The 2021 Formula One World Championship was concluded with farcical scenes in Abu Dhabi, with Michael Masi, the Race Director, breaking all previous precedent and changing the Safety Car procedure in the final 2 laps of the race, effectively handing the race win and the Championship to Max Verstappen.
Safety car at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Firstly, let’s summarise the situation.
At the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, whichever driver prevailed would have been a worthy champion. The runner up would have lost with honour.
Hamilton got off to the perfect start, beating pole sitter Verstappen off the line.
Formula One would have had an epic season which would have enhanced its reputation.
Lewis Hamilton at Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton did not deserve to lose the World Championship in that manner. He had made up a massive deficit to bring the title race down to the final race of the season, starting the race on equal points with Verstappen. If the procedure had been properly followed and Hamilton had finished the race under the safety car, he would have been a worthy champion.
Max Verstappen winner at Abu Dhabi. Credit by Getty Images.
Max Verstappen did not deserve to have his world championship tarnished by the asterisk that will surely always be there. He had his chance to win on track and on merit but he was unable to. If, however, Latifi’s car had been cleared more quickly and the normal safety car procedure had been followed and Verstappen had subsequently taken the win, he would have been a worthy champion.
Formula One looks like a joke and the people who work tirelessly to make the season happen have been let down as have all the sponsors who pour millions into the teams and the races, the broadcasters and most of all, the fans. The idea that Formula One “is run for the fans” never sounded more hollow.
It is important to note, however, that if Hamilton had been the beneficiary of that call, he would have taken the win and Verstappen would be the one justifiably irate and disillusioned. It was simply the wrong call.
The two rivals came together on the opening lap.
(I don’t intend to go into the first lap incident between Hamilton and Verstappen, save to say that Red Bull’s constant entreaties to “let them race” came back to bite them when the Stewards did just that.)
Formula One hyped itself into a corner. It built up the expectation of this final race showdown. When Hamilton took off and Red Bull and Verstappen had no answer, the result would have been fair if slightly less than the spectacular duel in the desert they had billed.
Michael Masi.
Much has been made of the pressure on Masi to make this call. There should not have been any pressure on Masi and here is why.
Why did Race Direction not have this situation rehearsed and decided upon before the race went green?
After Saudi Arabia, Michael Masi and the Race Direction team had one week. In that week they should have gone through all possible scenarios and decided IN ADVANCE what their response would be. A safety car in the final five laps was a perfectly foreseeable event and Masi should have known what to do and stuck with it. He should not have been under any pressure, self-imposed or otherwise, to make the call he did.
If the Race Director can make these changes arbitrarily and without warning how can anyone prepare for a race?
The FiA have ruled that Masi has the power to make these calls as the Race Director has the discretion to overrule anything in the rule book over a grand prix weekend. The key word here, though is discretion. It is surely the case that this discretion allows the Race Director power to make changes for reasons of safety. It gives him the power, for example, to move Qualifying to the Sunday morning in the event of bad weather conditions on a Saturday. It enables him to make crucial safety calls and ignore rules out of fairness. Changing a chassis without penalty when one has been damaged due to course failure, rather than a team or driver error is an example that springs to mind. It does not mean he has carte blanche to arbitrarily decide on the race and championship outcomes.
We know that his decision to change the safety car procedure is unprecedented for the following reason. All teams, particularly Mercedes, spend millions every year simulating races. It is quite clear that the events of the final 3 laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were events they had never considered. Teams need to make judgement calls; they shouldn’t have to second guess which regulation the Race Director is going to ignore today.
If this precedent is allowed to stand, who’s to stop the Race Director making other arbitrary decisions?
Why does the FiA and Formula One Management treat their fans with such contempt?
This is the biggest question to arise from this situation. Formula One has spent a lot of time and money doing research into “what the fans want”. I have seen the questionnaires and even answered them occasionally. They always avoid the big question. In the end, it’s not about loud noise or the number of overtakes. It’s about seeing a race. A genuine, authentic race. The impression is that the management and indeed, many of the media teams providing coverage of Formula One see the average fan as an idiot who merely wants to be entertained. They persistently refer to the races as a “show”.
For many years now, fans have had cause to suspect that the races are not always authentic. Conspiracy theories abound about back room deals and stitch ups. Now they have no doubt. Many fans who are lifelong supporters of Formula One are very loyal. People are loyal to things they are passionate about. They keep the faith, often long after there’s any reason to. Once that faith is lost however, it is incredibly hard to regain. It remains to be seen how many fans will return to view the 2022 season and how many are going to be giving Formula One a final chance. It is foolish in the extreme for Formula One to play fast and loose with the faith and goodwill of their fans.
Should Mercedes have taken it to Court?
Mercedes have decided to drop legal proceedings. It is necessary under the rules to appeal to the International Court of Appeal.
Toto Wolff.
Toto Wolff stated that they thought they couldn’t win at this court but went on to say that they thought they could win in a regular court. This is a very explosive statement. It essentially says that it is not possible for a team to bring a complaint against the Race Director in this court. As Toto said, “there’s a difference between being right and obtaining justice.”
This is a major issue. There is no outside independent scrutiny of Formula One. This might have caused pain and embarrassment to Formula One and the FiA in the short term; in the long term, however, this sort of review would have done the sport the world of good. Sunlight as they say, is the best disinfection. At this point, when the credibility of the sport is in question and there is no independent means of restoring it, the independent opinion of an outside court would have provided basis for rebuilding the trust.
The new FiA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has stated that there will be commission to look into the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Wolff states that he will hold the commission to account and make sure it does a proper job. Even so, this approach is a mistake. The only way that the FiA and Formula One can have such an investigation that has any credibility is for the investigation to be conducted outside of the FiA by an independent body. This will not happen. It has been suggested by Ben Sulayem, however, that Hamilton will be sanctioned for failing to attend the FiA prize giving gala.
Lewis Hamilton at Abu Dhabi.
Perhaps Sir Lewis should take him to court and argue that if the Race Director can arbitrarily change the rules so can the driver. He may win.
In Conclusion
The situation Formula One finds itself in, is that the Driver’s Championship has been awarded unfairly (even if the winner was a deserving winner) and there is no means of remedy. The FiA and Formula One were so out of touch with reality, that they initially thought they had produced an exciting and compelling season finale. Their response is to produce a report that we hope won’t be a whitewash. It is unlikely anyone will be penalised (other than Lewis Hamilton) and that no real changes will be made.
It is not going too far to suggest that this could be the beginning of the end for Formula One.
By Clare Topic
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