Epic F1.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, AGP 2019. (C)

    We marvelled at Ayrton Senna's striking yellow helmut menacingly protruding from the stunningly beautiful Lotus resplendent in black and gold livery. That was 1985. Now we're hooked, fast forward to today and we still anticipate with baited breath the latest instalment of each and every race of Formula One. 2021 however, raised the bar to a level that we feel is unprecedented. We simply cannot recall a season that was as compelling and riveting as we just witnessed. From the first race at Bahrain to the very last lap of the last race at Abu Dhabi, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen went toe-to-toe all season with the championship lead changing several times throughout the campaign. In the end Verstappen triumphed over the 7 time champ to win his maiden championship in what some would say controversial circumstances.
    The two championship contenders were equal on points going into the final race. A race start skirmish saw Hamilton take the lead and maintain it from Verstappen until a late crash by Williams' Nicholas Latifi became the catalyst for a Safety Car. When racing resumed with one last flying lap left, Verstappen on fresh soft tyres was able to overtake Hamilton on ageing hard tyres and win the race and therefore the championship. The handling of the Safety Car period by the FIA Race Director is what has divided opinion. To some, this was where the controversy lied. Or was there? 
    The rules state that once a track is deemed safe to continue racing that lapped cars can pass the Safety car and unlap themselves, with the Safety Car leaving the circuit the next lap and racing to resume. What occurred at Abu Dhabi was that only the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to unlap themselves and the Safety Car left the circuit on the same lap. This was the basis of Mercedes' subsequent protest. However the very next article in the regulations supercede this by stating that the race director can exercise discretion and call the Safety Car in at any time when the track is deemed safe. No one wants to see a race finish behind the Safety Car. Are the teams the consequent victims of the "just let us race" mantra that they so strenuously lobbied the FIA for? The FIA was remarkably tacit on the fallout after the race. In fact, the incoming president had more to say than the outgoing president. Wouldn't it have been prudent to back their F1 Race Director when punters' discord was directed towards him, or was he effectively thrown under the bus? Also, given that F1 provide approximately 60% of the FIA's total revenue to administer all motorsport under its governance, is it time to have a dedicated department to just focus on F1? Should the same group of stewards be utilised at all events instead of routinely chopping and changing?
    The way the race transpired presents a raft of further questions. A great trivia question is, who finished on the podium in third place? We hate to refer to such a wonderful driver as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz as a trivia question, but why wasn't he afforded an opportunity to win the race by letting the lapped cars in front of him unlap themselves?
    Additionally, this doesn't mean that the regulations don't need some tweaking for the future. Nothing is perfect. To avoid future controversies such as this, should F1 adopt an Indy Car type approach to late race incidents? By this we mean, if an incident occurs within say 5 laps or less remaining that would normally constitute a Safety Car, should F1 red flag the race and have a standing start recommencement when the track is clear? Cast your mind back to this year's Azerbaijan GP. The late race restart was certainly exciting. Conversely, should tyre changing be outlawed in the event of a red flag? Perhaps pitlane should be closed for tyre changing with 5 laps to go?
     Both Verstappen and Hamilton were worthy champions and both should be congratulated. Lewis Hamilton was a class act in defeat. You can understand Mercedes' grievance over missing out on the driver's title. Not sure about boycotting the FIA prize giving gala in Paris though. Motorsport can be a cruel sport. The highs are high, and the lows are low. As a learned associate of ours stated, "somebody has to win and somebody has to lose". Either way, the publicity F1 generated is great for bringing in new fans. We once again wait with baited breath for the next instalment of F1. Bring on 2022. 
    

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