Hamilton v Verstappen

[horlock07]

Hamilton better get the tissues out

Think knocking one out might be a bit distracting....

Sent from my SM-A125F

[Berniman]

Champonship decided by the stewards and race director - welcome to the future of F1

[theakston2k]

Final amusing twist would be if Wolff gets his wish and places decided on penultimate lap then Hamilton gets handed a 5 second penalty based on new evidence from the lap one incident. Steward decisions have been inconsistent all season but they’ve probably evened themselves out now.

They clearly still miss Charlie Whiting.

[4D]

 

[Quagmire]

Considering he gets a bit of grief for being arrogant, I thought Hamilton handled himself with absolute class after that.

[Legends-Lounge]

Considering he gets a bit of grief for being arrogant, I thought Hamilton handled himself with absolute class after that.

One swallow dos not make a BJ specialist.

[Batch]

Considering he gets a bit of grief for being arrogant, I thought Hamilton handled himself with absolute class after that.

he did . very un bellend like tbh - which is a suprise.

wolf is also a class act compared to whinger spice.

Masi didn't apply the rules correctly as far as I can see. They have the right to feel aggrieved and appeal. I don't think the championship will be reversed, but financial compensation *if* the case proven

[Abrahammer]

Champonship decided by the stewards and race director - welcome to the future of F1

Definitely been too many things decided by stewards throughout the season.

“Let them race” seems to have gone out the window this season which is a shame

[Bogus Dave]

If Michael Masi is just going to make up his own rules as he goes along, as he has done for most of the second half of the season, he should have red flagged it and had a 5 lap sprint. Would have at least made it fair

[4D]

Give me touring cars any day.

[Leggett]

They've made some very odd calls all season long, Verstappen has gotten away with a lot of stuff and benefitted from some bizarre calls (Spa, anyone?) The bullshit of the last few events could've been avoided had they (correctly) penalised Verstappen for driving like a cunt in Brazil, instead they feed into his 'victim' mentality and he continues to drive like a cunt. Masi should not be in charge of the stewarding next year, he is obviously clueless and way too easy to sway by Karen Horner demanding to speak to his manager every event. Shameful turn of events, and as soon as they allowed those five cars to pass, and not follow proper procedure, they handed Verstappen the title. Bullshit call cost us a decent fight for the championship, Hamilton had done more than enough to win that.

[BambooToTheFuture]

I'm still thinking about this. It's a nuts/corrupt/laughable/ *delete as app. end to a season.

Yeah first lap Hamilton got "fortunate" but I think based on sheer race pace for HAM and Verstappen being on softs then HAM would've eventually overtaken VER. VER would still have had to have pitted earlier than HAM anyway so it's fairly moot regarding the first lap.

As for the part of the race that a lot of people are now talking about. C'est incroyable! I'm sure many have seen the same words be repeated/posted etc but how can Race Control (Masi) state "No cars to overtake the safety car" on lap 56 and a half, to then suddenly change to "Cars (only the ones between MV & LH) to overtake the safety car" on lap 57 and a bit? Further and this is the wider issue, why only those few cars? Certainly it must be all cars to unlap or none at all and this is why Masi's decision stinks. Not only did this certainly hand the race win (and subsequent WDC title) to MV and shaft LH, it also shafted Sainz, Tsunoda and Gasly. These guys weren't given an equal shot at using this final lap (also with fresh tyres/tires (sic* can't remember which one) too) to improve their own race position. With that in mind then, the only driver who benefitted from this sudden "change of heart" was Verstappen and Verstappen only. The decision points to aide no one else but he. Call me a cynic but I truly believe someone (and not the obvious people involved) somewhere desperately wanted Verstappen to win the WDC this season; at any cost. There now seems to be an impasse for the sport because the integrity, if somewhat on unstable ground for many years before, is now more shredded than a 16 psi pressure Pirelli C5 after 20 laps. Regardless of any outcome at CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport, as I see it going there now), I think for there to be any progress then Michael Masi has to do the right thing and step down. It'll be a massive admission of knowing that he made his role untenable but there will be some minor integrity left. He is no Charlie Whiting that's for sure.

