Start, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 2021

Poll: Should Verstappen have had to surrender the lead after the restart?

Penalty Box

Posted on

| Written by

Should Max Verstappen have been made to give up the lead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after passing Lewis Hamilton off track at the restart?

Incident

After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was stopped for barrier repairs after Mick Schumacher’s turn 22 crash on lap nine, the race resumed with a standing start, with Max Verstappen at the front of the field and Lewis Hamilton lining up alongside him.

When the lights went out, Hamilton got a better getaway off the line and pulled ahead of Verstappen on the short run to the first corner. Verstappen tried to retake the lead of the race around the outside of the corner, before running over the inside kerbs of turn two, almost colliding with his championship rival. Verstappen took the lead, while Hamilton lost second place to Esteban Ocon after taking avoiding action.

During the subsequent second red flag suspension, race director Michael Masi agreed that Verstappen must give up the lead to Ocon and take the second restart behind Hamilton in third place.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

How it happened

Hamilton passed Verstappen after the restart
Verstappen draws alongside him on the outside
Verstappen leaves the track
Verstappen rejoins the track, forcing Hamilton wide as he does

What they said

The drivers’ post-race reactions are not available yet.

In the cars

Hamilton immediately reported his belief that Verstappen had passed him illegally over team radio.

“He just cut across the whole kerb,” Hamilton reported to race engineer Peter Bonnington. “Copy,” Bonnington replied.

“He just retook me over off outside the white lines,” Hamilton continued. “Roger, Lewis. We’re on it,” Bonnington assured his driver.

Max Verstappen did not comment on the incident over team radio.

The official verdict

In a conversation with Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, race director Micheal Masi suggested to the team that they voluntarily drop Verstappen behind Ocon and Hamilton before the restart. There was some confusion as an initial message from Masi indicated Verstappen would only fall behind Esteban Ocon.

“We would drop you back behind Hamilton,” Masi confirmed to Wheatley. “That’s my offer. You have my suggestion.”

After conferring with the team, Wheatley replied: “Yeah we’ll accept that. We understand the order will be Ocon, Hamilton, Verstappen.”

Verstappen surrendered the positions on the lap to the grid after the pitlane was opened.

Your verdict

Who do you think was responsible for the collision? Should the stewards issue a penalty? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Do you agree race control handled the restart incident between Verstappen and Hamilton correctly?

  • No opinion (1%)
  • Strongly disagree (25%)
  • Slightly disagree (5%)
  • Neither agree nor disagree (4%)
  • Slightly agree (19%)
  • Strongly agree (46%)

Total Voters: 203

Loading ... Loading ...

A RaceFans account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.

Debates and polls

Browse all debates and polls

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

101 comments on “Poll: Should Verstappen have had to surrender the lead after the restart?”

  1. Who the heck knows? this race was a complete farce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    This last part of the championship has been horrible…

    1. they should have given max 2 x 5 sec penalties instead of offering him gifts for his driving standards…
      5 sec for leaving track and lasting advantage as a result
      5 sec for unsafe joining (cut ham off and almost drove to the side of ham)

      there should have been no offers and gifts. they already gifted max with red flags.
      this guy doesnt care if you are ahead or behind, he will crash you regardless if you dont yield!

      his position swap attempt was a disgrace once but twice he did the same thing, wait until the drs zone and attack instantly… that was already a 25 sec worth penalty right there (if consistency is a thing as there is a precedent for this in quite fresh memory)

      unbelievable and people are blaming ham? serious nut jobs the race directors/stewards (what happened to stewards decide incidents, why the heck max/redbul was being offered gifts?)

      1. Reverse the positions during the Silverstone incident.

        Hamilton (had he been on the outside) would have given the driver on the inside and gone on to fight another day.

        Verstappen, because he’s completely nuts, got too close didn’t back out and crashed.

        If Verstappen was a slightly less insane driver, he’d be 18 points ahead now with the Silverstone podium.

        1. *given the driver on the inside space

        2. Completely agree. He is out of control due to weak stewarding

        3. @scribe

          You talk, but Verstappen is driving like a hack. Facts.

    2. Both protagonists played dirty this year, but the last few races Max is going over the edge. The FIA needs to act on that.
      On the other hand, Mercedes has had such a speed advantage since 2014 that clean racing AND fighting them is impossible. Were it not for Verstappen being real fast, F1 was dead already.

