Lance Stroll made clear his unhappiness with the controversial end to the final race of the 2021 Formula 1 season, saying the series put the show before the sport.
The FIA is reviewing race director Michael Masi’s decision to restart the race with one lap remaining, in a manner which appeared to contradict the rules and past practice.A key focus of the controversy was Masi’s decision to only allow a portion of drivers who were a lap down to rejoin the lead lap. Stroll was not allowed to do so, but his team mate Sebastian Vettel ahead of him was.
“I think that consistency in our sport is not our strongest point,” said Stroll when asked about the controversial end to last season at the launch of Aston Martin’s new AMR22 chassis.
“I think Abu Dhabi was just not right. The rules are the rules. When there’s a Safety Car, lapped cars get to overtake the Safety Car and then we go racing.
“There’s nothing that says half the cars can overtake and half the cars have to stay behind and then we’ll go racing. So those things can’t be modified during a race just to put on a show.”
“Definitely, that was an example of poor consistency,” said Stroll. “The rules are the rules and can’t be changing, modifying the rules for entertainment.
“It has to be sports first and if there is something that Formula 1 or the FIA maybe did wrong or could have done differently then that’s something to review in hindsight after the race. But I don’t think it’s right that that happened in Abu Dhabi.”
Stroll expects further discussions between the drivers and the FIA over how the race was handled.
“There’s been talks but everyone kind of disappeared after Abu Dhabi. So I’m sure we’ll touch on it some more as drivers with the FIA and with Formula 1 and all that leading up to the first race.”
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David
10th February 2022, 15:15
I agree with Lance, and this is where Masi keeps coming unstuck. He bends the rules and catches himself out.
We know he didn’t want the season to end under the safety car, so he should have just thrown the red flags like he did in Azerbaijan. I stead he changed his mind about how to clear the track and some people were treated unfairly (I don’t think Max and Lewis were by the way, but Lance and Sainz clearly were).
If Masi learns one thing from last year, it’s that the rulebook is there to help the race director, not hinder him.
David BR (@david-br)
10th February 2022, 15:26
How was Lewis not treated unfairly? I agree that had SC regulations been followed, all the lapped cars allowed to unlap, and then there had been time still for a lap or two, it would have been fair in racing terms, though ‘unjust bad luck’ in some vague cosmic sense that applies all the time to motor sport. However, applying made-up-on-the-spot rules was grossly unfair, in this instance, to Hamilton, don’t you think? He and his team had every right to expect the regulations to be maintained by the race director when it was clear they had acted on that presumption (by keeping Lewis out).
Niki101
10th February 2022, 15:53
“How was Lewis not treated unfairly?”
By letting him keep his position after being overtaken on lap 1.
But hey, the rules, the rules, the rules….right?
15.3 The clerk of the course shall work in permanent consultation with the Race Director. The Race
Director shall have overriding authority in the following matters and the clerk of the course may
give orders in respect of them only with his express agreement:
a) The control of practice and the race, adherence to the timetable and, if he deems it
necessary, the making of any proposal to the stewards to modify the timetable in
accordance with the Code or Sporting Regulations.
b) The stopping of any car in accordance with the Code or Sporting Regulations.
c) The stopping of practice or suspension of the race in accordance with the Sporting
Regulations if he deems it unsafe to continue and ensuring that the correct restart
procedure is carried out.
d) The starting procedure.
e) The use of the safety car.
A M (@amam)
10th February 2022, 17:10
Lewis arguably lost out the most…..he lost an historic 8th title because Masi decides to make up rules on the fly
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 21:28
Including that hamilton can cut the track 29 times in bahrain and verstappen can’t?
Darth-Ecclestone (@darth-ecclestone)
10th February 2022, 22:58
@esploratore1 whataboutism…nice fallacy bud
Dale
10th February 2022, 23:17
You another that only watched the last race & now want to comment on the season and the eventual champion?
Roman
11th February 2022, 14:40
Probably he watched the whole season and is also able to remember certain happenings f.e. in Monza, Brazil and Jeddah.
Jim Sharpe (@jms90h5)
11th February 2022, 17:19
Don’t forget Spa. That farce of a non-race that should never have been run but was “for the sake of the show” gave Verstappen an additional “win” meaning he had one more than Lewis.
Jake (@j4k3)
10th February 2022, 15:15
I suspect as we head into the new season, with the immediate overflow of emotions having faded, we will hear a lot more from the drivers condemning the events of AD, without fear of backlash. Nice to hear both Stroll and Sainz state clearly that it was wrong over the last day or so.
