Masi Leaves FIA

[Wombat]

i still believe thought that lewis hamilton was sitting duck on his 40 lap old tyres & mayve lost even under legal conditions

I understand what you’re saying but you are missing the point here. Again, under normal, legal safety car procedures the race would have ended under safety car conditions. Thus, Lewis wouldn’t have been a sitting duck—even on his fresh softs with Lewis on his 40+ lap hards, Max wouldn’t have been able to pass Lewis because there wouldn’t have been any more racing laps. Therefore, had Merc pitted Lewis they would have just handed the lead and the win to Max since, with no more racing laps, Lewis would have had no opportunity to retake it. The pit stop delta was just over 20 secs. so Max would easily have assumed the lead if Lewis had pitted. Perhaps if it had been a virtual safety car Lewis might have been able to retain the lead since, absurdly, the cars can go faster in the pits than on track. However, under the full safety car call Max could have gone at a plenty fast enough speed to pass a pitting Lewis since he wouldn’t have to slow sufficiently until he was picked up by the safety car (and the yellow-flagged accident area was far beyond the pit area).

Had Masi not allowed those 3 lapped cars to unlap themselves, then the race could have legally been restarted on that final lap. However, with those 3 cars between him and Max, Lewis would certainly have been able to build at least a 3 second gap over Max by the time Max reached the start line (at which point he would only then be allowed to start passing cars). And Max would lose even more time working past those 3 cars. So, even under this scenario, despite being on 40+ lap hards, Lewis would have had a sufficiently large enough gap to hold off Max for that single lap.

 

[Red Flag Redemption]

I understand what you’re saying but you are missing the point here. Again, under normal, legal safety car procedures the race would have ended under safety car conditions. Thus, Lewis wouldn’t have been a sitting duck—even on his fresh softs with Lewis on his 40+ lap hards, Max wouldn’t have been able to pass Lewis because there wouldn’t have been any more racing laps. Therefore, had Merc pitted Lewis they would have just handed the lead and the win to Max since, with no more racing laps, Lewis would have had no opportunity to retake it. The pit stop delta was just over 20 secs. so Max would easily have assumed the lead if Lewis had pitted. Perhaps if it had been a virtual safety car Lewis might have been able to retain the lead since, absurdly, the cars can go faster in the pits than on track. However, under the full safety car call Max could have gone at a plenty fast enough speed to pass a pitting Lewis since he wouldn’t have to slow sufficiently until he was picked up by the safety car (and the yellow-flagged accident area was far beyond the pit area).

Had Masi not allowed those 3 lapped cars to unlap themselves, then the race could have legally been restarted on that final lap. However, with those 3 cars between him and Max, Lewis would certainly have been able to build at least a 3 second gap over Max by the time Max reached the start line (at which point he would only then be allowed to start passing cars). And Max would lose even more time working past those 3 cars. So, even under this scenario, despite being on 40+ lap hards, Lewis would have had a sufficiently large enough gap to hold off Max for that single lap.

Totally agree. I think there were 5 cars between Lewis and Max so it would have been even more unlikely that Max would have been able to make a move. Even if all 5 lapped cars were going to be Max's best friend and part ways like the red sea, it still would've taken at least the two straights to do that. Meaning, Max would have ran out of overtaking opportunities because we saw how Checo could just sit in front of Lewis for the whole 3rd sector and some of the first. So, in the end those lapped cars should have never been allowed to unlap themselves unless everyone was going to be unlapped.

I think Lewis should have won that title even though everything was out of Max's control. I actually feel kinda bad for Lewis and that is coming from a Ferrari fan. I also feel bad for the drivers who weren't allowed to unlap themselves because it ruined their race as well.

 

[Wombat]

I think there were 5 cars between Lewis and Max

Yes, there were indeed 5 cars between them (don't know why I said 3 when I've always noted 5 in all the other times I've posted re. this disgraceful episode; brain fade, I guess!). Anyway, the greater number just adds more support to my point that Lewis would have been able to build a sufficient gap to hold off Max for a single lap. Even without the buffer of those 5 cars Max wasn't able to pass Lewis until the end of the main staight. If those 5 cars were left in place, Lewis would almost certainly have reponded as follows. He knew that at such a tire disadvantage to Max that he would have to build a big enough gap right at the restart in order to finish ahead of him. Having already put a lap on those 5 cars he also knew he was much faster than them. In that case he would probably have reasoned that with his greater pace he could take off at racing speed as soon as the safety car released the field (at which point he would then be in control of the field). In this way, the more distance he had between the safety car releasing the field and the start line, the greater the gap he would be able to pull out on those slower lapped cars and therefore the greater the gap he would be able to pull out on Max (who was stuck behind those slower cars because passing isn't allowed until crossing the start line). With that 5 car buffer I don't think Lewis would have had any trouble building a big enough gap over Max for that single lap.

Another point to consider is that, while Masi illicitly allowed only those 5 lapped cars between Lewis and Max to unlap themselves, this meant that the 2 lapped cars between Max and the 3rd place car were left in place. And this meant that Max would immediately be able to fully focus on attacking Lewis without having to worry about himself being challenged by the 3rd place car because it was stuck behind those 2 lapped cars.

 

[Brogan]

We get it.

Masi and the FIA fucked Hamilton.

