Abu Dhabi 2021 - what happened & what changed after the controversial race

[@Shaggy12321]

It's odd, how people only seem to think about Hamilton and Verstappen in this scenario, the rules were broken to allow only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to un-lap themselves, but for me, the biggest disaster was restarting the race before they were even allowed to catch back up to the back of the pack (another broken rule) because of this, these five cars were not allowed to fight for position, or even the win! Any one of these five cars could've won the race with Hamilton and Verstappen fighting each other up ahead, any one of these five cars could've finished P3, if they were allowed to fight each other on their fresh tires, but they weren't, they just trundled around at the back and then crossed the line by themselves.

[@hotstepper8420]

Max the fake champion of 2021!

[@ShadowXf1]

This video is so understandable, yet so under rated, i subbed

[@shootingsportstransparency7461]

Best F1 laps in history

[@zinussan50]

Feels bad for checo. His efforts is meaningless to max vestappen.

[@Abdi-libaax]

This race was clearly fixed

[@sarahplatten5979]

The Australian GP's Safety Car finish reignites fiery debate over 2021's controversial Abu Dhabi season finale. In a whirlwind reminiscent of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the recent Australian GP has once again ignited the debate surrounding how the season finale should have unfolded. Seasoned racing veteran and former Ferrari and Williams team manager, Peter Windsor, passionately argues that the conclusion of the Australian GP serves as "absolute proof" that the 2021 season should have come to a close behind the Safety Car, as dictated by the rulebook. Echoes of Abu Dhabi in Albert Park The Australian GP's final lap saw the remaining 12 drivers navigate the Albert Park Circuit behind the Safety Car after a number of incidents, including both Alpine drivers crashing into each other and the barrier. A sight familiar to many, as fans rose to their feet saw Windsor highlight the striking similarity between this scenario and the controversial 2021 season finale. The Rulebook Speaks, But Did Masi Listen? If the rulebook had been followed to the letter, Lewis Hamilton would have cruised to victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing an unparalleled eighth World Championship title in a scenario identical to the end of the Australian Grand Prix. Unfortunately for Hamilton and his Mercedes team, that's not how things played out. Former race director Michael Masi's rule-breaking decision led to a green flag finish, allowing Max Verstappen to snatch the win and the title from Hamilton in a jaw-dropping final lap at Yas Marina Circuit. Scroll to Continue Read More    Australian GP Fans Embrace the Safety Car Finish Windsor points out that the fans at the Australian GP didn't seem to mind the race concluding behind the Safety Car. In fact, they appeared to revel in the excitement, cheering and applauding the drivers as they completed their final lap. This reaction, he believes, is a testament to how the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix should have ended in 2021, allowing Hamilton to secure his record-breaking championship. “They finished the race [in Melbourne] behind the Safety Car. Ring any bells?” Windsor said told his followers. “That’s the finish we should have got in Abu Dhabi in 2021. “I didn’t see any Australian fans - and they’re pretty vociferous at the best of times - complaining or booing saying, ‘no, we want this race to finish as a proper one-lap race, this is terrible.’ “They were all cheering and clapping - exactly as I said they would have in Abu Dhabi ’21 if they’d finished it behind the Safety Car, as they should have done, and Lewis had been cruising round to win his eighth World title. “That, to me, was absolute proof - again - of what went wrong in Abu Dhabi and I still feel very hot under the collar about that as well. “I still think it’s rotten that they completely blew that and Lewis Hamilton was robbed of that eighth title in that one incident. “Of course, you don’t win or lose a Championship in one race. What I’m talking about is the decision that was taken. “And nobody cared at all [in Melbourne]. The Australians just loved that Safety Car, they were all cheering. “I thought actually a couple of the drivers might wave to the crowd, because it wasn’t as if you could overtake, but they didn’t. “But nonetheless, it was nice. “They came round slowly and everybody stood and cheered and clapped and it was a great moment - just as it would have been in Abu Dhabi in ’21.”

[@lightt2339]

I understood the controversy clearly now thanks for the info, Helpfull :)

[@rosswilson8917]

Most blatant fix in history! That last lap should not have counted. Max is a fake champ and I’m a Max fan.

[@shootingsportstransparency7461]

No you're not

[@dipz6479]

Bro merc fans really think they can put “I’m a max fan btw” after the most outlandish statement in order to validate it.