The Dolphins
10th February 2022, 15:50
Well, it’s yet to be determined at what capacity Michael Masi will return (if he does) so let’s not say there will be no backlash. I can see someone pushing Lance off and Michael claiming it’s “fair racing” and not referring it to the stewards, a la Brazil; or someone passing Lance off track and not giving the place back like turn 1 Abu Dhabi because there was “no lasting advantage” — all that to say is there is always some fear of backlash, even if Michael is gone but a crony of his gets the role.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 21:29
Copying from that mclaren comment some years ago: Masi, what do you think, ocon pushed stroll out of the track?
“It was hard racing but fair racing!”
Denis (@denis1304)
10th February 2022, 15:20
Formula One is a sport? Be serious LS.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
10th February 2022, 15:21
I agree with his point. You can’t change the rules or not follow normal processes/procedures during a GP just because you want to make things more exciting.
I’m more of a neutral, I didn’t care who won or lost but I do care that I think the decisions that were made were made because the show was put above the sport & that just doesn’t sit right with me because I hold the view that F1 is first & foremost a sport & that it should be looked at & treated as such. F1 should be a sport that can put on an entertaining show rather than a show that wants to be seen as a sport.
A race ending under a SC or not been restarted after a red flag may not great from the perspective of the show but sometimes that’s just how things play out in this sport & we just need to accept that rather than trying to manipulate the regulations just because it’s decided in some backdoor meeting that they want to put on a better show.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
10th February 2022, 17:06
You say it’s not great, but I don’t remember anyone calling for rules changes to avoid it after 2012.
RandomMallard
10th February 2022, 17:45
@fluxsource The crash at Brazil 2012 was so late that it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Di Resta crashed while Button (the leader) was on lap 70 of 71. Even if a red flag had been shown immediately, the lap to the pits would have been lap 70, and then the lap back to the grid would have been the final lap (and obviously you can’t add extra laps because of fuelling), so the race would have finished in some neutralised form anyway.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
11th February 2022, 0:31
RandomMallard
The point is that no one thought this was a terrible thing that should somehow be avoided. But no one complained. It was only in 2021 that suddenly finishing behind the safety car was deemed an affront to racing.
If they were going to treat Brazil 2012 like Abu Dhabi 2021, they could have refuelled the cars while the red flag was out, added 2 laps to “ensure the race finished under green flags” and called it a victory for “the show”.
If they were going to treat Abu Dhabi 2021 like Brazil 2012, it would have finished under the safety care, because that’s what would have happened if they followed the rules.
PaulDunlop
10th February 2022, 15:23
Why is it only going about the last race? the stewards and Masi made so much more mistakes in 2021.
erikje
10th February 2022, 16:04
Those “mistakes” benefitted Lewis mostly, so “they” prefer to ignore that part.
Omar R (@)
10th February 2022, 17:05
+1. The way LH blasted past cars in the sprint made the penalty he got a joke. Well, that was his “good luck” (skill yes, but the other drivers simply didn’t want to risk their own grid place trying to defend against Hamilton).
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
10th February 2022, 17:13
@omarr-pepper are you seriously condemning Lewis for his stellar overtakes?
Omar R (@)
10th February 2022, 18:48
@freelittlebirds well, normally I don’t answer or even read your comments anymore, but well, to reduce your sourness, Max also benefitted in Russia from the lucky rain AND from the other drivers not wanting to risk their tyres either. Hopefully that brings you peace to keep the worship to LH as usual.
A M (@amam)
10th February 2022, 17:17
Stop being so blind. The fact that Max wasn’t even investigated for his appalling defensive display 5 car lengths off track in Brazil proves you wrong. And his brake checking offence in Saudi, he got off too lightly. That, some times, is a black flag offence. And the fact that Lewis gets sent to the back of the grid in Brazil for a .2mm DRS/wing issue while Max was able to fix wings with tapes parc ferme, literally every other race, without penalty.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 22:03
I don’t remember hamilton being penalised in baku 2017, although they proved it was not a brake test, did they prove otherwise for verstappen? I don’t recall.
RomTrain (@romtrain)
11th February 2022, 6:37
@esploratore Yeah, they proved the brake test with brake pedal pressure and deacceration (69 bar, 2.4 g iirc). it seems MV-fans blindnes has no limits
Dom (@3dom)
11th February 2022, 12:18
@omarr-pepper this wasn’t an example of a Masi mistake benefitting Hamilton. Hamilton just managed to make the best of the situation (after a pretty harsh penalty imo considering it seems that he was driving with a upper flap), and he probably ended up using significantly more engine life that he would otherwise have.
