quote:

Originally posted by senza nome:
Mercedes launch protests over Abu Dhabi GP result after Safety Car-affected race end

You knew that was coming. Honestly, there is absolutely no downside for them protesting. Worst case, nothing changes.

That was a fun ending. I think the stewards are going to pass on this and call it done.

I didn’t like Sir Chinstrap complaining about the wheel to wheel racing with Checo. Such a baby sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by HuskySig:
I didn’t like Sir Chinstrap complaining about the wheel to wheel racing with Checo. Such a baby sometimes.

He's very much the F1 version of LaSnitch James.

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
That. Was. AWESOME!!!

From the first race in March to the last lap.

In a season filled with controversy, controversial finish. Looks like when Max hit that finish straight, his rear end almost flipped around, yikes. If not the best final lap ever, certainly the stuff of legend. Congrats Max and Red Bull.

I think Lew Lew would have retired with a record eight titles, now I'd bet he'll be back. Now with Russel. How many days to 2022 opener

F1 being dicks here , Masi to Toto --

I've been getting pretty discouraged with F1 the last couple of years because of all the drama and crappy racing. After today I'll give them another chance next year. I'm becoming an avid Indycar fan, so there's that to look forward to next season.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by senza nome:
Mercedes launch protests over Abu Dhabi GP result after Safety Car-affected race end

FIA dismiss Mercedes' protest over alleged Safety Car overtake by Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi

The matter doesn't end there, however, with Mercedes having also protested an "alleged breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations" regarding lapped cars overtaking under the Safety Car – with the outcome from that protest having not yet been decided.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
In a season filled with controversy, controversial finish. Looks like when Max hit that finish straight, his rear end almost flipped around, yikes. If not the best final lap ever, certainly the stuff of legend. Congrats Max and Red Bull.

I think Lew Lew would have retired with a record eight titles, now I'd bet he'll be back. Now with Russel. How many days to 2022 opener

F1 being dicks here , Masi to Toto --

98 days, but who’s counting ?

By the time that race ended, I was exhausted!! Max was up, then down, then back gaining, Checko helped a bunch, finally Max drove the lap of a World Champion!!!

I am very pleased with the results, even if it did take a miracle to get there.

For the Constructors:

POS TEAM PTS
1 MERCEDES 613.5
2 RED BULL RACING HONDA 585.5
3 FERRARI 323.5
4 MCLAREN MERCEDES 275
5 ALPINE RENAULT 155
6 ALPHATAURI HONDA 142
7 ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 77
8 WILLIAMS MERCEDES 23
9 ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 13
10 HAAS FERRARI 0


And the Drivers:

POS DRIVER CAR PTS
1 Max Verstappen RED BULL 395.5
2 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 387.5
3 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 226
4 Sergio Perez RED BULL 190
5 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 164.5
6 Lando Norris MCLAREN 160
7 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 159
8 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN 115
9 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI 110
10 Fernando Alonso ALPINE 81
11 Esteban Ocon ALPINE 74
12 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN 43
13 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN 34
14 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI 32
15 George Russell WILLIAMS 16
16 Kimi Räikkönen ALFA ROMEO 10
17 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS 7
18 Antonio Giovinazzi ALFA ROMEO 3
19 Mick Schumacher HAAS 0
20 Robert Kubica ALFA ROMEO 0
21 Nikita Mazepin HAAS 0


No surprise that Mazespin is dead last. He also finished 21st in a series with 20 full time drivers...

Here's to hoping Mercedes doesn't have a significant design advantage with the 2022 car that they've enjoyed since the days of Ross Brawn over the last decade.

Did my boys at Red Bull (that was my old Nick name at work) manage to beat his wokeness!?!?

Is it true that Red Bull drivers/riders can’t keep their trophies? I read that they go into a 3 story display at the entrance to Red Bull’s HQ. Is this true?

Bit of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't situation
Keep it as is, Max might not have been able to fight for the win
Let all lapped cars through, race finishes under SC
As it was, you get the result we got.

MB seems to think that all lapped cars should have gone through, if you're going to allow some.

A little bit apples and oranges, RB's tire strategy was compromised by safety cars at Saudi Arabia, forcing them to finish with a less competitive car. The SC at Abu Dhabi put Merc on its heels for the finish. Maybe their best chance was to have pitted for tires, give up position and hope the car/driver had what it took to grab the win. Based on the Merc's last four races, it seems clear they had the best package.


**edit**
Kinda rushed the above and overlooked a couple things. I'm still not sure where LH was on track when the safety car came out, was he past pit entrance? Also, no guarantee there would even be a restart.

So in successive races, RB and Merc seemed destined to finish on bad tires, their opponents took advantage of that. Tough noogies.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ripley,

From what I've read this morning:

The initial MB protest was illegally overtaking under SC, dismissed.

There is still a pending MB protest, regarding the only allowing part of the lapped cars (those between LH & MV) to overtake the SC prior to going green.

quote:

Within 30 minutes of the race ending, Mercedes launched two protests. One was “against the classification established at the end of the Competition, alleged breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.”

That rule reads: “If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message ‘LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE’ has been sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system, any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the Safety Car. “This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the Safety Car was deployed. “Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the Safety Car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and make every effort to take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the Safety Car. “Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable. “Unless the clerk of the course considers the presence of the Safety Car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the Safety Car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap. “If the clerk of the course considers track conditions are unsuitable for overtaking the message ‘OVERTAKING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED’ will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system.”

Emphasis mine
Looks like the article reads as: ALL lapped cars must overtake the SC, prior to racing being resumed.

It seems to me that if the discussion is going to center on consistency of the application of rules, it would be necessary to discuss the first lap incident between Hamilton and Verstappen that produced “no investigation” of the improvement in track position Hamilton gained after leaving the race course vs. the penalty imposed upon Verstappen in a similar incident the previous race.

I agree, the first lap non event (by the officials) wasn't right in my opinion and the end was done in a way that left a lot of questions too.
They should have seen that the Williams car's accident was going to need a safety car and immediately red flagged the event. They had recent experience with that process and it can be done quickly and efficiently based on what we saw in Saudi Arabia. They could have allowed all the option of tires and cleared the lapped cars. They likely would have had an additional lap of racing too.
They need to look back over the off season and clarify and change a few procedures based on this past season. They also need to do something to the tracks so driving off the racing surface is still as safe as possible but has an easy to define and natural enforcement that results in a disadvantage without the need for officials. Gravel traps do, this but they still risk more damage and also remove the car completely from the race, most times. They do take the officials out of the process and let nature and physics rule so something along those lines needs to be implemented before next season.