A Candid Reflection: the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Controversy; 2021 season wrap-up
Sean Clark provides a reflection on the highly controversial ending to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Then, he wraps up the season with several takeaways.
To say I was feeling down after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended was an understatement.
I felt angry, sad and let down. To quote Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, “No, Michael, no, no, Michael, that was so not right.”
His statement, while maybe a tad harsh, was not incorrect. What happened at the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season was so not right.
To quickly recap, Lewis Hamilton had dominated Max Verstappen in the winner-take-all finale at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The two drivers were level on points, but Hamilton had dominated the race as he consistently maintained his lead over Verstappen.
After Nicholas Latifi crashed on lap 53, the safety car was deployed. Verstappen pitted for soft tires while Hamilton stayed out to keep his track position. Under the safety car, four lap cars stood between Verstappen and Hamilton, along with two lap cars in between Verstappen and third-place driver Carlos Sainz.
It appeared after racing director Michael Masi said the safety cars were not allowed to overtake that Verstappen would have to overtake four lapped cars and Hamilton on one lap to win the championship, although he had the freshest tires.
Instead, Masi allowed the four lap cars to overtake at the last second, prompting a one-lap shootout for the championship. With Verstappen’s fresh tires, he passed Hamilton in turn five, holding on to win his first F1 world championship despite Hamilton’s best attempts to battle back.
While the last lap was thrilling, there were several major issues that ended up putting a stain on Formula 1’s image.
First, the FIA all season has shown incompetency, not making consistent decisions, reacting with hesitation when urgent action was needed and at times, made up their own rules.
During the previous week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, at least a Virtual Safety Car should have been released the second Antonio Giovinazzi started stalling. Instead, hesitation could have resulted in a serious injury. This is on top of inconsistencies with racing incidents between Verstappen and Hamilton all season long (Imola, Brazil and Silverstone come to mind).
So the fact only the four lap cars were allowed to overtake, which manufactured a one-lap shootout, is not a legitimate way to determine a championship, or even a race for that matter. Also, the consistency was lacking as Sainz had to deal with the two lap cars in front of him, almost costing him a podium.
This begs the question: why did the four lap cars between the two title contenders get to overtake but not the two in front of Sainz?
It is simple: the FIA did not want the race to end under a safety car like the 2020 Indianapolis 500 (ended under caution) while engineering drama.
What should have happened is Verstappen, to win the title, needed to pass four lap cars and Hamilton in one lap. This would have been fair as he was running second to Hamilton all race long. This scenario gives Verstappen a shot while rewarding Hamilton for his performance throughout the race.
Hamilton deserved his eighth championship after a late surge in the season and as a neutral, I hated that a legend of the sport lost in this manner. The class he showed after the race shows why he is worthy of the name, Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Action needs to be taken if F1 is going to improve its reputation because as it stands, the lack of consistent and competency of the FIA is putting the sport’s integrity into question. The fact a season-long title race was decided by this controversy is the worst outcome imaginable.
The FIA needs to have a clear set of rules to follow, and not following them should have strict consequences. This farce should never again be tolerated; at least a step in the right direction has been in made as the FIA have disallowed team communications with Masi during the race. This prohibits possible negotiating penalties like was seen during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Lastly, the hate for Latifi with this incident is disgusting and it needs to stop. He had a solid season in 2021 with two top-10 finishes and I’m looking forward to him pairing up with Alexander Albon in 2022.
Max Verstappen’s title:
Controversy aside, Verstappen and Hamilton had an excellent title battle that did provide some of the best sporting action in 2021. Their lap-one battle at Silverstone and their duels in Brazil, Austin, Bahrain and Imola showed the best the sport can display.
One thing must be established: Max Verstappen was phenomenal in 2021 and showed why he was the driver to beat until Hamilton’s late surge. 10 victories and 18 podiums only began to describe his special season.
He won the title despite a tire failure at Baku while leading, getting caught up in a crash at Hungary and a crash at Silverstone caused by Hamilton.
Several impressive drives this season includes finishing second in a chaotic Russian Grand Prix after starting 20th, holding off Hamilton in Austin and using a two-stop strategy to beat Hamilton at France.
While controversy will forever be a part of his first title, Verstappen showed his championship pedigree in 2021.
Several other takeaways from the season:
1. While Red Bull Racing and Mercedes spent the entire season battling for the constructor’s and driver’s championship, Ferrari have been working behind the scenes to develop a lightning-fast 2022 car. After finishing third in the constructor’s championship this season, Ferrari just might reach the top of F1 once again.
“When Ferrari turn up with the fastest car and smash us out of the park at the first race then you’ll have to say that it probably did [distract us],” Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said.
Carlos Sainz, who is my pick for driver of the year, did not pick up a single DNF in 2021 while finishing fifth in the driver’s championship, behind only the two Red Bull and Mercedes drivers. After four podiums, Sainz finished ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc and showed his potential to contend for the 2022 championship.
2. During the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, George Russell showed how good he can be while driving a Mercedes car despite events going against him. In 2021, he showed his skill with Williams Racing for all to see.
He elevated Williams from 10th to eighth in the constructor’s standings while qualifying on the front row during the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Hamilton. He was awarded a podium in the rain-shortened race.
With the new car and a chance to finally drive with the best equipment, Russell has the opportunity to consistently ride out front. As he gets accustomed to the car, F1 could see a NASCAR Cup Series situation in which Russell dominates with Mercedes as Kyle Larson did with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 after years in the midfield.
3. Lando Norris suffered the heartbreak of the year. He won pole for the Russian Grand Prix two weeks after finishing second at Monza. Then, he controlled the race out front in search of his first career F1 win. Unfortunately for Norris, the rain came at the worst time with several laps left in the race. He chose to stay out, losing his lead to Hamilton as the win slipped away in Sochi.
Since the Russian Grand Prix, Norris, who had four podiums before that race, never looked the same for the remainder of the season. He never finished higher than seventh, slipping to sixth in the driver standings at season’s end. Hopefully for Norris and McLaren, this offseason will be a much-needed reboot to get back on track in 2022.
The 2022 Formula 1 season will begin on Mar. 18 for the first two practices of the Bahrain Grand Prix.