© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Surprisingly, the Hall of Fame article focusing on Lewis Hamilton, published on Formula 1’s official website, acknowledges the “unfairness” of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, F1 race director (at the time) Michael Masi chose not to follow the rules which govern the use of the Safety Car in the final laps of the race, and this allowed Max Verstappen to easily overtake Lewis Hamilton, who was on much older tyres, and claim victory and the 2021 championship.
Since then Formula 1 and the FIA never actually acknowledged the events that transpired as something ‘unfair’, but surprisingly, in a Hall of Fame article on Formula 1’s official website, contributor Gerald Donaldson provided a relatively accurate rundown of what happened.
“Having exchanged the championship lead throughout the year (though Verstappen had nine wins to Hamilton’s eight) the adversaries came to the final race exactly equal in points,” Donaldson wrote.
“Thus the sport was dramatically poised for a championship showdown at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina track.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“Hamilton convincingly led Verstappen until a backmarker’s crash with a few laps remaining closed up the field behind the safety car.
“To preserve his lead Hamilton stayed out on worn tyres while Verstappen pitted for fresh rubber.
“With the chequered flag fast approaching, the race director instructed only those lapped cars separating the two frontrunners to un-lap themselves (normally it would be all lapped cars), thus clearing the way for a last lap of all-out racing from which the winner would take the title.
“The Red Bull car on newly fitted tyres easily overtook the Mercedes and Max Verstappen became the new world champion.
“As the Red Bull team wept with joy there were tears of rage among despairing Mercedes personnel.
“After Mercedes’ protests over the contentious safety car decision and the race result were rejected, the team ultimately opted against taking the matter to appeal, with the FIA announcing it would conduct a ‘detailed analysis and clarification exercise’ intended to end the controversy and the ensuing arguments that were ‘tarnishing the image of the sport’.”
Donaldson failed to mention that the race director also didn’t allow for an additional lap under the Safety Car, after the lapped cars have unlapped themselves, which is also required by the rules. Had the full procedure been followed, the race would have ended under the Safety Car and Hamilton would have been crowned champion.
Other than this fact, Donaldson’s summary was actually quite accurate. However, what he wrote in his description of Hamilton’s difficult 2022 season is even more interesting. For the first time in an official Formula 1 outlet, the events of Abu Dhabi have been described as ‘unfair’.
“Hamilton’s strenuous effort in a losing cause [in 2022] was far from a personal disaster,” Donaldson continued.
“There was no sulking over the unfairness of his 2021 title loss, no lessening of his will to win.
“His tremendous fighting spirit was still there, as was his steadfast loyalty to Mercedes, whose imperfect W13 chassis was the root cause of the team’s performance drop-off in 2022,” he concluded.
