While the FIA has taken numerous measures following the events at the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has put the controversy surrounding last season’s final F1 race into perspective regarding Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The 2022 Formula One season will kick off in a few weeks’ time, but in the meantime, no one has forgotten the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where controversial decisions by race director Michael Masi allowed Max Verstappen to win the race and be crowned champion at the expense of Lewis Hamilton.
In response to the controversy, the FIA has taken significant steps to ensure that such a situation does not arise again, including the introduction of a video system similar to VAR in football and the decision to replace Michael Masi. At the presentation of the Alpine A522 on Monday, Fernando Alonso was even-handed when discussing the subject.
“It was bound to happen one day. But for me it’s not serious.”
“Everyone has their own opinion but it was a normal race for me.” says Alonso,
“Yes, there was this decision, but nobody can control whether there is a safety car or not. It’s a good thing for consistency, I hope. Some people like it, some people don’t, you can never please everybody.
“But anything that makes a decision fairer is good. Would it have made a difference in Abu Dhabi? No. We needed a safety car. It was a big deal because it was the end of the last race of the season. But in 20 years, something like that has happened 200 times to me, 200 times to Michael, 200 times to Montoya, 200 times to everybody.
“If it happens in the third of the fifth race, it doesn’t matter. This time it was the last race with two laps to go. It was bound to happen one day. But for me it’s not a big deal,” said Alonso,
Like everyone is going to listen to one of one of the greatest Lewis haters on the grid. Alonso has an itch he just can’t scratch as when he was team mate with Hamilton and demanded respect his team mate made him look slow and embarrassing and Alonso has never forgiven him for that. He has sniped at Hamilton for years, hell hath no fury like Alonso scorned. He is a busted flush and a shadow of the driver he once was and on the grid his insane mutterings are ignored so everyone should do the same, do your talking on the track Alonso like Lewis and quit it with the vile mutterings it is beneath you.
Steve, as a self proclaimed ’neutral fan’, you seem pretty Pro-Hamilton to me in every post you make. Take your British-tinted glasses off, and realize there is life outside the small island 🙂
I’m so tired of saying this I’m not a Hamilton fan but I defend F1 and Alonso is broken and anything he says about Hamilton is because of his hatred and can’t be trusted. I defend F1 and Lewis is one of it’s greatest drivers ever and can’t defend himself on these sites so I do. I’m a racing fan and for me Lews is the best driver we have so I’ll defend him, so not difficult to understand. You knock Lewis then you have me to deal with.
Agree with you Sir
Not the best driver, only the best car. Any driver looks good if the car is good. Let him show his colours in HAAS, then we will agree.
THEN. TELL HAAS TO SIGN LEWIS. AND PAY SIR LEWIS HAMILTON FROM YOUR PORKET. THIS IS VERY SIMPLE. BOTTAS WAS USING THE SAME CAR🚗 WHAT DIFFERENCES DID HE MAKE? I THOUGHT THAT YOU’RE WISER THAN THIS. PEREZ CHICO HAS SAME CAR 🚗 AS MAX. WHAT DIFFERENCES DID CHICO MADE?
What a stupid comment….a true non factual statement
Any driver? There are always two drivers to a team. Fool.
Couldn’t have said it better. Spot on
He is right because Alonso was put in his place when he was teammate with Hamilton and end the season with equal points with the rookie which was bad news for the two times world champion.
Now for most that’s life but that was the downfall for Alonso in many ways as he have not won another title since then.
Well said about THE BRITISH CALLAGHAN. They think they own F1.
If you are going to post rubbish at least spell my name right!
Wow yes its incredible one can fit so much virtiol in.Maybe an intervention and some reasonably priced therapy could help? Still dont get the busted flush bit, and i googled it?
I am sure if it was the other way found and Lewis had won that race in the same fashion we would hear a far different approach from Alonso and the others who think they was nothing wrong with that finish.
F1 has rules and those rules are there to protect the people taking part in this sport so it is totally unacceptable that it was changed just for the purpose of Netflix etc.
And I expected all the drivers in that sport to stand up and air their opinion on the way this last race concluded.
Nothing or no one should interfere with the rules of the sport during a race .
All his team mates were only allowed to be a 2nd fiddle or a shadow. Look at how Bottas was illtreated. Everything happened only to BOTTAS’s car.