[@Hyena_DLS_Edits]

@@dipz6479its not outlandish is it 😑

[@leewalton7403]

1 change to the safety car they should consider is: No race can end within 2 laps of a safety car. This would've added a further 2 laps after the safety car exits the track. Drivers save enough fuel while following the safety car it shouldn't make any difference but will end any confusion

[@SuperCarcher]

The fact that changes were made and Masi removed proves that it was wrong what they did. Hamilton was robbed yet Verstappen allowed to keep the championship. That is why I no longer follow or watch F1.

[@sayanmazumder8403]

This isnt a sport.. its just business and politics.. basically a reality show.. no wonder Indian Government termed it as Entertainment rather than a sport. The drivers are just the pawns

[@irtaza_malik]

Finally someone gets it & not gaslighting by saying 0h l3t 3t g0o0o

[@trance9158]

The rules are clear and yet crash fanboy's still accept the results even though it is invalid and clearly Masi cheated on behalf of Max and RB. Max is not a WDC. He was clearly getting his ass stomped the entire race.

[@Dizzy-dj6hn]

you're right, hes a 3 times wdc

[@samarjadhav9682]

Yeah, Hamilton surely didn't cut corners to keep the lead and was still allowed to keep the first place 🤷🏻

[@WildN3]

what would've happened if both hamilton and Verstappen retired somehow in the abu dhabi gp?

[@F1Education]

Max wins in this case as he had more 1st place finishes in the season

[@MENQN]

I would have preferred if they Dnf or crashed instead of the race director fixing the race due to human error and the results changed but it's not in the interest of F1 as Lewis Hamilton was winning to many championships and was going to make beating Michael Schumachers record look easy

[@CorridorCulprit]

I think cars who are lapped should drop to the back of the line rather than getting a free pass, doesn't make sense to have lapped cars in between the leaders to begin with..

[@woodybenjam]

The rules are very clear how the safety car is to be used, Masi didn't follow these set out rules and decide to change them to let only one driver race for the win. If anyone implies that Michael MAsi is allowed to interpret these rules how he likes, then that is CLEAR RACE FIXING AND CORRUPTION. Every other team and driver was left out in no mans land apart from RedBull.

[@justinbernardo8240]

u can tell it was rigged for max to win.

[@anaa9088]

Good explanation but I still don't understand why Masi bended the rules. Was he under pressure from Red Bull and other teams? Maybe even Mercedes who thought it could give them an advantage? P.S. Does "to unlap" mean for backmarkers to pass the race leader?

[@F1Education]

Hey Ana. Thanks for the comment. Yes unlap refers to backmakers passing the race leader so they can come on the same lap. What was interesting was only the cars between Hamilton and Max were allowed to unlap. The lapped runners behind Verstappen actually completed another lap after the leaders finshed from what I saw

[@shantanumishra4602]

Michael massi wanted to end championship like normal racing and not some Safety Car. Hence he decided to unlap only 5 cars in interest of laps left, otherwise it would have ended on safety car.

[@MENQN]

​@@shantanumishra4602 It should of ended behind the safety car if F1 followed its own rules but a casual fan like you wouldn't understand

[@mohammedazimmapkar7754]

@@shantanumishra4602 Really.. Then why not unlap all cars? And most importantly if the race isnt just in the final lap.. its the whole 57 laps. No matter what happens.. flag comes, safety car comes.. the race goes on and ends the way it has to.

[@AbiSanyaolu]

Justinbernado8240 ,right on my good man. You hit the nail on the head. Bless you for speaking the truth 🙏.

[@limbothelim6370]

absolutely robbery

[@Theelby33]

Masi is a disgrace and fixed it with his own rule breaking.

[@tubularcandy812]

Hamilton got deserved karma for all dirty stuff in 2021.

[@AbiSanyaolu]

This was a blatant rip off and extremely unfair to the only black driver in formula 1.Let's call a spade a spade and all be honest with each other Lewis Hamilton will may forgive but will never forget 🙏 the injustice done to him. Thank God he's got lots of other interests outside racing 🏁 but he's the best ever. Up Lewis. 😂❤❤❤ 🎉❤❤

[@johank1061]

Being world champion goes about all races, also Silverstone that same year. 5 seconds penalty for Hamilton pushing of Verstappen of the track by high speed.

[@colinwilby8803]

It was ten seconds where the stewards said it was not all Lewis’s fault. After the race evidence withheld by Red Bull showed it was Max’s fault as he deliberately tilurnrd into Lewis hitting him, not the other way around. Max fans ignore this evidence as they know it is true.