I think the decision to award points for Spa was a far bigger farce. Come to think of it, Spa was one of Verstappen’s “wins”
Edvaldo
10th February 2022, 15:47
F1 was already following this dangerous entertainment path with things like standing starts with a lap to go and things like that.
Then you have a winner takes It all Clash decided on the last lap of a season between the title contenders, something that has never happened before. Coincidence?
It felt forced, like they had to pull A LOT of strings to make that happen.
And then there’s those messages in which Masi rebuffs toto’s suggestions but follow those from Red Bull step by step on how to proceed instead of simply following the rules. The best decision he could take for a little bit more of action on the last lap, but a illegal one.
I always knew the business side was strong on F1, but this really brought my interest in It to new lows.
Niki101
10th February 2022, 15:50
“Masi rebuffs toto’s suggestions”
Like not deploying a safety car after Gio went out?
erikje
10th February 2022, 16:07
Ah, the first remark about the old broadcasts between teams and Masi that are presented ad something new.
Funny :)
It seems a lot of hamfans jumped the occasion to repeat the same old story’s again and again and again…
Edvaldo
10th February 2022, 16:17
and why are you changing subjects? Does the fact that it’s old change it in any significant way or is it so embarassing even you can’t find an excuse for it?
Don’t bother answering this. We all know it’s the second option.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
10th February 2022, 17:15
@erikje Of course, you’re happy that Masi screwed up the race and gifted Verstappen the WDC…. Why can’t he do that every year, right?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 22:05
It’s not gifted, it’d have been a gift if hamilton won it considering what happened the rest of the year, I don’t know about you but I’ve never seen a 1-race championship, and even in the 50s we had 7 races, now more than 3x as many.
ian dearing
10th February 2022, 23:22
Yes, It’s not about going into the final race level on points and that race result deciding it. It’s about who ‘deserves’ it. In fact the last race should have been cancelled as it had already been decided by a number of fans that Max ‘deserved it’ long before the end of the season.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
11th February 2022, 0:33
ian dearing
I’m sure a few fans have decided Max already “deserves” the 2022 title too. So let’s not bother going racing and save some money.
Dean
11th February 2022, 13:41
Keke Rosberg 1982?
The fact is Max won by 8 points. Take away the wins in Abu Dhabi and Spa (should never have counted as a race) and Lewis wins. Both drivers got away with things all season so don’t spout that nonsense. Max was allowed to drive with an illegal rear wing for 4 races, there were numerous times he drove Lewis off the road. There was Brazil, Saudi Arabia aswell so please don’t pretend Lewis got all the decisions his way.
gardenfella (@gardenfella72)
11th February 2022, 10:35
@freelittlebirds there’s no point arguing with erikje. I’m afraid. He sees the world through orange-tinted glasses and is as anti-44 as a person could possibly be.
Bradders (@bradders)
11th February 2022, 8:30
And there it is.
RomTrain (@romtrain)
11th February 2022, 6:45
Its even worse.
RB first instructed Masi exactly what to do, then told Max that lapped cars in between will overtake and the race restarted the same lap even before Masi officially made the decision.
They seemingly had full control over Masi for some reason, and I more and more get the feeling some bitcoin-wallet changed its owner. Its hard to believe all this was just mistakes.
niki101
10th February 2022, 16:50
“There’s nothing that says half the cars can overtake and half the cars have to stay behind and then we’ll go racing.”
15.3 The clerk of the course shall work in permanent consultation with the Race Director. The Race
Director shall have overriding authority in the following matters and the clerk of the course may
give orders in respect of them only with his express agreement:
a) The control of practice, sprint qualifying session and the race, adherence to the timetable
and, if he deems it necessary, the making of any proposal to the stewards to modify the
timetable in accordance with the Code or Sporting Regulations.
b) The stopping of any car in accordance with the Code or Sporting Regulations.
c) The stopping of practice, suspension of a sprint qualifying session or suspension of the
race in accordance with the Sporting Regulations if he deems it unsafe to continue and
ensuring that the correct restart procedure is carried out.
d) The starting procedure.
e) The use of the safety car.