  2. What a disgrace Max is. Worse than Senna and Schumacher combined.

    1. You make no sense dude. What medicine? When did ham overtake off the track? When did Ham brake check anyone? When did ham go into a corner without control?

      1. Vettel complained about a brake test by hamilton in baku 2017, that’s what hamilton’s radio complaint reminded me about.

        1. another joker here, ham was under SC, and was driving the distance, never brake checked, they were already going slow, vettel just wanted to be under lewis’ gear box when the sc was gone! he was cleared of brake check claims!

        2. Yeah, and Vettel got penalty right there.

    2. He’s the logical outcome of those two drivers going largely unpunished for the actions they normalised…

  3. I felt the restart should have been as prior to red flag, given Hamilton dropped back more than 10 car lengths. Given it was the safety car that lead the grid back to the grid line up.

    1. They said in commentary that on restarts, the 10 car-length rule doesn’t apply – that’s only on the original start.

      1. masi clarified it over the radio too.

      2. That doesn’t fit his agenda though!

      3. @skydiverian considering Sky continually brown nose Mercedes and @mysticus this was not clarified until after the 2nd red flag I can easily say MaFIA!

        If it was open racing, then why was the pace car sent out! It was a safety car restart (therefore the 10 car lineup should have been up held)!.

        Secondly on the 2nd lineup, Hamilton stayed considerably closer to Ocon than following Hamilton! Which in itself indicated Mercedes were aware!

        1. @maddme

          “this was not clarified until after the 2nd red flag I can easily say MaFIA!” they were not asked properly or we didnt hear it. only heard about max moaning about it twice, it was not even noted. when they questioned directly with masi, he clarified rule applied on actual starts not restarts (as you may already know, masi likes to make rules and ignores them whenever he feels like it)

          1. @mysticus in which case, perhaps the stewards should have been involved, rather than being pushed away by Masi’s intervention.

            Something which ( I think may have been commentary lead) Charlie Whiting would not have conceded…

          2. He clarified it was formation lap rule not standing restart rule. So yes you are correct

        2. That just depends where you watch it @maddme, @mysticus. Can’t help that the UK national broadcast on Sky is favouring the UK driver more than one would like. If any other broadcasts did not mention it (the Dutch tend to be horribly one sided for Max, for example), it is them doing a bad job.

          I watched it on the F1TV PitLaneChannel and got both the commenters saying they aren’t sure the same rules appy because this was a restart after a red flag (remember when Kimi got cought out because the rules for those are different earlier this year), and then Sam Collins looking it up and confirming that the 10 car-lengths thing indeed is not part of the rules for those.

          Solving this during the red flag was a great way to do it so that we can avoid any time penalties and just get on with the racing.

          1. @maddme if the rule isnt there, nothing to refer to stewards, but race director to clarify it. Race director if he was asked (and not heard over the tv broadcasts) he should have refered to the relevant article of the rules. which would have cleared the air without the rubbish thrown at him and or the constant moaning of the redbul/max over the radios which were broadcast on tv!

            @bascb
            “Can’t help that the UK national broadcast on Sky is favouring the UK driver more than one would like”

            they tend to, but not as severely as you think (many reviews/analysis is can be viewed biased depending on who you support, sometimes they come as pro reds, sometimes pro ham, but in general fair), brundle is almost pro redbul, and hill is more fair/maybe a little ham sided. esp brundle opens his mouth too much against ham.

      4. Yeah, but why is that? This rule protects the front cars from having completely cold tyres due to a rival lagging behind (a move Hamilton started with Rosberg). The front cars don’t deserve that protection for which reason again?

        1. EITHER WAY, the 10 car length applies also to VER measured to the SAFETY CAR. The moment he complained about HAM he had a 100 car length to the SC…

        2. @cobray
          If the rules are wrong, the rules need fixing (and I agree that they should be fixed, as should the ridiculous length of time we see drivers sitting at the front on a normal start). But penalties should only result from breaking the rules. If the rule did not apply, Hamilton shouldn’t be penalised.

  4. Fia really making Hamilton work for this one.

    1. Noticed how FIA / FOM stopped showing barrier repair? I think it’s because they did no work. I hope I’m wrong and I’m just hot headed after this race but it literally looked very fine when red flag was announced

      1. Right. Just like they panned away from the protest at the beginning. Very interesting race from a propagandists point of view.

