The 'Robbery', A Matter Which Transcends the Sport
The race was more than just unfair - it goes against the primary values of sport.
Sunday the 12th of December saw a nightmare end to the most thrilling Formula One season of all time.
It took one lap to dismantle Hamilton's entire race.
Both drivers were spectacular throughout the season and accordingly neither ‘deserved’ to lose - but the nature of the sport mandates that only one can prevail. The situation, equal points, was the dream scenario for Formula One and heading into Abu Dhabi the permutations were clear; win the race, win the title.
Hamilton, unquestionably, deserved to win the race.
He trounced Verstappen off the line on tyres that were not only step harder but had also done an extra hotlap, leading all the way down to Turn Six where he avoided yet another crash with the Red Bull. He dealt with Perez’s uncompromising defence exceptionally well, and Verstappen’s massively fresher tyres barely dented his lead. Lewis was trading fastest sector times with a car whose tyres were twenty-three laps younger than his.
It was, ironically, Michael Schumacher’s son’s stout defence of Nicholas Latifi that led the Canadian to crash, a crash which must not be blamed for the final outcome but nevertheless set off a chain reaction of events that turned the title on its head. Again.
The realisation of what was happening began to sink in when Hamilton, concerned, reported the Safety Car wasn’t going at full speed down the straights as it usually does. It was waiting for the field to catch up - which it is not obliged to - and stretching out the time between the crash and the end of the race. Almost as if they were trying to fit something else in.
On Lap 56, Masi told Red Bull officials that lapped cars would be able to not overtake the Safety Car and Christian Horner replied with, ‘Well, we only need one lap of racing’. On Lap 57 the message ‘5 lapped cars can now overtake the Safety Car’ appeared on the world feed, which, as the rules stipulate, should have ended the race as there must be one lap in between the cars unlapping themselves and the race restarting. That is not what happened.
Only the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton were cleared and the race restarted immediately, a decision made by race director Michael Masi which he knew would only ever end the race one way. One whole second passed between Vettel, the last car between the two contenders, unlapping himself and the race restarting. Just one. Verstappen would become World Champion and everybody except his fans - who had given up hope - were shocked. It wasn’t a ‘miracle’, it was a gift.
Let’s be clear, though; Max Verstappen is absolutely not undeserving of his championship. His season was scintillating and indeed there were many rounds this season where he and Red Bull were indomitable. My quarrel is not with them, they maximised the situation with an astute strategy and a bold overtake, but the manner in which their win was facilitated.
Did the establishment really not want Hamilton to win? There is, of course, little to no evidence that they did not want Lewis Hamilton to win but you can infer through the multiple incompetent decisions that they were set on artificially creating a dramatic finish which was only ever going to go one way. They made a conscious decision to prioritise the show over the integrity of the sport, and more than anything else it was saddening.
It showed too that they would rather manufacture excitement than see their most prominent advocate - a ubiquitous international megastar who rakes in millions of fans a year and regularly gives back to the sport - win an unprecedented eighth World Championship. Hamilton spoke of how the educational system failed him as a child, and now (to echo Nicholas Hamilton’s thoughts) the sport he has dedicated his entire life to has failed him too.
His response is a fitting testament to his undeniable class. He remained collected as he physically and verbally congratulated Jos and Max Verstappen as well as Christian Horner, despite just being robbed in front of millions on live television. Not only did this display of exemplary sportsmanship win over a lot of people, it also helped squash the baseless myths that he doesn’t know how to accept defeat. It’s a stark contrast to Verstappen’s refusal to take part in the podium celebrations a week prior in Jeddah, perfectly demonstrating the gulf of sportsmanship that lies between them.
Sportsmanship at its best.
The sport lost fans on Sunday - many of whom will have watched an F1 race for the first time and many of whom were confused by the erraticism of the decision-making which so blatantly flouted the sport’s own rules. Many of them will be extremely difficult to win back. The benefits from the huge publicity this season and its finale are getting could well be mitigated by the fact that the sport has been brought into disrepute; in fact the Liberty Media Formula One stock price has been dropping ever since Sunday the 12th.
