pitted, but he'd have came back behind.

 

[FiveTacos]

Yes, the ending was screwy and was going to be controversial no matter what the call was.

No, if they'd followed the SC procedures as stipulated BY THEIR OWN RULES there would have been no controversy. It would have ended under SC, and no one in their right mind would ever think that:

1) Max would have caught up without the crash, or
2) he would have passed 4 cars AND Lewis in 1 lap, or
3) cars would have been let through and the race finishes under SC as it was supposed to.

If Latifi's crash had happened one lap earlier, and scenario #3 resulted in one final lap after cars had been let through, with Max on fresh tires passing Lewis, so be it, that's luck. But that's not what happened. What we had was essentially 1 person deciding the outcome of the race and thus championship, because the moment he made the decision to let everyone through AND call in the SC on the same lap, it was a foregone conclusion unless Lewis had been unsportsmanlike enough to try and crash into Max out of desperation.

 

[JoVel]

I think that, when Lewis could pit for the first time, Max had already pitted, but he'd have came back behind.

He was in the 3rd sector at the time right at Latifi's crash when the SC got deployed, it would've needed to be a quick call but definitely possible.



Also, I don't know if anyone's done the math but I wonder if Lewis would've had that SC pit window if Checo didn't hold him up. He lost ~8 seconds.

 

[MXD]

He was in the 3rd sector at the time right at Latifi's crash when the SC got deployed, it would've needed to be a quick call but definitely possible.



Also, I don't know if anyone's done the math but I wonder if Lewis would've had that SC pit window if Checo didn't hold him up. He lost ~8 seconds.

Well, for the SC, it would have put him right at beggining of Sector 1, meaning being slowed down possibly even more.

 

[GoLeafsGo96]

Did the FIA mess things up? Sure, probably. Doesn't matter.

Did Mercedes make more mistakes this season than they did in the last 4 seasons combined? 100%.

The last lap happened because Mercedes gambled and it backfired. If they had pitted Lewis, he probably would have won. End of story.

Why doesn't it matter?

The fact that Mercedes did worse than in the past isn't really relevant at all given that they won the constructors again, and Max/Redbull made mistakes too (resulting in them going into the final race tied).

This is nonsense on the pitting gamble. If the regulations were followed and Lewis had pitted Max wins the championship under safety car or because Lewis can't get through 4 cars that were lapped between him and Max. You make decisions to pit or not pit based on what you expect to happen. The decision that was made by race control was unprecedented and there is no reason Mercedes should have expected it to go that way. They made their decision with the expectation that either the lapped cars wouldn't get to unlap or that all of them would unlap. Either scenario within the regulations - either scenario results in a Lewis win.

Not pitting on VSC is again them not giving up track position and hunting down Max at the end to nullify the risk of an upcoming made up restart that nobody has seen before. If the Latifi crash happens on lap 45, they give up track position and pit Lewis because they know the lapped cars will unlap themselves and Max will be right on Lewis' ass with enough laps and fresh tyres to chase down. It didn't happen that way though - it happened with so few laps that the risk was actually to pit, not to not pit - because pitting meant they lost if regulations were followed.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Still annoyed at that outcome. To arbitrary change your rules to the benefit of just one driver is disgraceful.

 

[Albatros]

Still annoyed at that outcome. To arbitrary change your rules to the benefit of just one driver is disgraceful.

AlphaTauri got to overtake Bottas with fresh tyres as well, didn't really change anything but gave Tsunoda his best ever finish.

 

[JoVel]

AlphaTauri got to overtake Bottas with fresh tyres as well, didn't really change anything but gave Tsunoda his best ever finish.

That was a do-or-die move from Yuki. Gotta hand it to him, with the shocking debut season he's had, to make that move when you're running a very good P5, takes some balls.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

it was a foregone conclusion unless Lewis had been unsportsmanlike enough to try and crash into Max out of desperation.