      2. Yeah, that kind of barrier (TecPro or whatever it’s called) usually doesn’t need major repair, I remember a GP2 race in Sochi when it was punctured, and they patched it up with some sort of gaffer tape and it was good to go. Maybe it was down to inexperienced local marshals thinking that the damage here was bigger than it really was.

      3. I’m glad I’m not the only one who picked up on that. No footage of the barrier repair, a rather short red flag period? None of that felt right at all to me.

  5. Davethechicken
    5th December 2021, 19:44

    Disgraceful driving. In 33years of F1 viewing I have never seen such woeful driving standards.
    This has to stop.

    1. +1
      I don’t recognise Max’s driving as Formula 1 racing any longer. It’s like a 5-year old being indulged to do whatever he wants.

      1. and he was being gifted too. dont understand how the redbuls with a straight face complain about the farce decisions that has given them so many gifts and yet they failed too blatantly…

      2. Max, driver of the day, what a 5 year old F1 prodigy he must be…

        1. Driver of the day for causing mayhem and still being outdriven to come second? OK! Whatever.

        2. I can’t understand why anyone but the most fanatical of his fans voted for him, apart from his pass on the 2nd restart his driving on Sunday was appalling. I’d have voted for Mazepin before Max as DOTD.

    2. So you like to watch 20 cars driving in a train for 50 rounds again?
      At least there’s something to watch again.
      It’s a race cmon.

      1. He should be racing, then, no pretending he’s the Bad Boys-era Detroit Pistons and fouling his way onto wins.

      2. I’d rather see processional but clean racing than anyone in any formula driving the way Max has, particularly in the closing stages of this season. I didn’t like it when Hamilton was pulling stuff like Max is now, but he was never as bad as this. Stomping on the brakes with another car right behind outside a braking zone is never OK, you’ll even be warned about that specifically if you go karting or to a track day as an amateur.

    3. It is beyond belief at this point – he is completely out of control.

  6. And here I thought Mac couldn’t be dirtier. This was shocking. He was the one causing the pileup after red flag by going off intentionally then blocking the road forcing everyone to bunch up. Then he sends the rocket up the inside knowing he had no chance to stop with 2 drivers needing to turn left in front of him. He’s a danger to all drivers.

    1. The second restart was clearly to take HAM out. Like many other situations in the recent races. Everyone knows what to expect next week. Reminds me much of Schumi.

  7. The decision from race control for Max to start behind Lewis was the right one, but they offered that to Red Bull rather than telling them that’s the deal?!?!? That’s the problem right there – either shuffle Max back to 3rd for the second restart, or give him a penalty. Offering the team a choice is a new one and completely insane.

    1. @skydiverian I think you misunderstand the situation. Either Red Bull accepts Masi’s offer, or the matter gets referred to the stewards who subsequently would then give Max a penalty.

    2. and masi said he had no control over racing incident decisions… it was steward who were supposed to decide? farce after farce!

      he should have gotten at least 3 different penalties.

      dangerous driving
      gaining lasting advantage
      unsafe joining the track after left off

      position swap should have been clearly announced and done appropriately but max will be max

    3. @skydiverian I think it was a case of a driver gaining a position by going off track and either keeping the positions and risking a penalty, or giving the position back immediately and accepting his responsibility. But because of the immediate red flag he and the team had the time to decide under the red flag, and I think Masi actually did well there to make them clear that’s still a choice before referring it to the stewards (and I’m not one to praise Masi usually!).

        1. The funny part was when Lewis passed max and pushed him wide masi on the radio telling merc that it was borderline.
          Masi did not watch Brazil or this race by that comment.
          Masi needs to be later off and replaced.

          1. Well, if this was borderline then brazil was some 10 meters beyond. But FIA want VER to win the championship badly…

          2. I think the difference here is that Brazil was referred to the stewards who decided no further action was necessary. That wasn’t Masi’s call, it was the stewards’. I strongly suspect Masi would have told RBR that they had the option of giving the place back in Brazil, but RBR chose not to. In Saudi, it wasn’t referred to the stewards, the team were offered a chance to put it right first (which happens for most such incidents) and they took it.

      1. The issue @hunocsi is why is Masi giving Red Bull a choice? Why couldn’t he do one or the other? I thought that Race Control made the decisions, not saying to someone “You’ve done something wrong, which of these 2 punishments do you want?” and delegating the issue.

