Max Verstappen deserved winner, F1 stewards stuck on the slow lane
For a motorsport code that prides itself in space age technology, pure speed, timing accuracy to minute fractions of a second and high safety features, the just-ended Formula One season still exposed the big weak area—those in charge of races still getting a lot wrong.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday that crowned a new world champion delivered on all the drama it promised, but few F1 experts and fans would have reckoned with the stewards snatching the headlines. Recriminations are unlikely to end soon as questions are asked about fair play in one of the world’s most high-profile sports in the era of TV mega bucks.
Max Verstappen proved the ultimate hustler on the Yas Marina Circuit, edging out Lewis Hamilton in the last lap to emerge a worthy winner, becoming the first Dutch driver to win the F1 world championship. It denied his British rival, 36, a record eighth title. The youngest ever F1 driver at 17, Verstappen has taken seven seasons to deliver the big prize, but keeping faith in an aggressive driving style to go with his massive talent, despite penalties and heavy criticism from rivals, especially this season, has finally counted. Still only 24, everyone in F1 is convinced he will deliver many more titles.
Ten wins, 18 podiums, leading almost 54% of the total laps—incredible numbers Verstappen collected to be crowned champion. Nine wins to Hamilton’s eight meant the champion had to chase victory. Still, the Dutch driver and his Red Bull team worked up a siege mentality, turning the disadvantage of the soft tyre at pole and Hamilton’s near insurmountable lead on a superior Mercedes into an opportunity when the window controversially opened on the last lap.
Race director Michael Masi allowing only the lapped cars between leader Hamilton and Verstappen to pass through, having said it won’t happen, left Mercedes furious that they had been robbed. The safety car was deployed after Canadian Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams with five laps to go and Masi then decided not to demand that all the lapped cars—even those behind Verstappen—pass it before resuming racing.
The Briton, on worn tyres after staying out, had no chance as his rival, in a last throw of dice, had pitted for the faster soft rubber during the safety car phase. With the lapped cars between him and Hamilton cleared, Verstappen closed in and surged to victory. Mercedes lodged two protests after the race, but both were rejected by race stewards as the world debated the fairness of the outcome. Mercedes plan to appeal over how the last lap was handled. They may even go to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
A drained Verstappen described the end as “unpredictable and crazy” and praised his seasoned rival. Hamilton congratulated the young Dutch driver and his own team with Mercedes retaining the constructors’ title. Reports though emerged on Monday that Hamilton, after Verstappen overtook him in the final lap, said on the team radio: “This has been manipulated, man.”
Britain’s former world champion Damon Hill has blamed Masi. “A lot of not very happy people. And a lot of very happy people. This is a new way of running the sport where the race director can make these ad hoc decisions. It's been a bit too 'guess what I'm going to do now' I think,” he tweeted.
It was a sour end to one of the closest title fights since 1974, when Emerson Fittipaldi won with a fourth-place finish after going into the final race level on points with Clay Regazzoni.
Verstappen won the big reward for challenging Hamilton through the season as Red Bull finally gave him a car to push Mercedes. There was bad blood between the two teams and drivers at the British Grand Prix when Verstappen and Hamilton touched wheels, sending the former into the barriers. It needed precautionary tests in the hospital. Four races later in Monza, Verstappen crashed into Hamilton and the Red Bull mounted the Mercedes. The Halo protective frame saved the Briton. The race incidents revived memories of clashes in the Niki Lauda-James Hunt, Aryton Senna-Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher-Mika Hakkinen eras.
Verstappen lunged at the corners in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Hamilton took evasive action rather than try and hold his line, to avoid collision. Race stewards were criticised for lack of consistency in their rulings by both Mercedes and Red Bull. It came to head in the season’s finale, though fears that Verstappen could crash into Hamilton had eased.
There was celebration and conciliation though on Monday.
Verstappen said he partied till sunrise in Abu Dhabi. “All the emotions they come out,” the Dutchman said on a media video call. “So it was a lot of fun. Of course, when I woke up it wasn’t so fun. I maybe regretted that final drink.”
Mercedes could go in appeal to FIA’s International Court of Appeal, but a message from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff to Verstappen suggested a cooling of tempers. “Toto sent me a text—congratulations on the season and that I deserve to win it,” Verstappen said. “So that was very nice of him, of course. Emotions run very high to that last lap from both teams. It is what it is. We will see.”
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