The world responded with outrage as celebrities and experts of all kinds - from doctors to presenters to footballers - joined in criticising the handling of the final few laps. Even the newspapers were on Hamilton’s side - and when tabloids such as the Daily Mail, who will use any excuse to defame him, are defending him, you know something quite monumental has happened.
What’s even more sobering is had Verstappen had track position, you get the feeling none of it would have happened. Indeed the FIA had no problem ending the 2012 season (which also saw a titanic scrap for the Championship) behind the Safety Car, nor did they have any objections to having a one-lap race in Spa that decided a legitimate result.
The whole season Hamilton had been fighting everything from inconsistent stewarding to racist abuse to the entire Red Bull organisation to false allegations about commercial deals, and being the champion that he is he dealt with it all gracefully. Anything less as a man of colour in a sport dominated by white people will have you condemned.
Being literally stripped of a World Championship at the death, therefore, is in ways not surprising because there is unfortunately always someone there trying to keep him down. It is a sad reality that Lewis Hamilton contends constantly, but this time there is no talking on the track to be done - all his hard work, dedication and excellence from the season (and in certain ways Verstappen’s too) was nullified by a contest he was destined to lose.
Unlike Silverstone, Hungary, Baku, Monza, Brazil - this is not a controversy. There is a difference between perceived injustice and actual injustice and what was witnessed at the end of the race was firmly the latter. This is no longer a matter of winning and losing but simply one of justice and fairness. We cannot let whimsical decisions choose winners and losers.
Mercedes have every moral and legal right to protest. Some argue it would be unfair if Verstappen lost his title because of this and Hamilton was given it - but that is a heavily ironic sentiment. Unscrupulous calls are what started this mess. My understanding at the time of writing is that they stand by Hamilton and intend to push this as far as possible. It is not an ‘overreaction’, nor should they ‘just get on with it’, because what’s at stake is massive both in precedent and result.
#IStandWithLewisHamilton, originally a hashtag to show support for Hamilton’s activism, is currently trending No. 1 in the UK. The fight continues on.
Hamilton being consoled by the man who has been there from the start.
What is especially painful is that Masi sounded almost gleeful whilst telling Mercedes, in response to their protests, over the FIA communication channel that what happened was ‘a motor race’. He’s right - but it was Lewis Hamilton’s motor race. The end was a manufactured piece of entertainment which does not deserve to be classified as sport. Throughout this all I’ve been thinking of is what a mesmerised Martin Brundle said after Verstappen stopped under the Virtual Safety Car for fresh hards. ‘We need twenty laps of Michael Schumacher-esque qualifying laps from Lewis Hamilton to defend this title’.
We got 15 of those laps. Verstappen made a mere 5 seconds during the whole stint. Hamilton was denied what was, through his own utter brilliance, a foregone conclusion.
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Comments (81)
I don't know how the Hamiltons kept calm after that. The FIA aren't biased, they're just dumb.
I hope at least they fire/suspend Masi or something… the title is tainted (and as such I feel sorry for Max who will now always have this one as his first, when instead he deserved a more legitimate one) so I’m ok if they don’t return it to...
Read moreYou think Hill won a second championship in 1994? Or Senna should be champion in 1989? In a few years no one talks about this anymore. And they can't return it to Hamilton, he never got it.
Get over it
Go back to sucking Max' balls
Did you think that up all by yourself, who's a big boy!!!
Thing is that these sort of idiotic calls have been made all season long and have benefitted both parties. What differentiates this one though is that there is no possibility of saying 'we'll get 'em next time'.
True. But I feel like this supersedes them all as plain wrong, seeing as they broke their own rules. The others are more open to debate, and also the two biggest farces (Spa and Abu Dhabi) have benefitted Red Bull.
Well, according to the rules it all happened according to the rules.
thankfully, you're wrong.
🤩
Let's face it, a lot of F1 fans voted Verstappen driver of the day in Saudi Arabia. So this farce made a lot of people happy. They couldn't care less about the sport that we've loved for decades. All they care is that their new exciting idol wins by any means necessary.
I'm afraid, it's time to leave F1 in their sweaty hands and move on to other racing disciplines that still have integrity.
I say again, if you seek real genuine hand to hand racing then watch MotoGP
I never cared for two-wheeled vehicles. I got into F1 99% because of the cars and the tech.