        That’s the issue. I’d have no problem with either outcome, but I expect Race Control to make that decision themselves, not delegate to the party that’s committed the infraction and allowing them to choose the penalty that they think is best for them. (Which it probably was – Max cleanly taking the lead on that restart or even holding position would be far better than a 5s or more penalty for gaining an advantage).

        1. @skydiverian But then if you cut a corner and gain a position, then you wouldn’t give it back, because then the penalty/investigation would come no matter what. This way, you put your hands up and say that was my bad, and let the other party back in front. This time there were special circumstances which meant it couldn’t happen on track, and I think it was right from Masi to give that chance to Red Bull.

      2. Yep!

        It was incredible at first sight, but yeah there was no chance to give the position back ergo this solution.

        Still weird AF.

  8. Max definitely deserved a penalty, but I don’t like this kind of dealing between Masi and RBR. Just give him the penalty.

    1. I don’t think they meant for us to hear that. That was eye opening to say the least. Like WWE. At least you know that is fake going in though.

      1. Exactly what it felt like to me too.

    2. Right, that negotiation between race control and a team is ridiculous. Overtake off track = penalty.

    3. @hotbottoms It also left a bad taste in my mouth, but I guess it is not that different from the normal procedure where you can give the place back. It’s just that the red flag and Ocon complicated things.

  9. Verstappen is complaining about his penalties and about ‘just racing.’ Simply delusional. He drove off track to steal a position. And rejoined unsafely
    Masi ‘offer’ Red Bull a non-penalty option (giving the place back) to avoid any steward decision on stealing the place by driving off=track (again) and then unsafe driving. Simply indescribable.

  10. I slightly agree. One could definitely argue that Max didn’t rejoin safely which could have been investigated separately from the position gain.

  11. Max even gained a lasting advantage when he “Finally” gave the place back to Lewis. He immediately overtook him back. Max is just wired differently. Grow up Max.

    1. 2008 Spa comes to my mind. Was it 25 second penalty in the end?

      1. Yep, after the race too and Lewis didn’t gain a lasting advantage then as Kimi binned it.

  12. Could someone tell me why the look back rule after the red flag was not applied? Shouldn’t they have started in the same order as during the first restart? As they didn’t even complete a lap? Why did Ocon keep him place? Looks like FIA forgot the rulebook, or?

    1. @venky I believe countback only applies if racing isn’t started again.

      1. Oh yes, I should have known. Thanks!

  13. By all accounts, this was an absolutely embarrassing race for the FIA. Michael Masi is certainly not in control and needs to go.

    I have never seen the FIA negotiate and offer a sanction to driver who CLEARLY broke a rule. Not only that, Verstappen hit a competitor TWICE and brake tested him, almost causing a serious accident.

    All in all, Lewis Hamilton avoided 3 separate accidents INTENTIONALLY caused by Verstappen in this race alone.

    The sense of entitlement harbored by Verstappen and Red Bull is absolutely stunning. This is really shameful by any standard.

    1. @kbdavies Race control literally offers these “deals” to teams every race. When someone passes off-track and is asked to give the position back, it is basically the race director offering the team a way to rectify their advantage before referring the matter to the stewards. If the team chooses to ignore it like Perez in Monza, then the stewards get involved. This is nothing new.

    2. Completely spot on

    3. I tend to agree that Masi is not in control of the races anymore. But I get the feeling that it has to do with causing needless confusion from what is spoken in the drivers’ briefings not being followed thru during the weekend. Drivers have been given reasons to go elbows out.

      Alonso has taken advantage of that, and so has Leclerc. Vettel (and I think Russell) has complained on the radio about it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a rookie like Tsunoda couldn’t explain back to someone what the directives on driving standards have been.

  14. FIA need to look over the entire race and then focus specifically on whether Verstappen swerved left as Hamilton went to pass. If so, should be a race disqualification.

    The rest is just continuing Verstappen absurdity indulged by FIA: overtaking off-track, rejoining unsafely, giving a place back but immediately retaking it. But that ‘brake test swerve’ was ugly.

    1. @david-br Quite the opposite, he swerved right.

      1. Left then right. Try looking at this onboard from Hamilton. He leaves very little space until too late.

        1. And he’s subtly weaving as he brakes even harder. That looks like a DSQ to me still.

    2. Another thing I thought I was the only one who noticed. People questioning why Lewis didn’t pass Max – if you see someone jerking to the left (or right for those of you who drive on the wrong side of the road) on the freeway/highway/motorway, would you feel comfortable passing that individual? Given how Max has driven over the years, particularly this season, you would want to be cautious as well. If we’re to believe that Max is some driving God, surely he has the ability to hold the wheel at a constant angle around that curve to give Lewis the clear indication.

