Formula 1 - F1 - Current Season Discussion

[Texasmade]

Masi has to go. That was a major fuckup he he had only letting the 5 lapped cars go through.

 

[chobochobo]

Who the hell knows if this is a reputable news source, but I think this is an agreeable compromise. Let Max and RB keep a title they deserve, give Mercedes a measure of recompense, and put the proper accountability on the man who fucked everything up.

Mercedes 'agree FIA deal to sack Michael Masi' to avoid Hamilon issue

MERCEDES are still furious with the FIA over the drama which ensued in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

www.express.co.uk

Story may be true, but the Daily Express is pretty close to the Sun/Star/Mirror on the gutter press ladder.

 

[sugarbutch]

Masi had done enough to deserve sacking before Abu Dhabi.

 

[bdavro23]

Masi has to go. That was a major fuckup he he had only letting the 5 lapped cars go through.

And changing his mind about letting them through in the first place. They burned a lap or two behind the safety car before he changed the call.

 

[Schwazer]

And changing his mind about letting them through in the first place. They burned a lap or two behind the safety car before he changed the call.

"It's called a motor race."

"We went car racing."

The guy is out of his depth.

 

[Texasmade]

"It's called a motor race."

"We went car racing."

The guy is out of his depth.

Pretty much. He went against the precedent set earlier in the year and basically painted the ending of the season as a giant controversy. If Masi would've said no lapped cars through, ended under SC, or red flagged it while debris was cleared, fans would've accepted that.

 

[zissou]

Pretty much. He went against the precedent set earlier in the year and basically painted the ending of the season as a giant controversy. If Masi would've said no lapped cars through, ended under SC, or red flagged it while debris was cleared, fans would've accepted that.

That would have been a perfectly reasonable (but less exciting) outcome. I’ll never understand why the decision went so much against the typical conservative mindset of minimizing an advantage to any particular racer.

 

[stephenaf2003]

That would have been a perfectly reasonable (but less exciting) outcome. I’ll never understand why the decision went so much against the typical conservative mindset of minimizing an advantage to any particular racer.

This.
All of this foolishness could have been avoided, by observing precedent.

 

[sugarbutch]

In hindsight, it’s pretty amazing that Hamilton was about to win the WDC despite what might fairly be characterized as a dominant year for Verstappen. Really, the only weakness in his approach was his pass-or-crash wheel-to-wheel tactic. If he’d been more reasonable at Silverstone, Lewis wouldn’t have been able to get a look in.

 

[Joffrey]

I had a fascinating conversation with my sister over the Abu Dhabi finale last week. Note she does not follow F1 closely as she did not watch the race and heard about the results afterwards - she does watch the Netflix series. She was pretty disgusted at how it played out. I still am not all that fired up about how things played out though I recognize Masi/F1/FIA emphasized entertainment over sport but I am more respectful of how bad the outcome was for the integrity of the sport if casual fans/observers are disappointed. She even said this will stain Verstappen's record (everyone knows the rules were changed on someone's whim just so he could win). This is arguably worse than the Michelin scandal at Indy (2006?) and I never thought that was possible.

 

[stephenaf2003]

In hindsight, it’s pretty amazing that Hamilton was about to win the WDC despite what might fairly be characterized as a dominant year for Verstappen. Really, the only weakness in his approach was his pass-or-crash wheel-to-wheel tactic. If he’d been more reasonable at Silverstone, Lewis wouldn’t have been able to get a look in.

nailed it

 

[zissou]

In hindsight, it’s pretty amazing that Hamilton was about to win the WDC despite what might fairly be characterized as a dominant year for Verstappen. Really, the only weakness in his approach was his pass-or-crash wheel-to-wheel tactic. If he’d been more reasonable at Silverstone, Lewis wouldn’t have been able to get a look in.

Maybe. Can't forget that Verstappen got a free win as Spa.

 

[sugarbutch]

Maybe. Can't forget that Verstappen got a free win as Spa.

He did, but I don't think that even a Hamilton fan (*raises hand*) could argue that Lewis was sure to beat Max in that race given that he was outqualified by more than .3s. As it was, Max gained five points versus the seven or eight he would have gained had he won the race, so that farce may have benefited Lewis. Of course, Lewis could have prevailed.

It is, however, another undeniable example of Masi's incompetence.

 

[Texasmade]

He did, but I don't think that even a Hamilton fan (*raises hand*) could argue that Lewis was sure to beat Max in that race given that he was outqualified by more than .3s. As it was, Max gained five points versus the seven or eight he would have gained had he won the race, so that farce may have benefited Lewis. Of course, Lewis could have prevailed.

It is, however, another undeniable example of Masi's incompetence.

Wasn't that huge gap from a tow that he got from Perez while Lewis elected not to get a tow?

 

[patrick_b]

she does watch the Netflix series.

Dying to see how Abu Dhabi plays out on the Netflix series.