Oh dear - bit like Watford all that hope quickly disappeared ! Even before they took the new ball really .
Well that certainly was a very controversial end to the F1! Hamilton took it quite well. Not sure Mercedes will though .
I think they have a three rule breaks to argue over When a race is that close to the finish the normal procedure is to pit all the teams (tyre changes would be allowed) and then at least one lap behind the safety care If the decision is to un lap all the cars that have been lapped then every car has to be un lapped and then at least one lap behind the safety car When following a safety car NO OVERTAKING is allowed and Verstappen appeared to gain two or three places after his pit stop I hope Mercedes win their appeal just to shut up Horner, but whatever happens this titles is tainted and Masi should be sacked after his appalling season
Shocking outcome...... I was really speechless as Lewis had his victory stolen from him...what a debacle......
I don't think the result was engineered as such (in the sense that the FIA wanted Max to win), but rather they wanted to make sure the race didn't end behind the safety car. As I see it, the race director had four options: 1. Re-start the race with one lap to go, without unlapping any cars. 2. Allow all the lapped cars to unlap themselves, and then start on the following lap, which would have meant running out of laps and finishing behind the safety car. 3. Red flag the race, which allows everyone to change tyres if they want, and restart the race for whatever laps remain. This could even be a rolling start to simulate a start behind a safety car. 4. The fudge that he did. Allow some cars to unlap (rather than all) and start at the end of the same lap (rather than the following lap). I feel that 1. is fairest. It gives Max at least an outside chance to win, but a big advantage to Lewis, which reflects that he was around 11 seconds ahead with lapped cars between them when the safety car came out. It also allows for green flag racing. 2. feels unsatisfactory given there was an option for some racing, and gives too much advantage to Lewis. 3. would be the most exciting as both drivers have a pretty equal chance (Lewis a bit more of a chance thanks to starting ahead), but is a bit contrived as the race isn't being red flagged because of safety, but to allow more racing. 4. is the worst option for me. Given the tyre change, it almost guarantees Max the win, so while you get a lap of racing, it's not a fair fight and gives the advantage to the guy who was slower throughout the rest of the race. It also screws with the race of other drivers, as Sainz in third still has lapped cars between him and Max, so can't threaten to overtake Max. Also, the lapped guys who couldn't overtake are now half a lap behind the people they were trying to battle with. So it's the least fair option and delivers the worst racing outcome, other than option 2. Not only that, but it's against the regulations!
There is a real problem now. On appeal they are found to be wrong, so what do they do? They cannot undo what has happened, and the rules seem to be vague enough for the result to stand, no matter how wrong it clearly is. Say that the race finished before the chaos with the safety car would mean taking the championship away from Max, and I doubt that will happen. Whatever happens is unsatisfactory.
Agreed...good anaysis... bad choice made..worst choice really Seems we will see changes for next season..apparently a lot of teams are pissed off but not saying publicly...... and clealry the race director needs further guidance via the rules and/or need to be replaced..... . and teams lobbying the race director is just not on... WHY did he change his mind re the lapped cars and restart???? He was got at surely....
I guess the only trouble with option 1 is no doubt Red Bull would then be appealing but like in football they all want things their own way. Certainly they were annoyed Hamilton didn't have give up 1st place at the start of the race and even the commentators and pundits were surprised. Someone would have been complaining whatever happened. But as you say basically changing the rules on the hoof isn't a good look and makes people who maybe don't watch usually think it was set up. In all fairness I agree with the view a safety car unless the incident was so serious there was no choice would have been a disappointing ending to a great season too.
The American owners of F1 Liberty (quite appropriate for what they have taken this year) are not interested in sportsmanship or fair play, they are only interested in a spectacle that might make them even more money and I guarantee they had the major part in that decision Michael Messy HAS to go before the next season and be replaced by someone who is knowledgeable enough about what F1 should be and be strong enough to resist inside OR/AND outside interference I hope Mercedes and Ferrari combine next season to prevent Red Bull from even a podium let alone a race win I am still fuming from the end of that race even more that the penalty at Brentford
England on the verge of collapse again in the Ashes? 17/2 after Australia declared their first innings at 473/9
