I agree that the Alonso post-race penalty was the worst. It’s a dubious penalty as it is, but it should really be a team penalty rather than one against the driver, since Alonso had no control over it.
The original penalty was for the driver being out of position. Much as I agree that not then serving that penalty was not the driver's fault, I can absolutely see teams choosing to purposefully not take the penalty correctly if it prevents a sporting disadvantage to their driver.
I was in the process of writing about how the FIA should have notified the team of the penalty well before the start of the race (had the team known about it with more than half of the race left to run, Alonso could potentially have pulled out an extra five seconds on the Mercs), and I went to look up what the actual infraction was. Well it turns out they've cancelled the penalty and Alonso retains his podium. The stewards were under the impression that a jack just touching the car constituted them "working" on it. Not raising the car with the jack, just touching it. Apparently this had not actually been agreed with the teams, so they've rescinded the penalty.
Shocking to see the FIA actually admit to a mistake. Shouldn't have happened in the first place of course, waiting over 30 laps to inform someone is bullshit.
After the fucking farce of Verstappen winning the championship in 2021 (which should never have happened), you would think that the FIA would have their house in order on that front by now.
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I really think something needs to be done about the free-pitstop drivers get under a red flag. Someone on the Sky broadcast said that a tyre change was allowed for safety reasons, the logic being that cars may have just driven through debris, which I suppose I can understand. The problem is that it's ruinous to races, and there has to be a better way. I'd be happier if, say, teams were allowed to change a car's tyres but doing so would incur a penalty of some sort - perhaps the average time loss for a pit stop under the safety car, that sort of thing.
Obviously ruining George's well-won first place was moot in the end as his car did its very best to inflate an invisible hot air balloon, and let's not pretend that there was much chance of his retaining that position when Max managed to pull out a 2.7 second lead over Hamilton within one lap of the overtake for the lead (Four DRS zones, FIA? Four? That's insane). But I'd much rather see this happen on the track than in the downtime during red flag periods.
It's a little gutting for Sainz, whose penalty was probably deserved. I'd have to see it from a better angle, but the commentary team seemed to think it was worthy of one. He'd driven a pretty good race up until that point, and it feels like everyone was going to be just that little bit less careful when there was a 2-lap race with no DRS interference, so I think there was more pressure the closer to the front you started. I didn't really understand the logic behind running the cars to the start line, but I guess they wouldn't have been able to accurately place Sainz after his penalty had they not.
It's a bit like backing the decision to not eat at a restaurant because it's closed. There's no way a grand prix could feasibly happen there from tomorrow.
I hope some of the more affluent F1 luminaries throw a bit of relief cash to the people in the area, because it looks pretty terrible.
I know it's probably not the primary concern right now, but I wonder what happens to the F1 freight in this situation. I know the flooding was a concern at the start of the week so they clearly knew this was a possibility, but as they didn't call the race off until yesterday then surely all of the equipment (and indeed the cars themselves) would have been in transit so that it was all on time. I'm dimly aware that teams have multiple sets of some equipment to meet the demands of the calender, but this was to be the first race of a triple header and presumably there's quite a pressing schedule to stick to.
Not a good look for Massa. FIA meddling or dubious calls have probably had a tangible impact on championship results in half of all F1 seasons. Either deal with them at the time or let them lie. I still feel strongly that the results of the 2021 championship should have been reversed after the final race given what Michael Massi did, but at this point I'm not sure what good it would serve, nor am I sure what good it would do to have the 2008 Renault incident taken into account to award Massa a championship title (other than to stoke his ego).
I felt sorry for Massa at the time given that he was effectively champion for about 20 seconds until Timo Glock got hit by the crowd sniper and let Hamilton past on the last lap. Now he's just got sour grapes for something that happened 15 years ago.
Glock didn't let Hamilton past, he could barely make the wet corners on his slicks while Hamilton had the correct tyres on.
I think Massa's been really poorly advised here. I do like him, he had a rough time with that head injury and he was unlucky to miss out - but this isn't going to help his reputation at all.
At the time I felt that the 2021 Massi thing should absolutely have been reversed, the rules weren't followed! It's too late now, but they could have done it following an investigation back then.
What sucks is that Verstappen could have won 2021 on merit, but being handed the win on a plate at the end really soured it for me. Mercedes made a risky strategy call that absolutely should have paid off had the rules been followed, and got fucked by one guy going rogue and deciding the champion. There was no questioning their 2022 win.
Massa bringing his grievances up so long after the fact has a smell of desperation to it. Why now? Why not immediately, or even the year after?
Unless Massa can somehow prove that his leaving the pit box with a fuel hose still attached to his car was somehow Renault's fault, I really don't see what grounds he could have for challenging the championship result. I know that stop happened under the safety car Piquet Jr caused, but surely it's an operational fault at Ferrari that caused him not to score any points that round.
Massa bringing his grievances up so long after the fact has a smell of desperation to it. Why now? Why not immediately, or even the year after?
It's explained in the article. Bernie Eccleston was interviewed earlier this year, and he said that then FIA-president Max Mosley was aware that the crash was deliberate at the time but took no action. I still don't think challenging a 15-year old decision is sensible, but at least it's based on new evidence.
Calling the credibility and honesty of Bernie Ecclestone into question? I'm shocked, shocked I say!
Seriously though, Ecclestone always had a weird fixation on the 2008 championship result. He took to badmouthing Hamilton on a frequent basis and suggested that the drivers' title should be determined by the most wins, not points, specifically because it would have given Massa the 2008 title. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he had some unconscionable amount of money riding on Ferrari winning that year.
Given that this thread hasn't had a post since August, I'm guessing everyone else is as sick of this season as I am. The tiresome dominance of Red Bull, the shitty sprint format and a slew of races with highlights on Monday mornings has pushed me to the point where I may not bother with the rest of the year. I used to pay £12 for a Now TV day pass if I couldn't watch a race at a reasonable time, which used to be a couple of times a year, but now we've had three consecutive races where that's the case (one more to come, in the form of Las Vegas) and I refuse to pay when there's no realistic chance of Verstappen not winning.
I hope there's some improvement next year, because right now F1 has gone to the dogs.
