The F1 thread

[eny]

That is utterly unjust. How can Red Bull be proud of that ffs.

[Raid]

Just what in the fuck was that? Michael Masi just decided the god damn championship.

[Rossell]

That was shit.

[arqueturus]

Oh dear, the Mrs is not happy.

She explained to me what was done, I don't get it, my enjuring impression of F1 is that the rules and regs interfere with the racing so much, that looked like the championship wasn't decided in the race conditions to me.

I watch (or did watch) MotoGP and SBK for years only taking a break last year and the yeart before and there's never this much tampering by off track. I'm not saying they get it right all the time but it just doesn't happen.

[eny]

I have never seen such blatant corruption as that. Indefensible.

[Wrathbone]

At the bare minimum, Masi should be frogmarched away from F1 and never allowed to return.

Just to confirm I’m not going mad, he confirmed lapped cars would not go past, then Red Bull whinged, and within the space of 30 seconds the decision was reversed and the safety car was ended, thereby leaving Hamilton with no chance of winning. I thought if lapped cars were released, they had to rejoin the back of the pack before a restart.

This can’t stand. Verstappen didn’t win that.

[DjchunKfunK]

At the bare minimum, Masi should be frogmarched away from F1 and never allowed to return.

Just to confirm I’m not going mad, he confirmed lapped cars would not go past, then Red Bull whinged, and within the space of 30 seconds the decision was reversed and the safety car was ended, thereby leaving Hamilton with no chance of winning. I thought if lapped cars were released, they had to rejoin the back of the pack before a restart.

This can’t stand. Verstappen didn’t win that.

They didn't even let all the lapped cars go past, it was just the ones between Verstappen and Hamilton. This was a decision made to make the sport look better, they didn't want the final race of an epic season decided under the safety car, even though the fair thing to do was either not let lapped cars through and have one lap of racing or finish under the safety car.

[Wrathbone]

This was a decision made to make the sport look good

Well that backfired, didn’t it?

If Masi is still in place next season then I’m not sure there’s much point in watching, as it’s clear he doesn’t understand that it’s a sport.

[DjchunKfunK]

Well it's for all the new people that have started watching recently and they wont know about the rules around safety cars, all they will see if Verstappen overtaking Hamilton on track for the win. I've changed it to look better as I think that is a better way of phrasing it.

[Snowy]

Wow.

I am a bit conflicted I must say, I felt that Hamilton should have given the position back at the start of the race and if he had won I suspect I would have felt rather aggrieved. At the same time, what an utter cluster-fuck at the end. Props to Hamilton, we was incredibly composed and magnanimous, that must have taken a herculean effort.

[Raid]

This isn't over. Mercedes are obviously going to dispute this, and I really do think the FIA are going to have to go to court to defend their actions. Rosberg has just said that the rule states that if any lapped cars are allowed to overtake, then all lapped cars need to overtake.

This is just absolutely shocking. Masi has to go. He has absolutely no credibility after this, and it's not like he had a whole lot before.

[DjchunKfunK]

Wow.

I am a bit conflicted I must say, I felt that Hamilton should have given the position back at the start of the race and if he had won I suspect I would have felt rather aggrieved. At the same time, what an utter cluster-fuck at the end. Props to Hamilton, we was incredibly composed and magnanimous, that must have taken a herculean effort.

Possibly but considering his pace I think Lewis gets him at some other point anyway so it's kind of immaterial in the grand scheme of things.

[Raid]

Agreed, the Mercedes was simply a faster car today. It's a track where it's extremely easy for a faster car to overtake. Lewis would have got him back.

[Wrathbone]

Wow.

I am a bit conflicted I must say, I felt that Hamilton should have given the position back at the start of the race and if he had won I suspect I would have felt rather aggrieved. At the same time, what an utter cluster-fuck at the end. Props to Hamilton, we was incredibly composed and magnanimous, that must have taken a herculean effort.

The first incident was dubious, I agree, though Verstappen did force him off the track so I can see how it was interpreted as a racing incident. The decision at the end was completely indefensible. Masi rushed and reversed a decision due to pressure from Red Bull which he knew - he knew - would determine the championship, and he didn’t even follow FIA rules in doing so. Farcical.

Let’s say Mercedes win an appeal that admits wrongdoing from the FIA. It can’t change the championship result, can it? The drivers weren’t the ones at fault (although Max did briefly push past Lewis before the restart), so there’s no chance for justice.

[arqueturus]

It's hard to see where Merc goes from here. If they were to protest, take legal action, whatever, they're really not going to look any the better for it. But how can they not?