Formula One

Another +1 from me 100%

I watch Motor racing but I do not follow Motor racing,and because of the significance of the race watched it.

I think there is a feeling that this race with all the final 10 minutes has just shot themselves in the foot with the way it was decided.

No blame to MV whatsever,but to decide an uneven race off for one lap,when LH had what  a 12 second lead with 10 laps left,removing the cars in between the two which LH had passed, under the safety car, just gives the impression Michael Masi,lust had to make a quick decision,and got it wrong.

I think the FIA and the manufacturers will hope it will be quickly forgotten and move on to next season,because I think this has damaged motor racing image big time.

Christian Horner has 'whinged' ever since the last of Vettel's 4 on the bounce.....

It was OK when RB were dominant but not when Mercedes took over the reigns so to speak.

If the safety car was called with just 3 laps to go & not 5 what would he have done request to extend the race?

If the 'Article 48 Rules' had been followed he wouldn't have had an argument would he!

I'm looking forward to George Russell joining Mercedes as he proved last year in a one-off race & an 'ill fitting' car what he was capable of.....

Fingers crossed Lando Norris continues to progress with Maclaren too.... 3 x Brits 

FIA elections soon, let's hope they appoint a new knowledgeable Race Director.

One does wonder if it have been two non British drivers involved in the exact same scenario whether we would have all the fuss and bother we have had over the last 24 hours from the British press?  Whilst neither Mercedes or Red Bull are British owned they do between them employ about 2000 British people in highly skilled and highly paid jobs so regardless of outcome its a win win situation for this Country. With Channel Four (paying I assume) for the live broadcast the normal F1 audience doubled to 7.4 million viewers. The race provided everything, excited expectation, jeopardy and a twist at the end, what more could people want

David

Incidents always happen in any sport, its all part of the attraction, but to engineer a one lap race, by only letting some lapped cars to un-lap themselves contra to the regulations, which of course meant that Max was directly behind Lewis, and then not run another lap behind the safety car as the rules state, clearly shows that someone wanted a new champion.

So if the race had been 59 laps and the rules had been followed,i.e. the 58th lap had been behind the safety car what would have been the outcome?

They both deserved the championship, the luck happened to be on Vestappen's side this time around.

peedee

100 percent agree. It was disappointing to witness Max's conduct after the Saudi result. I. cannot imagine it enhanced his reputation. All drivers do things in the heat of the moment which they no doubt live to regret. Hamilton has an older head and experience to rely on

peedee

think the FIA and the manufacturers will hope it will be quickly forgotten and move on to next season,because I think this has damaged motor racing image big time.

We Brits aren’t the only people that follow/support F1 so although Hamilton fans in the U.K. will feel aggrieved I suspect many millions in other countries will probably be delighted so I don’t think F1’s image will be damaged

The race provided everything, excited expectation, jeopardy and a twist at the end, what more could people want.

Just the rules applied correctly and fairly. Is that too much to ask.

But, it was not the application or interpretation of the rules that saw LH beaten in the final lap it was the strategic error made by Mercedes for not changing his tyres. Had he had better tyres Max wouldn't have been able to overtake him so easily. So in my view Mercedes have to own up to making a major mistake. Even Damon Hill agrees with me!!! If the race had ended under the safety car, as it would have done if all lapped cars were allowed to pass you cans see the headlines, Another Boring Race, is F1 really worth bothering with?  No good for anyone including Mercedes. Michael Masi made a pragmatic decision to get rid of the cars between LH and Max so that we could at least have a race on the final lap. F1 always loses its appeal when you get a dominant team and the Race Directors intervention may have just saved F1. 

David

Race Directors discretion - followed to the letter !  Mercedes should have changed Lewis's tyres under the safety car and their poor strategies lost Lewis several points during season.