Why did race director Michael Masi make the decision to secure Verstappen’s championship?
Formula the aftermath of the decisive events of the world championships continues.
The Mercedes team is still wondering if it will still file an appeal with the FIA Court of Appeal of the International Automobile Federation. You can still appeal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Let’s review what happened in the final moments: the Williams team Nicholas Latifi shook his car to the track fence on lap 52, just over six laps before the finish. During the collection of the scrap, a safety car came on the track.
When the track was cleared, F1 race director Michael Masi decided first that those overtaken in the round would not drive past the safety car and return to their seats.
After a while, Masi changed his mind: only Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen the cars in between rotate into their respective places.
If the first decision had been made, Hamilton would have won because Verstappen would not have had time to overtake five cars and still Hamilton in a fair lap. If, on the other hand, all the cars had turned into their respective places, the safety car would not have got off the track before the checkered flag, so even then Hamilton would have been number one.
With the safety car still off the track shortly before the final lap, it was clear that Verstappen would overtake Hamilton with his soft tires and drive to the championship.
And for the sake of certainty: Verstappen did nothing wrong in the final moments. Everything is about the Mas.
Why Masi made the decision that secured Verstappen’s championship? It was hardly a matter of pressure from the Red Bull team. Or at least hopefully not.
More so, it said Masilla’s cassette is shattering and decisions are what hurts.
Just a week earlier, he offered Red Bull a “deal” for the Verstappen collision: if the Dutchman passes Hamilton, there will be no further punishment. Masi later called the matter a discussion during the competition.
What then should have done?
The solution would have been simple and have been mentioned among others Motorsport and Racefans website.
And that right solution would have been the red flags, meaning the competition should have been suspended for the duration of Latif’s scrap collection. Then all the drivers would have come to the depot and been able to change fresh tires.
In this way, Hamilton and Verstappen would have reached the culmination of the World Series from the same starting point, and there could have been more than just one lap in the race.
It wouldn’t even have been a new idea pulled from the back pocket, as in June, red flags were waved in the Baku race five laps before the finish due to a tire exploding in Verstappen’s car.
What happened to the retreat at the time? Hamilton fired from second place to the top and drove the first bend long, dropping to 15th.
.
#Comment #sporting #solution #dramatic #endings
