The 2021 F1 season

[NicoRosberg.]

[Wet Coast Racer]

Kimi Raikkonen. I saw him win in Montreal, back in 2005. It's great that he has such a great fan base, as he's never tried to attract this. He's the Iceman!

[downtowndeco]

What a race. What a season.

[NicoRosberg.]

Bonkers.

Just really terrible the way it ended, which will lead to inevitable protests, and endless arguments no matter what happens.

[downtowndeco]

I kind of think Hamilton got a slight advantage when the ball bounced his way a bit when he cut the corner & gained a lot of space between himself & Max and then later, it bounced in Max's direction w/the late caution & fast restart. Really, both drivers have a lot to be proud of, just being a part of such a memorable season.

[NicoRosberg.]

But one incident did not subvert the result, the other did.

That will be the Mercedes position anyway.

I'd be staggered if Masi backs down, even though he seems to have made up a safety car restart that no rule book allows pretty much on the spot.

This race is like much of the season, great, but messily so.

[downtowndeco]

"But one incident did not subvert the result, the other did."

We don't know that. What if Verstappen had been able to pass Hamilton in the earlier incident & then hold the lead? What if he had not been able to pass Hamilton on the last lap? This way at least the race was decided on the track, with the two drivers fighting it out under green. I can't think of a more disappointing finish to the year had the race ended under yellow because they had to dick around position & lining up back markers.

I agree though, a messy, exciting race. I can see both sides of the argument & can appreciate why Mercedes has filed a protest, but I think it will be to the vast detriment of the sport if the decision is reversed.

[MT Tam I am]

What an amazing outcome. Congratulations Max.

A lack of consistency again today with the rules. "It's called a motor race OK? We went racing", will ring in my ears forever.

Both drivers do have a lot to be proud of. Had Max driven into Lewis today, it would have been a worse outcome to the season in my opinion.

I can honestly say this outcome at the end could not have been envisioned by anyone less than a sorcerer. Just wild and heart pounding.

[NicoRosberg.]

This way at least the race was decided on the track, with the two drivers fighting it out under green.

But with one on fresh soft tires an one on old worn ones. Had they been on the same tyres then Masi's thing about them racing would of made sense.

Letting all the lap cars unlap themselves, which has precedent, would of made sense too. Has there even been a time only some cars were allowed to do so?

The earlier incident gave Red Bull the whole race to recover from, and they never had the pace to, which is tough but happens.

What we got instead was exciting on some level, but random and controversial, and not the ending a great season deserved, ending as it did in the steward's room.

[downtowndeco]

But with one on fresh soft tires an one on old worn ones. Had they been on the same tyres then Masi's thing about them racing would of made sense.

Lewis could have stopped and got tires, but they chose not to.

[NicoRosberg.]

He would of then lost track position.

Red Bull had little to lose, just as with their previous stop for Max.

Time and again Masi talks about not interfering with the championship, yet today did a safety car restart that is unprecedented.

Mercedes are appealing, which means the mess will just keep going. Masi could of avoided it, just as he could of avoided the fallout from Brazil and Qatar.

He can't seem to decide between looking at the bigger picture or ignoring it. This puts the stewards in an impossible position. Had he hewn to one position or the other all season then that would of been better. Pre-Brazil, for example, he was very hot on stuff, and then he and the stewards let Max drive so far off track to prevent a pass he was in the next zip code, so then he tried the same ethics in Qatar and was done for it. Except he did a brake check and the penalty for that, surely one of the worst things you can do as a driver, was light.

In short, a total mess.

[dinglebery]

Yeah... it was jacked and twisted... pulled the rug right out from under Mercedes, the rightful winner of the race in my mind. Completely unfair.

[Brumos RSR]

A red flag would have given everyone one involved an equal opportunity to “motor race”. This has been a very exciting season and one filled with bi polar rule interpretations mid race. Seems like someone else wanted to be the star of the season instead of allowing the drivers to be. It will make for a larger audience next season on Drive to Survive and next season.

[NicoRosberg.]

Yeah... it was jacked and twisted... pulled the rug right out from under Mercedes, the rightful winner of the race in my mind. Completely unfair.

Had there been a SC one lap earlier, and all the unlapped cars had had time to go through, Max winning like that would be just one of those things, but the number of cars let through was very specific, trying to create a scenario when that is not Masi's job. They didn't even let the cars between P2 and P3 through, as there was no time, which meant Max had nobody behind to consider.

Messy.

[NicoRosberg.]

A red flag would have given everyone one involved an equal opportunity to “motor race”.

You are correct.

There was no legitimate reason to stop the race though. So they instead did something common and appropriate, but executed in a totally unprecedented way.

Maybe some good will come of this. F1 has the brains and the money to perfect the VSC, and do away with the safety car.