2021 - Race 22 Abu Dhabi

[squibby]

... I think they've just been put under a more powerful microscope than many past seasons, and that brings the flaws of the system to light....

I've been watching F1 on paid subscription TV since 2009, and have probably missed maybe one or two races since then in over 10 years thanks to being able to record everything. I used to watch it before then sporadically on free-to-air TV as a kid, but that's not with the same intense interest. So with respect, many fans have always had a 'powerful microscope' on each race, for me personally that spans about 12 seasons now.

I can say that the end of the last race was unique. Anyone who argues to me that it was 'same-same' , or we just saw it this time because of new access to radio messages, I disagree. Not sure why the stewards didn't make Hamilton give the position back to Verstappen on the second lap incident, I'm a Hamilton fan and I agree he was pushed wide, but at the same time, Verstappen threw it up the inside and made the corner, I mean what more does he need to do? - but that controversial piece of stewardship is not unique, it has precedent and it's about 50/50 which way it tends to go.

At the end why they didn't have a Red flag, well same again, sometimes they just leave it too late and go for the safety car when a flag would be better. It's not unprcedented, nothing particularly unusual.

However, to not unlap cars in full thus compromising Sainz and Ricciardo's chances to do anything in the last couple laps to show massive favouritism for the Max and Lewis shootout, yet be totally ignorant of the vastly unequal tyres or the great lead lost by Lewis in the prior 50 plus laps was just the dumbest clumsiest piece of race management I've ever seen and completely unprecedented and against the regs. First time I ever saw it.

If I was thinking about joining F1, The message I would derive from this is that unless I'm running 1st or 2nd, nobody in the sport cares about my race compared to the leaders. I would also be concerned that I can lead 50 laps of a race only to have the rules re-hashed in the last two laps. - How can I strategize for situations with no precedent? No-No, Perhaps I'll invest my money elsewhere, or even worse, perhaps I can have a quite discussion behind closed doors that If I do invest, I can get a few decisions my way at discretion of race direction who seemingly can do whatever it likes right?

Honda and Raikonnen are probably thinking - good riddance to this crap shoot.

[airshifter]

If I was thinking about joining F1, The message I would derive from this is that unless I'm running 1st or 2nd, nobody in the sport cares about my race compared to the leaders. I would also be concerned that I can lead 50 laps of a race only to have the rules re-hashed in the last two laps. - How can I strategize for situations with no precedent? No-No, Perhaps I'll invest my money elsewhere, or even worse, perhaps I can have a quite discussion behind closed doors that If I do invest, I can get a few decisions my way at discretion of race direction who seemingly can do whatever it likes right?

Honda and Raikonnen are probably thinking - good riddance to this crap shoot.

In this light, I essentially agree. Though I doubt any appeals will go anywhere, and it appears the FIA are covered by multiple articles involving the unlapping of cars and authority.... they are doing what they want to do in multiple situations, often without consistency, and often in blatant disregard of regs. The precedent is that the FIA does as it wishes. This is not due to Masi, it's been going on for decades.

The USGP in 2005 had 6 cars start the race. FIA approved.

Sometimes the safety car is cut short by a red flag. Sometimes they stay under the safety car. Sometimes that move it legal, other times that apex of the corner and a cars width don't matter. Sometimes track limits matter, sometimes they don't. Contact may be ok today, but not tomorrow, and never for certain drivers. The politics behind the radio calls just gets worse and worse, and the drivers are in on it too.

Though I agree consistency and enforcement need to be addressed, in the 30 or so years I've watched the sport it's generally a case of they decide race by race. With the proper structure and regs they could easily remove grey areas, but for the most part they don't bother until pushed by the teams acting as a group.




Which all combined, as I stated before, is why I don't pay much attention to the drama and make my own decisions. The titles mean next to nothing to me personally.

[Nitrodaze]

I've been watching F1 on paid subscription TV since 2009, and have probably missed maybe one or two races since then in over 10 years thanks to being able to record everything. I used to watch it before then sporadically on free-to-air TV as a kid, but that's not with the same intense interest. So with respect, many fans have always had a 'powerful microscope' on each race, for me personally that spans about 12 seasons now.

I can say that the end of the last race was unique. Anyone who argues to me that it was 'same-same' , or we just saw it this time because of new access to radio messages, I disagree. Not sure why the stewards didn't make Hamilton give the position back to Verstappen on the second lap incident, I'm a Hamilton fan and I agree he was pushed wide, but at the same time, Verstappen threw it up the inside and made the corner, I mean what more does he need to do? - but that controversial piece of stewardship is not unique, it has precedent and it's about 50/50 which way it tends to go.

At the end why they didn't have a Red flag, well same again, sometimes they just leave it too late and go for the safety car when a flag would be better. It's not unprcedented, nothing particularly unusual.

However, to not unlap cars in full thus compromising Sainz and Ricciardo's chances to do anything in the last couple laps to show massive favouritism for the Max and Lewis shootout, yet be totally ignorant of the vastly unequal tyres or the great lead lost by Lewis in the prior 50 plus laps was just the dumbest clumsiest piece of race management I've ever seen and completely unprecedented and against the regs. First time I ever saw it.

If I was thinking about joining F1, The message I would derive from this is that unless I'm running 1st or 2nd, nobody in the sport cares about my race compared to the leaders. I would also be concerned that I can lead 50 laps of a race only to have the rules re-hashed in the last two laps. - How can I strategize for situations with no precedent? No-No, Perhaps I'll invest my money elsewhere, or even worse, perhaps I can have a quite discussion behind closed doors that If I do invest, I can get a few decisions my way at discretion of race direction who seemingly can do whatever it likes right?

Honda and Raikonnen are probably thinking - good riddance to this crap shoot.

That Masi removed Sainz, Ricciardo and Alonso from the fight is the other reason this was unfair. Most of these guys were on fresh soft tyres. Any one of them could have ended up on the podium at the Abu Dhabi race if they were given the chance to unlap themselves and rejoin behind the leaders; which would have meant so much for their teams. Sainz could have had a great opportunity to challenge Verstappen for second or even Hamilton if he had a better start than the front two. Even the competition between those five cars was as important as the race at the front, if the race had restarted without unlapping the cars.