Jeff I didn't mean to bait you back but I appreciate the time you took to write a response. I will make a few comments: 1. First and foremost Max is a deserved Champion in 2021 as would have been Hamilton. It is easy to take a revisionist view to the whole season and nickel and dime every moment to determine who got the better brakes, etc. From my opinion both drivers got their fair share of good and bad over the year that was near enough equal to accept them coming into the final race as tied with the decider being a one race shoot out. I don't know of too many people who (prior to the start of Abu Dhabi) were aggrieved that the championship was not wrapped up sooner. We all relished and enjoyed the idea of the final race decider and with it comes the acceptance that it was fair. Again you can't have it both ways and complain about something being unfair when you were ok with it earlier when it suits you. 2. Regarding the first lap situation I'd be happy to discuss that in another thread but again all the parties involved seemed to be ok with how it went down and did not scream bloody murder. Following up with that the main discussion here is whether or not Masi followed the rules which is different to a tit for tat defense where present actions are justified because prior ones were perceived to be unfair. Parents teach their kids this with sibling behavior pretty early on. Still with regards to Masi I don't believe for a second that the first lap incident ruling was done to keep some kind of agenda. He made a decision that can be argued as controversial but it was supported in precedent (again separate argument). Very different to the final lap call which was made up on the fly. 3. Hinging on the use of the term 'rule change' over say rule 'clarification' is again semantics used to gloss over or justify the broader picture which is much more damming. Again, regardless of the term used, this move by the FIA is nothing more than pandering to placate the concept brought up by Red Bull. I, for one, do not see the rule as having changed in any meaningful way. 4. We agree that pursuing Max for overtaking under yellow is disingenuous by Mercedes. Playing devil's advocate for a second you can argue that Max could have hung much further back and not created a situation where the possibility of even a fractional overtake could happen. By pushing the boundaries he went a tiny bit too far getting caught off by Lewis and that he should be responsible for that. That is lawyering in the extreme and do not agree with it. The FIA was right to throw that out. Lastly this whole thing about the FIA 'validating' the championship is nonsense. Verstappen was champion in Abu Dhabi and nothing was going to change that especially after Mercedes withdrew their option to appeal. Max Verstappen. 2021 Formula 1 World champion #humanerrorchampion (just teasing)
A :White is black ,black is white OR: B:Messy Massi Messed up, FIA fired his A$$,Max WDC with an enormous Asterix attached which will be there forever. You choose ..
It's obviously B for anyone who can see reality. Others they do NOT care about right vs. wrong, just that their driver was gifted a WDC!
Setting new 'precedents' in Oz LOL Former F1 race director Masi to get Supercars Commission role Former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is set to become the new Chairman of the Supercars Commission in Australia.
I don't think there shouldn't be any asterix attached to Max's 2021 WDC. He did absolutely nothing wrong.
Earlier this year, bin Sulayem was quoted as saying that he would hire Masi back as one of the race directors! Turns out, Masi wasn't "fired" or "sacked" at all ... instead, he was simply given a vacation (a purely political move to appease "someone" into returning for the new season, no doubt). Bottom line: no asterisk whatsoever, in Verstappen's first WDC
I think there should be a big asterisk next to HAM’s last 6 WDCs saying that he was, in effect, racing only himself: Image Unavailable, Please Login Whether or not Max’s WDC merits an Asterix, I’m thinking yeah, maybe: Image Unavailable, Please Login
The asterix is because the race was not conducted under the rules governing the running of races in the sport.
Every race in the years Lewis won his championships were run under the rules governing the races in the sport. Max's were not.
The race was absolutely conducted under the governing rules of 2021. The rules have since been changed.
Yet violated his own precedent set the year before with respect to the use of the Safety Car. This precedent was set by Masi. It clarified the FIA'/Masi/Race Director use of the Safety Car. Its on record. Again he can go back to Oz and violate his own precedents in another series LOL. What a race director. Replaced and rightfully so due to his own ineptitude. He set this up himself. I would state the same - as it is a fact also it doesnt matter who the driver or drivers are that were affected. It was wrong.
As Masi the Inconsistent Applicator of Rules-- specified in Nurburgring 2020 Clarification of Safety Car useage after that race. His inconsistency is what his issue was, his holding court with the team pitwall etc. All his on doing. His removal was self induced LOL. If this is Max being passed can one IMAGINE THE OUTRAGE pouring out of Horner and Marko LOL, Horner has been on record of late 'understanding' what Masi did wrong LOL
Masi has his own fan club on FChat it seems, arguing vehemently against evidence and plain common sense. They cannot pretend to have the backing of the FIA anymore, but persevere in their heresy, simply for trolling purpose.
Nothing to do with the drivers. They were wronged. THOSE NOT ABLE TO UNLAP OR PASS THE SAFETY CAR INCLUDED = SO MUCH FOR A MOTOR RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS MASI - BYE NO LOSSSSSSSSSSSSSS LOL!
No rules were broken in 2021. The FIA validated Verstappen as WDC for 2021, and changed the rules for 2022. If the Race Director simply "went rogue" and broke the rules ... why would there be any need for the FIA to change the rules? Why would the FIA be more than willing to re-instate Masi in a Race Director role, as bin Sulayem has said?
Let's note that it wasn't a Verstappen fan, who bumped this old thread It's the Hamilton fanboys that cant seem to move past 2021. Wonder why?