Steve you are 100% right. The director has one job, follow the rules. You cannot make it up as you go along. The ramifications are that Hamtton was cheated but it goes inline with Mr. Bernie Ecclestone. How dear a black man surpasses a white man’s accumulated championship.
Alonso missed the point entirely. Yes we know safety cars happen and yes whether it’s at the end of the last race is immaterial. What does matter is that the rules are adhered to and not manipulated because red bull asked the race director to do so. That is what’s wrong with this whole thing, wonder how Alonso would have felt had it happened to him, I’m sure he wouldn’t just shrug it off saying it’s no big deal, nobody would
“We weren’t racing Kimi, we were basically racing Fernando” – Ron Dennis
The safety car wasn’t the problem though was it Fernando? That’s just a deflection. The problem was how the cars were released afterwards. You haven’t seen that 200 times before.
The cars were released from the SAFETY CAR period.
I see people still say Red Bull influenced Masi’s decision that day. As if Mercedes weren’t trying the exact same thing. Both teams had several people barking instructions to Masi. Mercedes wanted their way and Red Bull wanted their own way. In the end Masi made a choice to finish under racing conditions. Every such stewards decision has a team that gains and a team that loses out. Had Masi ended the race under safety car, Red Bull fans would be moaning. The racing end favoured Red Bull, so Mercedes fans are moaning. Masi was in a catch 22. There was no right decision for him that day….
I agree Masi was placed in a very difficult position but if you look at the tapes it was all Red Bull trying to influence Masi and they got their way Masi caved. Toto only got involved afterwards telling him he was making a mistake and he was and it got him fired. It was only in Red Bulls interest and it galls me how they parade around like nothing happened, they fixed that last race in the worst way possible and if Horner had any integrity he would own up but he doesn’t and Max is the innocent victim in this and if I was him I would punch Horner in the face as Max is better than that. He can win a title on his own without Horner gifting it to him which is what everyone will remember about 2021. Red Bull are a disgrace and Horner is a cheat who needs to be made accountable but it wont happen. The only good news is they are spent after 2021, next season will be between Ferrari and Mercedes with Red Bull in the wind and I hope one day Horner will be held accountable for what he did.
Alonso please shut up. You envy the 7 times world champion who has broken nearly every record in F1. The race director messed up in favour of Red Bull. His decision cost Hamilton the record breaking 8th world championship. Fire Masi and all involved.
No competition
Wow I see Masi is still living rent free in your head. Good to read you like the sport of Lewis Hamilton. Good to see your a really fan of Lewis Hamilton get on a knee racing, the sport formerly known as F1. Next step for maturing the sport would be to only have Lewis race and only have races in the UK alone, and only have British people watch who should take a knee during the race. I’m sure that would be epic for sure!
I am rather surprised if this is what Alonso had to say because if he was the one in that position he would have a lot to say about the issue.
We all know that he did not want Hamilton to win his 8th championship for lots of reasons which goes back go when the pair was teammates.
That season Alonso was the 2 time world champion and Hamilton was the rookie which Alonso thought was the best platform for him to excel and maybe win a 3rd championship but that was not the case because Hamilton match him and beat him on several occasions which was pure humiliation for the world champion
So a lot of people within the sport will say Hamilton is the reason Alonso is stuck on just 2 world championship…..I personality think that’s the case even though he won’t admit it.
Yes yes, you all say the same thing, Ham beat alonso… Can no one decifer Alonsos point though??? No, no one.. He’s saying rules are applied inconsistently. He has been on the wrong side of rules, just like Michael Schumacher and Montoya.The mistake made was actually no different to a bad stewards call which there have been many. If you take the championship fight out of it, take Max and Ham out of the picture and then you just got a normal race. He said nothing about either Max or Hamilton, take those biased glasses off please…
I think there is a difference between a bad stewards call and direct interference from a team to influence the race directors actions, let alone the fact that that was not in line with the rules. A judgement call is one thing, this was not a judgement call, it was a flagrant disregard of the rules
Percy G we British don’t think we own F1 but with 20 titles WA more than any other nation and more to come. Maybe we have shown how we do dominate the sport. And you know what they say about those who dominate? They do own it
To Alonso: Either you’re daft or dishonest.who is saying the safty car was’nt needed? THE SAFETY CAR RULES WERE BROKEN! Can you understand the difference? That how the race went, “is not a big deal” for you is an admission that you’re devoid of any semblance of integrity or fairplay., You’re as unscrupulous as they come, rival only by your grudge & envy of Lewis. To judge13: what “even handed” you’re talking about? Dont insult our intelligence.
