Formula 1
- Thread starter pedro3187
- Start date
DJ
Moderator
Erm, the balance is Verstappen concedes the corner at Silverstone like Hamilton did half a dozen times during the season to avoid contact.
If Hamilton threw it up the inside without braking until he was past the corner like Verstappen does that collision would look very different.
BUT, it’s not just that. It’s also the defending, the weaving down the straights, the two or three moves to defend a position, the not leaving a cars width, all rules introduced for safety but thrown out to aid Max all season long.
That has changed the sport in recent races and you see other drivers now doing it because Max has been allowed. That has to change. It’s dangerous.
Why ?
DJ
Moderator
Sour grapes would be bemoaning Verstappen’s style had he won the title on track under normal circumstances.
This is complaining about an engineered result by one man.
Bourne Mouthy
First Team
I have to disagree with you on this one. This was probably the one and only time all season that Lewis didn't back out of a dangerous situation created by Verstappen. There were numerous other occasions where Lewis did take evasive action because of Max's banzai moves, and kept both of them in a race.
Agree, can you imagine what would have happened if the positions had been reversed on the last lap yesterday. Max would have moved across as Hamiltion tried to overtake and forced him off.
Bourne Mouthy
First Team
I didn't think it was possible that those responsible for the governance of F1 could ever create a more fictitious finale to a season than that which they oversaw in 2007 (the Raikkonen world championship year), but they've managed it. The only difference is that this time, it has all been played out on a very public stage, and the recriminations will rumble on for months, in all probability. In 2007, the FIA somehow managed to keep a lid on it, but that title was also "fixed", in so much as, having disqualified McLaren from the constructors championship, the trade-off for allowing Hamilton and Alonso to continue to participate was that neither of them was permitted to win the driver's title. Kimi Raikkonen should also have an asterisk alongside his name, in my opinion.
Notmarcjackson
First Team
I understand what you are saying but I prefer to believe in the good in people and I think that MM was trying to do the best for the sport. I don't believe he wanted to engineer a result unless I see evidence to the contrary.
He wanted a spectacle and he didn't want the season to peter out under the safety car. The fact that actually, he brought the sport into disrepute and made a specific and unalterable difference to the result of the race means that he failed in that regard but I think this is more a case of inexperience/incompetence than any malign forces.
Druss_the_Legend
UTC Legend
You dont think he was trying to engineer a result? Why didnt he unlap the cars between Max and Sainz so that Sainz could fight for 1st or second? Why did he explicitly tell those drivers behind Max to stay where they were? That literally takes more work to do that.
Druss_the_Legend
UTC Legend
Tbh I don't think we are really disagreeing. I can accept that in his view he may have been trying to improve the race as a spectacle but sport is what it is, some if not most events in any sport are routine - not too exciting, predictable finish, sometimes boring especially to an outsider. What is clear is that in any sport whenever someone interferes to improve it or artificially make it more exciting it often ends in tears - esp if they do so during the actual contest.
He should have known (and probably did) that his actions would hand the title to Max. If he didn't know he is merely incompetent. Whichever it is he should go. I would be saying the same if the situation was reversed and Lewis had won in that manner.
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I think you may be right. He only had used softs left. But any kind of tyre with less laps on it would have given him some chance of giving Verstappen a fight for it. Leaving him out there on those old tyres just left him a sitting duck unfortunately.
Losing track position to Max would have been worth it IMO. Also, if Lewis then got into a position to try to overtake Max in the final lap(s), going on past form, there was a very high probability that Max would have done something illegal to try to stop Lewis getting past ( almost guaranteed in that situation IMO ), resulting in a penalty for Max and Lewis ultimately not even having to overtake him to become champion.
Opportunity blown by Mercedes being too conservative unfortunately. There was always a danger that following that strategy would cause a safety car to turn the situation on its head. They need to be braver and trust in Lewis to get the job done. Time and again he does what's needed. Losing positions with a pit stop is not the end of the world, Lewis knows how to get past people if you give him the tools to fight with.
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Druss_the_Legend
UTC Legend
The worse thing about this is that the title of this thread was completely ruined and Max, while a super fast driver ,will always have his title tainted. If its the only one he wins, thats not fair on him either.
Bourne Mouthy
First Team
Mercedes couldn't pit Lewis and surrender track position, because Red Bull would have done the opposite. There was also the strong possibility of the race finishing behind the safety car.
I don't think his title is tainted. Mercedes didn't have to choose the strategy that they did. He was just very very very lucky that things fell his way. That is not his fault and these things can happen.
Mercedes' strategy was always vulnerable to a safety car and unfortunately Latifi decided to park his Williams in the wall which unfortunately cost Lewis the title and handed it on a plate to Max.
As I stated, losing position is not the end of the world if Lewis has the tools to fight with. I think Mercedes did believe that the race would finish under the safety car and they were wrong. No point crying about it. They were relying on that happening but they must have known that it was a big risk they were taking.
Bourne Mouthy
First Team
But when Mercedes made the decision to leave Lewis out in front, they would have been estimating how many laps it would take to sort out the mess, then adding the extra one lap Masi decided to dispose of. I think we can all agree, it's one almighty mess!
Notmarcjackson
First Team
Incompetence
It's definitely a mess but as a team fighting for the championship, rely on the things you CAN influence. They were totally dependent upon the race finishing under the SC once they decided not to pit Lewis. That is literally putting all of their hopes into the hands of the stewards and race direction. They no longer had any way of influencing the outcome. That is a crazy situation to gamble your driver's whole season on when you think about it. Proper racers would just say "boll*x, sorry Lewis, grab some tyres, you'll lose the position but you'll have a chance to fight for it". And as I said, I'm pretty sure that Verstappen leading, would have done something illegal to keep Lewis behind him, resulting in a penalty and most likely the title for Hamilton without even having to pass Max.
The ending is unsatisfactory but Mercedes crying about it seems a bit sad. They squarely put themselves in that position and that could have been avoided.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, I hope Masi now gets a cushy desk job somewhere which plays to his strengths. He is too weak and wishy washy for the job he has been given. There must be a better option out there somewhere.
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