  15. Joke of a sport, apply the rules, don’t start bartering.

  16. I like that race control offers the team an option to undo the unfair/illegal advantage a driver takes on track and thus preventing a later steward penalty that might not have the same impact (like giving 5s but the driver has a bigger advantage so changes nothing).
    To me that is not the FIA saving someone is giving them a choice for correcting the “mistake” on track and in a short time. The stewards can still investigate as far as I know but had Red Bull/Max given the position back the stewards with be asked to review by race direction. I don’t see any favours and race direction and ven mentioned that during the (broadcasted) messages with Red Bull.

    I also don’t see red flagging the race to repair the barriers as a favour to Max and Red Bull. True that we didn’t see many images but it seems very acceptable to me that only after removing the Haas and further inspection they would see a barrier needed replacement and that to me at least requires a red flag.
    I’m also happy that Brundle reminded the viewers and Croft (or whoever talks in the English fed) that Lewis also gained a huge advantage in Imola due to the red flag as we was able to repair and change tires when he was about to be a full lap down.

    As for Max’s driving I guess I’ll comment in another article but he crossed the line (more than once) at this race. Enough is enough

  17. Lewis Hamilton and Merceds team are ruining racing. In future you’ll be hit by penalty for anything less then tip toing around other cars. Anyway nice to know that majority of Worlds f1 fans are thinking exactly opposite from regulars on this channel.

    1. Really?

      Anyway nice to know that majority of Worlds f1 fans are thinking exactly opposite from regulars on this channel.

      Are you referring to the ones that voted DoD?

  18. AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
    5th December 2021, 20:13

    Is the 2nd restart incident being reviewed for unsafe joining or was everything settled in the “offer”?

  19. I would argue the penalty was too light and they should have moved Verstappen behind Hamilton and given him a 5s time penalty. Alternatively they should have reset the grid back to the original red flag formation and given Verstappen a 5s penalty. I think Mercedes should have gone to the stewards and they’d have got a stronger penalty for Verstappen.

  20. They should design tracks where leaving it have consequences. It was just coded in the track design, as I’ve written yesterday based on the F2 races.

  21. Yes, obviously. Don’t think it was even remotely contentious.

  22. The bargaining between race control and RB seemed wrong, but this was before the incident had been referred to the stewards for review. It isn’t terribly different from RB voluntarily dropping back into third after the incident, but the race had already been red flagged so there was no opportunity to give up the place on track.

    Isn’t there recent precedence for this shuffling of cars under red flags after incidents?

  23. This is confusing. I thought by accepting the offer, the matter would not go the stewards. But the stewards gave a 5s penalty anyway. So, give the place back and get a penalty?
    Also I have never seen race director making such offers, it sets a bad precedent.

  24. The penalty was too light and they should have moved Verstappen behind Hamilton and given him a 5s time penalty.

  25. Anyway is it Okay that prior to first (failed) overtake Hamilton did he gained 3 tenths on Max in few corners during VSC? I mean Fia / race director messed up and showed actual graphic for everyone to see

    1. The rule under vsc is that you have an earliest time of arrival at each sector. You can go slower if you want, and arrive later than your eta – that’s what max did.

  26. @mashiat, @david-br

    I just rewatched, many times in a row. It is clear that Max swerves left, then right. I don’t know if that was intentional trying to cause damage, but I doubt Max was trying to cause contact. But either way, if he is really trying to let Lewis past, he should not be swerving at all.

    In watching it, I can’t decide which way I would try to pass if I were Lewis. Max is right in the middle. And swerved. Given the shenanigans Max has pulled all year, I fully believe Lewis was worried Max was going to wreck/drive him in the wall. I was thinking Schumacher/Hill at the time.

    That said, Max was definitely slowing down trying to get DRS on the front straight. Lewis might have been too, but I really think he didn’t know what Max was doing.

    In the end, unless the traces show a real brake check, I don’t think the stewards should do anything.

    FWIW, I think it should be standard practice if you have to give a position back, you should not be able to retake that position until you pass 2 DRS detection lines. That would get rid of this gamesmanship and be more fair.

    However, it is abundantly clear that Masi/FIA need to clarify the driving standards in the off season. This is not a good look for F1.

