In a very public black eye for the sport, Formula One’s Michael Masi’s atrocious last lap decisions handed Max Verstappen the win in Abu Dhabi and, with it, the 2021 Drivers’ Championship.
The 2021 Formula One season reached a dramatic and controversial conclusion in Abu Dhabi. The outcome ruined what, going into the race, was a dream scenario with the two top contenders, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, level on points, ready to battle it out in a winner-take-all situatiion for the world title. What drama! That’s the primary reason why the whole world watched the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday.
But in a stunning breach of competitive trust, the world got to see Formula One at its worst. Its race director, Michael Masi, ruined the outcome by not doing what he was hired to do–apply the rules.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was going perfectly for Lewis Hamilton in his bid to become an 8-time World Champion. He took the lead from Verstappen off the line and comfortably built a healthy lead. Then, on lap 53 of 58, Williams’ driver Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers, and that mishap caused the safety car to be deployed. At that point in the race, Hamilton’s led Verstappen by almost 15 seconds with five lapped cars in-between them.
As time and laps ticked by, it looked more likely that the race would finish under the safety car, especially if Masi allowed the lapped cars to ‘unlap themselves’ per the rules. The Formula 1 rule states that “all lapped cars can be allowed to unlap themselves, and the race will restart at the end of the following lap.” In this instance, because of the late crash and the time it took to clear the debris, the race would have ended without subsequent racing, and Hamilton would have been declared the winner of Sunday’s race. With the victory, Hamilton would have claimed the 2021 title.
But that’s not what happened. Here’s what did.
As the debris field was being tended to, Max Verstappen took the opportunity to pit for fresh, soft tires in the hope that the race would restart once the damaged Williams car was cleared out of the way.
But that move wouldn’t be enough for Verstappen to make a last-second comeback. For that to happen, Verstappen needed race director Masi to allow the lapped cars to ‘unlap themselves,’ thereby allowing him to be right behind Hamilton on the race restart. And that’s exactly what Masi did. But, unbelievably, only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were asked to ‘unlap themselves,’ which left the other three lapped cars where they were. Then, to make matters worse, Masi announced that the race would resume at the end of the current lap–not at the end of the following lap–which violates the FIA rule. That ruling violates the “all cars can be allowed to unlap themselves” rule.
The rulings produced a one-lap race to the finish between Verstappen and Hamilton, who had been leading the race by a comfortable margin and was cruising to victory. But it was not a fair, one-lap race to the finish line. That’s because Verstappen was racing on fresh, soft tires, while Hamilton was racing on hard tires since lap 14. Consequently, Hamilton was powerless to prevent Verstappen from overtaking him–and Verstappen, not Hamilton, took the race and the season championship.
Put another way, Formula One’s race director falsely generated a one-lap ‘race,’ twisting tules to “produce a show.” In so doing, Masi violated the essence of sporting competition by imposing a conclusion on what should have been a matter decided through fair competition.
Sport should be a genuine real-life drama, where outcomes are deserved and earned through skill, hard work, and in accordance with accepted rules and regulations. But what happened at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix went against convention. Instead, Michael Masi wrote and produced a Hollywood-style script.
The question now is what next? I believe three things need to happen.
First, Michael Masi must be removed or resign as the race director. He has lost credibility to perform that role.
Second, Formula One must respond constructively and firmly to the unconscionable circumstance where a competitor was able to bully an official into making a decision that favored his team. The reality on Sunday is that Red Bull’s principal, Christian Horner, bullied Masi into making the calls that he did.
Third, FIA needs to review racing rules related to Sunday’s debacle, especially how and when rules are applied. For instance, too often this season we have seen inconsistencies in the penalties applied or not applied–from one race to another and for similar incidents. There is no doubt in my mind that the lack of a penalty for Max Verstappen in Brazil caused much of the chaos that followed in Saudi Arabia.
Rules around a safety car and a virtual safety car seem incredibly unfair. Should drivers be allowed to pit for new tires in these situations? I think not because it gives an unfair advantage to those who do. Also, even though the purpose of the safety car is to ‘neutralize’ the race, if a race driver’s 15-second lead is reduced to nothing, that outcome does not ‘neutralize’ the race; it unfairly alters the race situation. The main priority and reason for any safety car period must be the safety of the race marshals and everyone involved. There must be a way to maintain gaps between drivers under the full safety car, as happens under a virtual safety car.
Verstappen and Hamilton raced wonderfully all season long. But when the dust settles, there can be only one champion. On Sunday, Formula One crowned the wrong champion, and Formula One’s reputation was damaged as a result.
