As we have seen this season, we did not have any illusions that the grand final in Abu Dhabi would not be served with drama, controversial moments, collisions, and the intervention of the FIA. Perhaps the only thing we haven’t seen in F1 this year is actually a physical showdown between Mercedes and Red Bull members, say between Toto Wolff and Helmut Marko.
Fortunately, the latter did not happen, but we saw everything else, including FIA interference, which, in addition to failures, was something we definitely did not want. Max Verstappen became world champion after the absolute drama after he was practically brought back from the dead by a safety car that was blamed on the collision by Nicholas Latifi. First of all, it should be noted that the Red Bull racer definitely deserved the title compared to this year’s performances, and the same would apply to Lewis Hamilton, who, by the way, drove an exceptional race in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton immediately took the lead with a great start, but then with a great pace he did not offer Verstappn the slightest opportunity to attack, until the controversial safety car, which brought the Red Bull racer back into the game. Verstappen has no choice but to drive into the pits for the third time and hopes that the race management will remove the safety car before the end of the race. The memory of this year’s bizarre race at Spa Francorchamps, which ended after two laps behind the safety car, is still very much alive, and F1 certainly didn’t want the grand finale to be decided that way.
Michael Masi, therefore, started with improvisation and somewhat forcibly combined leader Hamilton and Verstappen in a way that allowed a return to the same lap only for racers who were on the track between the two title candidates and not for those who raced behind Verstappen. It’s a practice we haven’t seen before, and we’re actually used to the unusual approaches of the race director.
Hamilton thus found himself in a practically lost position when he was an easy target for Verstappen, who with completely fresh tires just drove past and crossed the finish line as the new world champion. Although Mercedes attacked with all cannons after the race and filed a whole bunch of protests and complaints, it was clear the story was over, and Verstappen became the first Dutchman to win a Formula One world title in history. The FIA, which, to be honest, has run catastrophically this season, is infallible according to its statutes, and the complaints of the teams are the loss of excess energy.
From the very beginning of the season, it was clear that Red Bull and Verstappen would do anything for the title. They were prepared for blows under the belt, dirty play, pressure and did not choose the victims for their goal, but we cannot blame them for anything. The FIA should have made the order much sooner, but it hasn’t. With inconsistent decisions, they made a complete mess and banned the extensive rules on Masi’s feelings about fair racing. All in all, it was strange to say the least, but obviously, this is Formula 1 as well.
One of the most epic seasons in Formula One history is behind us, the Mercedes era is over and Max Verstappen is the new world champion. Deserved.
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