Blimey someone whos sees it…
I think this is something entirely different. A rule may allow penalties of time in the pitlane of 5 or 10 seconds for instance, what alonso is arguing is the application of one or the other are inconsistent. In the case of the restart, the rules say either all or none of lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves . Neither of these choices were taken and an entirely new option, of which isn’t in the rule book was used. Alonsos analogy has nothing to do with this instance . Whether someone gets no penalty or the hard or soft options are entirely down to the stewards, what isn’t allowed is to make up rules on the fly.
Remarkeble how the Hamiltonboys react when they think their hero is accused or attacked. You would expect some more measured, adult behaviour… but then again… these are the same fanboys that threatened Nicolas Latifi with hell and death…
Well Well, the non Lewis hater is back, you sure have shown your true colours in your recent posts, what a sad sad boy you really are. Claiming not to hate Lewis yet then do the exact opposite you must think everyone is as stupid as you are and you being Dutch expecting people to think you aren’t biased at all. I think attacking Latifi is wrong he never knew what a steering wheel is for and will continue crashing next season much like Max who likes crashing. Next season you will be crying into your Dutch beer as Mercedes have a new power unit and Red Bull were spent after 2021 so next season will be between Ferrari and Mercedes and Max sulking and whining his way through the season, also trying to crash into anyone he can get close to and then getting a race ban, I can’t wait. Carry on with your non hateful Lewis posts you sad pathetic excuse for a racing fan.
Hmm, thought you said you were neutral. That is the funniest stuff I read all day. Hating on Latifi is just unnecessary, he hasn’t had a bad season. And neither he nor Max causes as many crashes as Lewis did this season. But that’s beside the point, the fact is MM made a decision as had been pointed out whatever decision he made would have upset someone. Merc have been on the phone (“Michael have you checked your email”), all season, so can’t go crying when the other team does the same.
Fact of the matter is a decision was made, racing conditions allowed, and a car overtook another, happens or at least should happen all the time in F1. Lewis could have defended better, but didn’t and Max took the opportunity. He was he better driver this season hands down, so did anyone want the season to end that way no, was it the right result… yes.
Try and accept the sport and get ready for the new season.
You can always tell a hater when crying is in the post. I didn’t say anything about Latifi apart from blaming him was wrong, he crashes all the time so Abu Dhabi was nothing new just bad timing. As for Lewis causing crashes seriously you must be desperate. Max is looking down the barrel of a race ban for his ridiculous driving, Lewis on the other hand was trying to avoid crashing but Crashstappen loves it.
If you even watched the race in Abu Dhabi, Toto only got on the phone after many calls by Horner and then Wheatley badgering Masi into making the worst decision in F1 history for which he has now been fired. How those jokers can parade around like nothing happened is beyond me but their time will come. Max was never the better driver he has much to learn but too arrogant to know it, he was in the faster car for the first half of the season but in the last four races when things were neutral he had no answer to Lewis and chose to drive into him instead. How he escaped disqualification in Jeddah is beyond me and in Abu Dhabi Lewis drove Max off the table and when 12 seconds ahead with two laps to go Masi made the decision that got him fired and robbed the true champion of the 8th title he truly deserved. Max is champion but only a paper one which is what history will remember and if I was Max I would punch Horner in the face as he is much better than that.
So carry on trolling as that what you trolls do best but the facts are still facts, Lewis was robbed and Max is a paper champion so own it.
I think you are a sad basement troll with nothing better to do than write hateful Lewis posts, so prove me wrong.
F1 give Hamilton the damn title & Mercedes can be the only team running. NASCAR needs to do the same w/their Wallace.
All other teams can move to new adventures & maybe keep the BS & politics out of it. I have had all I am going to put up with out of all pro sports, college sports, Olympics.
We vote with our dollars not only not attending any more but not spending with sponsors.