In some ways, I feel Michael Masi has got himself sucked in far too much to the "constructed" version of F1 via the dramatic "Drive To Survive". Now that is great entertainment but that should be down to Netflix to inflate/exaggerate/create with their own editing/creativity etc and not actually dictating in part, outcomes and generating rivalries via their narratives. Like a lot of TV in sport, Netflix have thrown a lot of dosh to gain exclusive AAA to much of F1 and are seemingly having some influence too but we have to remember that this isn't reality TV and when the lines between both start to blur, we get a false representation (or a production companies adaptation) of what sport truly means and why people get involved/fall in love with it in the first place.

There is a danger then that the "entertainment" factor starts to actually override the "integrity" of sport factor in F1. Of course, there needs to be a balance to keep things interesting but there are more than one ways to skin a cat; this wasn't the way to do it. Many F1 newbs will be thinking WTF - as will several true F1 diehards (regardless of their fave driver).

I have no real allegiance to either Hamilton or Verstappen and certainly don't associate any nationalistic sticker/flag to it. For one reason, the driver may be of one nationality but these teams are built by people from all parts of the world. I've never really understood the sticking a flag on it element but maybe that is just me. I have a similar mindset with boxing too. I just back who I like and appreciate a good, fair, talented competitor. eg, I really rate Gasly in F1 but think he doesn't/isn't get/getting a fair crack of the whip currently. I couldn't give a jot though that he is French.

All in all, this is a disappointing end to a season that has had some amazing and genuine racing moments. The midfield battle was the most interesting and entertaining with many of those drivers capable of stepping up, any of them could also be an MV or LH with a seat in the top two teams. Yet the season has been overshadowed by a terrible Race Control which has made inconsistent/bizarre decisions for most of the season. Can any of us be sure as to where the sport goes from here with such a cloud of integrity heavier and more full of rain than we ever saw at Spa...

tl;dr
Masi is a cunt
LH likely would've overtook MV after the first few laps so 1st lap issue/discussion is moot
Masi is a cunt
Decision likely to go to CAS
Masi is a cunt
F1 Newbs and diehards alike will most likely be in a state of WTF
Masi is a cunt
Other drivers denied a fair race
Masi is a cunt
The Netflix Paradox & Masi Dilemma/Contradiction
Masi is a cunt
In race decision by Masi during/ending of SC directly and only benefitted MV
Masi is a cunt
Lots of midfield F1 drivers capable of stepping up
Masi is a cunt
The sport now left under a bigger cloud than ever before
Oh and yeah, Masi is a cunt!

[Pookemon]

It also needs to be looked at in the context of the Belgian result when there was a 2 lap parade behind a safety car, which gave verstappen the win and points when no actual race took place.

Masi made a comment about it being a motor race - that one wasn't.

I would be extremely surprised if Masi keeps his job.   He's not able to be strong or consistent in his decision making.

[Batch]

I'm in two minds, either Masi is a cheat, or Masi is massively out of his depth come crunch decision time.

I get he only has seconds to decide in some cases

however, everyone that follows F1 knew that by restarting the race the outcome would be Max wins (unless he binned it).

Masi knew his call would be deciding the WDC

[Crackity Jones]

My feeling is that Masi is out of his depth. When Whiting was race Director, teams would accept his ruling (or so it appeared). Masi appears to be easily influenced by the team shouting loudest; be it Merc or RB. Additionally, I get the feeling he is trying to direct the race to make it more exciting rather than direct according to the rule book (Bamboo summed it up well).  He seems to forget there are 18 other protagonists in the race and has focussed solely on Max v Lewis.  The mud slinging between Horner (in particular) and Wolff has also been unsavoury. 

Ultimately I couldn't give a shit who is world champion, but it should be won on the track, according to rules laid down by the FIA and enforced by a competent race director. This year, sadly that hasn't been the case and the great driving of Max and Lewis has been overshadowed.