    1. @sidziner Exactly my thoughts. Verstappen driving down the middle on a narrow track, which side was Hamilton supposed to go? And was he going to move again? Knowing that taking him, Hamilton, out = championship for Verstappen. Both out = advantage Verstappen still. Those must have been the calculations Hamilton was making before he was even told Verstappen was letting him past.

      It’s simple: if you’re giving back the position, you move aside. Verstappen – living in his own bubble of entitlement – stayed planted in the middle, making even a basic maneouvre into a threat of contact. I’ve lost patience with this now. It’s indeed farcical. Just give Verstappen the title already because he’ll try to win it in Abu Dhabi whatever way possible. And FIA/Liberty seem happy with that.

      1. @david-br maybe just maybe Lewis wanted to dnf max by puncturing his tyre or breaking his diffuser? I’m sorry but the only thing Max was doing there was what he eventually did, give up posotion to take the drs.

        1. @peartree Try actually looking at the onboard from Lewis’s car and claiming that Max was ‘giving up position.’ If so, it was very badly done: he left virtually no space, stayed in the middle, drifted left, then braked and flitted about either side (very slightly but enough for even me to pick up, yet alone Hamilton) before finally moving right, too late. Incompetence or deliberate attempt to contrive incident? Either way, nothing to do with Lewis, who was simply and justifiably unsure and wary. That Lewis would risk damage to his own car nose when he was clearly faster on track and had tyre advantage too is, well, ludicrous. You know that, right? I’m presuming it’s not serious for the sake of your own intelligence.

  27. Again both drivers going at each other only one gets penalized, besides penalties are not the way to go. No crashing no pushing to a spin or gravel no need for extreme measures. The worst part is that if you are going to go for penalties why are the other 18 drivers irrelevant, why does Masi care about both parties when a penalty should come from the regulation not a political party.

  28. After seeing the F2 race with Daruvala and lundgard receiving penalties it was inevitable. Std 5s.

    I don’t have a problem with the offer from race control as the safetycar/red flag was so soon after the incident. it was effectively give the place back or risk a penalty at the restart.

  29. While initially I felt that offer and discussion was ridiculous and WWE-esque, I am changing my mind now. The red flag actually allowed FIA to execute a fairly unique change of position (unique due to Ocon benefitting from this squabble) in a fairly reasonable manner. Otherwise, it would have been a 5 second penalty for Max.

    May be more of this will be ok in the future?

  30. First of all, they should have lined up identical to the first restart because a lap wasn’t completed. Second of all, the matter should have been referred to the stewards. You can’t possibly negotiate starting positions. It’s absurd.

  31. No problem with negotiations given that there was a red flag. Verstappen never had a chance to give the position back before the red flag was put in place.

  32. don's F1 miracle
    6th December 2021, 13:53

    Can they do a new vote thing and name it ‘Idoit of the race’?

  33. I think F1 and the FIA has to look at some of the rules that have allowed some of these farcical situations to result across the whole of the season. I’m not going to get into the blame game between Verstappen and Hamilton. The FIA and F1 also needs to consider whether some of the events across the season are satisfying outcomes for the viewer/ fan.

    – Red Flags = Free tyre choice. I’ve seen both Hamilton and Verstappen benefit from this in 2021, but the biggest victim of this I remember was the climax of the 2011 Monaco GP. Vettel v Alonso v Button, Vettel was trying to hang on with old tyres and the red flag gave him new tyres and killed the climax of the race, robbing the fans.

    – The Silverstone incident – however you apportion blame the end result was Hamilton benefited by claiming maximum points with Verstappen getting none. In terms of the show it’s an unfair outcome. If the same incident happens in Abu Dhabi this weekend it pretty much decides the Championship on the spot, but I don’t see how the FIA would treat it any differently just because it’s the Title decider.

    – Swapping positions – this is what led to the incident yesterday. Verstappen wanted to let Hamilton through to get the DRS, Hamilton didn’t want to do that. So we got this farcical situation, surely the best future solution is to nominate a part of the race track to swap position say on the start finish straight, the driver in front must yield and the one behind must take it otherwise they lose the opportunity to take the place.

    I’m sure there’s some I’ve forgotten, but I think the FIA need to look at these sorts of questions and consider how to do a better job, the drivers will and always will push the rules to the maximum. It’s up to the rulemakers to adapt.

Comments are closed.