Going on and on about it isn't going to change anything.
Move on.

 

[Red Flag Redemption]

There have been plenty of drivers screwed over by the rules. That unfortunately is just part of the sport. For example, I thought the stewards robbed us of a great race at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix. But there's nothing we can do now. I will say though, watching Max overtake those 5 lapped cars and have a chance at Hamilton would have been amazing to watch purely from a racing enthusiasts perspective. Hopefully we will get to see these two talented drivers battle again soon.

 

[Wombat]

There have been plenty of drivers screwed over by the rules. That unfortunately is just part of the sport. For example, I thought the stewards robbed us of a great race at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix. But there's nothing we can do now.

It’s clear to me from various mollifying or even dismissive comments from fans and media sources that there are many who either fail to comprehend or simply refuse to acknowledge the monumentally despicable nature of this episode and the epic magnitude of the injustice that resulted from it. This wasn’t a typical, garden variety “driver screwed over by the rules” situation; not something to simply be brushed aside, forgotten and just moved on from. What was done to Lewis is unprecedented. This wasn’t merely a case of him being “screwed over by the rules.” This was a case of the rules being illegally changed and new ones just made up during the actual event. In all my years of following F1 (since the 1960’s) and numerous other sports I have never seen such a disgraceful thing done during an actual major sporting event (even the infamous “tuck rule” football game between the Raiders and Patriots pales by comparison). What makes it even more egregious is the fact that it was perpetrated by F1 itself: through the person that it chose to oversee the races and (ironically) ensure that the sporting rules and regulations were properly adhered to, and by the FIA for allowing what Masi did to stand (even though admitting that what he did was illegal) rather than officially acknowledging that (by the official rules) Lewis actually was the winner and adjusting the results accordingly. Also unprecedented is the magnitude of what resulted from this grave injustice. It robbed Lewis not only of a race win and a WDC, but also of a record 8th WDC (in other words, of being the sole holder of F1’s most prestigious record). No other driver has ever lost even remotely as much due to illicit rules wrangling. It irks me when a commentator or sports writer makes the uncritical, unqualified statement that Max narrowly beat Lewis for the 2021 title (when they know the actual truth of the matter) and go unchallenged, while a commentator like Ted Kravitz gets ostracized for making the factual statement that Lewis was robbed. Now, on the eve of the ADGP it’ll be interesting to see if any of the commentators have the character and courage to speak the unvarnished truth about what happened there last year.

I don’t believe that there’s nothing that can be done re. this matter. There have been occasions when years later, an unjust result has rightfully been officially changed. The reason these came about is because some people didn’t just move on but instead continued to bring up the matter and fought against the injustice. For example, consider the little known case of long jumper Phil Shinnick, who in 1963 set a world long jump record in a meet that officials unfairly wouldn’t acknowledge. He continually fought his case and 58 years later his record for that time period finally was officially acknowledged and recorded. It’s quite likely that recordings of this race will be around for many years. As I’ve previously stated, even 100 years from now it’ll be clear to anyone who watches a recording of the race that, by the official rules, Lewis was the actual winner (and deservedly so). I thus believe there’s a good chance that if this matter is kept alive then at some future time (perhaps even beyond our lifetimes) this horrible injustice will be rectified and the race and title will finally be restored to the actual winner, Lewis Hamilton.

 

[Red Flag Redemption]

No other driver has ever lost even remotely as much due to illicit rules wrangling. It irks me when a commentator or sports writer makes the uncritical, unqualified statement that Max narrowly beat Lewis for the 2021 title (when they know the actual truth of the matter) and go unchallenged, while a commentator like Ted Kravitz gets ostracized for making the factual statement that Lewis was robbed. Now, on the eve of the ADGP it’ll be interesting to see if any of the commentators have the character and courage to speak the unvarnished truth about what happened there last year.

I don’t believe that there’s nothing that can be done re. this matter. There have been occasions when years later, an unjust result has rightfully been officially changed. The reason these came about is because some people didn’t just move on but instead continued to bring up the matter and fought against the injustice. For example, consider the little known case of long jumper Phil Shinnick, who in 1963 set a world long jump record in a meet that officials unfairly wouldn’t acknowledge. He continually fought his case and 58 years later his record for that time period finally was officially acknowledged and recorded. It’s quite likely that recordings of this race will be around for many years. As I’ve previously stated, even 100 years from now it’ll be clear to anyone who watches a recording of the race that, by the official rules, Lewis was the actual winner (and deservedly so). I thus believe there’s a good chance that if this matter is kept alive then at some future time (perhaps even beyond our lifetimes) this horrible injustice will be rectified and the race and title will finally be restored to the actual winner, Lewis Hamilton.

I understand your case and that it sucks for Hamilton. It's unfortunate that people like Ted get shut up when they say the right thing and I do believe that Hamilton was robbed. I with they he would have won the championship because I don't think Verstappen deserved it as much. I'm just saying that it wasn't any of the drivers fault and unfortunately as fans there isn't much we can do at the moment. I honestly rather see Mercedes become more competitive next season, fight back, Lewis get his last championship and then pull a Rosburg. I think that would be a great way to stick it to the FIA, Red Bull, and Max. As far as drivers being screwed over by the rules, Hamilton was an extreme case. But they should still put their energy into moving forward and I think Lewis is setting a great example of doing so.