Levente (@leventebandi)
10th February 2022, 17:01
The seething of anglos continue :D BTW sad to see Keith also putting the traffic and engagement rates before the good and balanced coverage, but who am I trying to fool, it is a steady downhill in the last few years. Im pretty dumb still visiting the site after all, maybe when the keith who dared to criticize big media for handling issues like this will return and then me as well.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
10th February 2022, 17:09
You’re the one that said it. If you’re accusing this site of being biased because it’s reporting what a current F1 driver has said on the subject, then I think you’ve misunderstood what “news” means.
A M (@amam)
10th February 2022, 17:20
Didn’t know Stroll was English? Plus Keith is merely reporting what current F1 drivers are saying. If it upsets you, then don’t read the article
David BR (@david-br)
10th February 2022, 18:41
@amam I’m sure what @leventebandi doesn’t know can fit onto an average-sized terrestrial planet.
ian dearing
10th February 2022, 19:37
Didn’t know Stroll was English? Pull the other one. He’s as English as Sainz, Webber and Ricciardo. Bunch of seethers.
Emma
10th February 2022, 20:36
Agree.
F1 is fixed
10th February 2022, 20:52
You haven’t seen anything yet Levente, wait till the season starts and the World sporting press mention it every press conference….
Omar R (@)
10th February 2022, 17:22
@leventebandi me too! Do you know any other decent place to read F1 news? This place is quite okay but not as good as before.
But yes, also my fault for keeping clicking here. ESPN used to be my 2nd option but they have become more biased than Sky! And the Spanish-speaking sites drool for Alonso (Marca) or for Perez (insert any Mexican or Latin American website here). So really I need to find new sources
F1 is fixed
10th February 2022, 21:06
Are there no Dutch websites out there that portray the narrative your looking for?…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 22:08
Don’t think he’s looking for a verstappen centric site, but a more neutral one (though unlike many users I can’t claim this site is particularly biased, see hamilton got 2nd in the rankings even if he’s british).
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
10th February 2022, 17:41
It’s easy to discount the opinion of fans but the drivers’ meeting after Brazil showed what the drivers thought about the lack of penalty for Max’s off track excursion. It’s too bad there wasn’t a drivers’ meeting after the last race. The instant reaction from Danny was priceless. Drivers 3-20 were ignored for the show in the final lap.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th February 2022, 17:41
Lance couldn’t be more spot-on. I’m surprised how openly he criticized the controversial proceedings.
Entertainment before sporting integrity was indeed the motive.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th February 2022, 22:39
Careful, he has a mercedes engine, ofc he will complain about a decision going against merc.
F1 is fixed
10th February 2022, 21:01
“There’s nothing that says half the cars can overtake and half the cars have to stay behind and then we’ll go racing. So those things can’t be modified during a race just to put on a show.”
As the quote goes..” I rest my Case “
Dale
10th February 2022, 23:28
Perhaps you should learn some English?
The rules say the lapped cars behind the leader need to be allowed to pass.
The lapped cars behind the leader were allowed to pass.
The lapped cars behind the 2nd placed car weren’t.
The rules don’t say all cars lapped by the leader need to be allowed to pass.
The letter of the law was followed.
Not your interpretation, or Toto’s interpretation, & certainly not Lances interpretation with whatever English language and legal knowledge he has … but the Race Directors interpretation … which is his right and prerogative.
As the quote goes … “I rest MY case”.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
11th February 2022, 0:35
It’s obvious that Dale isn’t a lawyer…
RomTrain (@romtrain)
11th February 2022, 6:52
Yeah, some lapped cars may be allowed to overtake. RD to decide. Thats what rules say? Simply wow to so much opportunism and/or unability to understand the rules.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th February 2022, 9:55
@Dale ‘All’ lapped cars indeed need to be allowed unlapping. Masi used his discretion right for the wrong reasons.
Emma
11th February 2022, 9:56
You should have rested your case before presenting it. Because what on earth are you going on about?
Dale
10th February 2022, 23:20
Lance is another puppet on Toto’s strings.
The C & D teams are too much under Toto and Mercedes authority.
Bradders (@bradders)
11th February 2022, 8:33
God forbid someone is able to voice their own opinion about something. Oh no, jus be a puppet.
Robert Cox
12th February 2022, 0:06
Marcel
12th February 2022, 9:03
“There’s nothing that says half the cars can overtake and half the cars have to stay behind and then we’ll go racing. So those things can’t be modified during a race just to put on a show.”
Funny enough, that is exactly what the rules do say. The rulebook says “any car” can overtake. “Any cars” is not the same as “all cars have to”.
Problem is, the bias tends to make people read, what they want to read.