Still can’t believe that most people think this is just about Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. When it’s clearly about the rules of the sport. And we see that Masi who many claim did nothing wrong lost his job and the FIA have revamped the staff to judge the racing. Of course you will have race drivers agreeing or disagreeing with the outcome. Do we all actually think they are best buddies? They like many take sides and there are many who will go against the likes of Lewis or if it was Schumacher the same. Many don’t like to see a champion dominate the sport and always say they have the best car. Well mostly true as the best drivers get the best cars. Look at Schumacher, Vettel Hamilton and then look at their team mates with the same cars. Where were they? Max had the better car this year yet if not for Spa and the 3 laps behind safety car to declare it a race both would have had the same amount of wins with Hamilton 5 points clear going into last race. And we all know that Hamilton didn’t have the fastest car. Just ask Christian Horner and RB they will tell you their car was better. Yet in the end the better car won, I would love to say fairly but you don’t sack the man who called the rules if he did nothing wrong. Too many with blinkers on who are not even interested in the sport, just an individual from a country winning. Rather than have all the rules been adhered too all the time. They would rather it was tweaked so their man can win. Look at yourself and then imagine your children been brought up like that to tweak the rules to get a head in life. Wouldn’t want my kids brought up that way. Imagine going for promotion at work between another person and you have out performed them all season. Just for the boss to say on the last minute that he was picking the other person because he had a friend help him. Would you be ok? I bet not, then again I would also betany of you would be the underdog getting help from others to take away the person who deserves promotion because your jealous.
Hamilton fan boys vs Hamilton haters.
It’s so stupid and yet so entertaining.
Please do continue to amuse us normal folk.
Correction, people that love racing and people that just hate, there is a difference. If you call yourself a racing fan then please take part but if you are an armchair racer which you seem to be and doesn’t give a toss then by all means stand back and leave it us who care about F1.
Entertaining isn’t it? 😁
Especially one specific Hamiltonfanboy who really has nothing else to do than spread is simplistic worldview, devided in he and Hamilton on one side and the idiots (everybody else) on the other side. Void of context, facts and reality. As an apostel for his christ. Dozens and dozens tl;dr’s he writes. Per article!! It’s hard not to love him. One would almost hope Hamilton does get wdc8 this year. Otherwise our fanboy, self proclamed f1-fan, will be sooo dissapointed. 😇.
You never replied to my message Duckey or whatever your name is, is there a point in there anywhere? Also it’s divided you moron. You continue with your vile drivel without ever making a point do you even have one? You love to talk about facts, I mention them all the time which makes your hero out to be what he is a paper champion. You never use facts ever as that’s what trolls like you hate it’s your kryptonite as it points out the truth which is Max is no more a champion than you are. Horner is a cheating bugger who has the gall to parade around like nothing happened but his day will come. They are a busted flush next season so your boy will be playing catch up and whining all the way. Get a life Duckey your exposed for what your are now so pick another title like Dickhead.
What no reply Duckey, so your not just a liar and a bigot but a coward too, why am I not surprised. For someone with so much to say you are surprisingly silent when the truth comes out. You go running back to your basement and if you find anything intelligent to say I’ll be here.
A coward and spineless, wow your Mum must be so proud!
You’ve changed you title, you coward.
Why is he blathering about the safety car. NO ONE cares that there was a safety car, they only care what Massi did with the car positioning for the post safety car part of the race. Smoke less, think more and drive better.
For me, Mercedes cant blame it solely to Masi. They could have pit Lewis like what red bull did. For every sports you must play it until of end. Mercedes chose to let Lewis stay out and let F1 award him the win. We have seen safety changes the outcome of the race many times. That’s the beauty of it. And its great since it makes the race exciting. Without incident F1 so boring. We rarely see eovertaking action. Just like watching fast car parade.
Totally agreed. Keep asking myself why they didn’t box him while they can. The race would be more interesting and fair at the end. It’s all Toto’s decision that just gave a bad results.
With two laps to go Lewis did what any experienced driver would do and stayed out to preserve his position, I’ve many years racing experience and would have done the same. Max on the other hand was desperate and played the do the opposite of Lewis card, Horner was quoted as saying we need a miracle and began badgering Masi about a green lap knowing he had the advantage, he was relentless and finally after a call from Wheatley Masi caved making the worst decision in F1 history and the green lap left Lewis a sitting duck. It was only when Lewis was told they would be unlapping cars for a final lap he panicked about tyres but no one expected Masi to break his own rules twice and make that decision, Lewis had the race in the bag. It stinks and makes me sick that red Bull got away with it and are carrying on like nothing happened. Also I would have a had more respect for Max he didn’t do the same and take teasing shots at Lewis, he is childish and a brat and certainly no champion. I hope Lewis shows him what a real champion does next season.
Alonso really needs to go to therapy and learn how to let that hurt go😭😭🤣🤣