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.