According to Reddit, if Lewis and Max had taken each other out on the last lap and it was declared a racing incident, because of the lapped cars Lewis would have been classified P10 and Max would be P11. Max would have fastest lap, but no point because he finishes outside the top 10.

Therefore Lewis would have won the title by 1 point.

 

[SoupyFIN]

The last lap happened because Mercedes gambled and it backfired. If they had pitted Lewis, he probably would have won. End of story.

At the time it was still up in the air whether the race was going to finish under safety car or not. Imagine Mercedes makes that call to pit and Max doesn't, and goes on to win the championship behind the safety car...

Also zero chance Max would allow Hamilton to pass if that fight had been reversed for the final lap, he would've Prost on Senna'd that attempt.

 

[WTG]

Still annoyed at that outcome. To arbitrary change your rules to the benefit of just one driver is disgraceful.

FIA never changed any rules.

 

[WTG]

Strawman. A conspiracy isn't the same thing as being fed a line of BS. Have you actually read the rules in question?

And if the FIA always knows best, then I suppose you have zero complaints about the handling of any incidents this season?

I have. And I have no idea how you can interpret it any differently.

 

[WTG]

You're the only one claiming "Conspiracy!" here.

?

 

[NyQuil]

I didn't think Hamilton gave anything back on the first lap pass which annoyed me. Funny there was controversy on the 1st and last lap.

Yeah, I rewatched this particular move and Hamilton literally burns across the corner at top speed.

Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, said he was also struggling to understand the regulations.

“Obviously, in Brazil there was no penalty, but they both drove off the circuit. Max stayed on the track this time,” said the Briton, referring to a similar incident at Interlagos last month.

Hamilton’s former team mate Nico Rosberg agreed: “Max was a little bit too lungy and too aggressive, forcing Lewis out too strongly, even though he had a right to the corner there,” said the German.

“Then I would also say Lewis didn’t give back everything that he gained.”

Should Lewis Hamilton have been penalised for Max Verstappen incident in Abu Dhabi?

I remember at the time being amazed that it was let go after what happened in just the previous race with the infamous breaking by Verstappen to gift the place back.

That bit of karma made the last lap a bit easier to swallow I guess.

 

[CharlesPuck]

FIA never changed any rules.

Lol.

sure ok. They just didn’t follow their existing ones.

let only the cars in front of max pit. Don’t wait a lap for the SC to exit after allowing lapped cars to pass.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Yeah, I rewatched this particular move and Hamilton literally burns across the corner at top speed.


Should Lewis Hamilton have been penalised for Max Verstappen incident in Abu Dhabi?

I remember at the time being amazed that it was let go after what happened in just the previous race with the infamous breaking by Verstappen to gift the place back.

That bit of karma made the last lap a bit easier to swallow I guess.

So Lewis avoiding yet another Max lunge means that Max should be handed the WDC with a terrible decision by Masi at the end?

those hardly seem comparable

 

[NyQuil]

So Lewis avoiding yet another Max lunge means that Max should be handed the WDC with a terrible decision by Masi at the end?

those hardly seem comparable

Avoiding a lunge and then speeding ahead, passing him in a straight line while off the track as Verstappen veers around another corner, you mean?

Not equivalent sure but certainly noteworthy at the time.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Also zero chance Max would allow Hamilton to pass if that fight had been reversed for the final lap, he would've Prost on Senna'd that attempt.

Lewis was unbelievably classy in that last lap. No dirty defending. No hero lunges. Didn’t complain after the race. It’s almost like in that moment he was ok with leaving F1 and saying FU to the decision makers.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Avoiding a lunge and then speeding ahead, passing him while off the track, you mean?

Not equivalent sure but certainly noteworthy at the time.

Not really. He was avoiding a late lunge by Max. His alternative was getting taken out lap 1 and losing the WDC right then.


Even if he did give the place back, Lewis’ pace was vastly superior and would have caught Max within a few laps.

the decision by Masi literally handed Max the WDC out of thin air.