108 replies to this topic

[skid solo]

That's assuming - and I accept I'm starting to sound like a stuck record here... - that Masi was aware of the tyre discrepancy between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Masi might have thought he was giving everyone watching a barn-storming, grandstand finish with Hamilton and Verstappen on the old, hard tyres they'd had on prior to the safety car being deployed. It's possible, maybe even likely, he wasn't aware that Verstappen had pitted.
I still agree that Masi played hard and fast with the rules relating to the withdrawal of the safety car and that, in hindsight, it would have been better to red flag the rage, clear up Latifi's accident then allow three/four laps of racing toe the end.

It’s a fairly straightforward assumption to make. If I know what’s going on from my living room but Masi who has more information available to him than I do doesn’t then he really shouldn’t be doing the job

[absinthedude]

Ensure that the FIA's role of running the race us unambiguously separated from Liberty's role of promoting/selling the "product". 

 

This is a big nail hit on the head. And it's not just Liberty,. it's whoever takes over when they sell. 

 

The result should probably stand though. It's just not going to help matters changing it now. The FIA *should* have done that on Sunday night

[Ramon69]

It's pretty obvious that the rules were not followed and that Masi made the wrong choice. I always believed it was gonna end under SC, due to the lack of time for all of the cars to unlap themselves. Sure, it would have been anticlimatic, but you shouldn't just bend the rules however you want. What if the race director has some sort of bias towards a driver in the next seasons to come? Will he start breaking the rules consistently? Now I'm sure that Masi just decided to give us one more lap for the show (If the roles were reversed, with Max P1 and Lewis P2 with fresh softs, he would have done the same, with the only difference that he would have been blasted by Red Bull & Max fans), but no matter how you look at it, he did something against the rules! And this isn't the first time, look how many times both Max and Lewis escaped grid penalties. So it's like the FIA wanted this battle to go down to the wire and they made sure it did, by bending the rules to their liking which is not OK at all.

 

Now, Red Bull's reaction with the pitstop still played a part in the result, because they could take a chance, being 2nd, while Hamilton would just loose track position, Mercedes, just like Red Bull, having no idea how the FIA will decide to continue the race! But at the end of the day, it doesn't change the fact that they didn't follow the rule book.

 

I am glad that the driver I was rooting for won (Max), but it was also heartbreaking to see Lewis losing that way. However, I think that changing the result now and taking the title from Max would do even more harm to the sport, especially since I honestly think that both of them deserved the title this year, Max even had a bit more bad luck than Lewis this year! My opinion is that the rules should be made clearer and the FIA should ensure that they are followed in the future!

[AlexPrime]

For me, Masi made the correct decision, but SC rules need to me made more precise for the future and adding additional laps touring car times considered.

[Ramon69]

I think that there is no way the FIA or Masi could have finished this season without their reputation being tarnished after Latifi crashed. I have a couple of possible scenarios in my mind and neither are good for them:

 

1. The one that already happened -> breaking the rules, allowing Verstappen to benefit.

2. Allowing the lapped cars to overtake, thus running out of time and finishing under SC with the risk of being accused that they favoured Lewis.

3. Not allowing the cars to overtake -> accused that they helped Lewis win the title by keeping the lapped cars between him and Max.

 

 

So they were always gonna be the big losers, even if they would have red flagged it. In Masi's defense, he is new to this after all and lacks that experience that Charlie had, plus the constant moaning he recieved from Red Bull & Mercedes over the radio, not just in Abu Dhabi, but during this whole final part of the season! For us,it's exciting, but I'm thinking they should really ban this FIA-Teams communication! I mean they were constantly pressuring him which I don't believe a Race Director really needs, especially in such eventful and chaotic races like Saudi Arabia where he needs constant focus.

[ExFlagMan]

He should have just red flagged it straight away, or at least as soon as the brake fire started - which would have enabled there to be a 2-3 lap sprint finish, giving everyone a level paying field.

 

Instead he ran close to the wind, safety-wise, by allowing a SC clear up without ensuring the field was all behind the SC - about 1/3 of the runners were still spread out round the circuit well over 5 mins after the SC was called, with a tele handler out on the racing line on the exit of a blind corner.

 

It's as if no lessons had been learned from the Bianchi accident...

[cpbell]

 

It's as if no lessons had been learned from the Bianchi accident...

To me, thats as much of a smoking gun as the rules that were inadvertently bent.

[ExFlagMan]

To me, thats as much of a smoking gun as the rules that were inadvertently bent.

 

That's why I was hoping that Mercedes would go ahead with the appeal - hoping that it might flush out the truth rather than the FIA glossing over it.

[sketchy2001]

I feel like (but definitely not the same as) a beaten housewife, sticking around and hoping the FIA will change.

 

If the FIA are serious then it has to provide clear regulations and not be influenced by potentially unfair edge cases.

Cos the world is not fair and sometimes it just sucks - like Max winning the WDC in the way he was forced to.

 

Get rid of this non-binding agreement to finish under green, there is absolutely nothing wrong with finishing under safety car.

What was so wrong with calling the result if the red flag flew after 75% race distance?

If you were neck and neck then it would suck but so does having a 10-15s lead and/or have a strategic tyre advantage wiped out then being forced to take part in the lottery of another standing start.

 

The simpler the rules are, the easier they are to enforce consistently.