Max Verstappen calls F1 race director Michael Masi’s departure “very unfair”, and it seems too that other drivers agree that Massi was “thrown under the bus”, therefore proclaiming that the FIA made a big mistake dealing with the fallout of Abu Dhabi in an effort to appease Mercedes – but with Massi leaving, this in effect is the FIA admitting that Max Verstappen’s title is not legitimate.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has defended former Formula One race director Michael Masi after a controversial final lap in Abu Dhabi, on the sidelines of pre-season testing in Barcelona. Masi was removed from his post last week.
Max Verstappen on Thursday called the decision by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to “sack” Michael Masi from his position as race director “very unfair” after his controversial decisions, which led to the Dutchman being crowned champion at the last Grand Prix in 2021.
“For me, it’s very unfair what happened to Michael – he was really dropped,” the Red Bull driver complained in a press conference during pre-season testing in Barcelona. “It’s not right.”
In mid-February, Michael Masi was removed from his position as race director for his handling of last season’s final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. By doing so, the FIA points to this event as a terrible blunder and really an admission that something was not correct with the decisions made, therefore Max should not be champion.
A powerful defence of Michael Masi when I asked LEC, VET, ALO and VER about Michael Masi. @Max33Verstappen called it the 'wrong decision' and said he'd been 'thrown under the bus' by the FIA…
— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) February 24, 2022
It seems that other drivers agree with Max Verstappen’s assessment of the situation, however. Renowned F1 journalist Adam Cooper interviewed several drivers in the paddock yesterday who all agreed that it was wrong for the FIA to bow to pressure from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes Toto Wolff.
It is obvious that Massi had been thrown under the bus for his judgment call in the race in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately for the FIA by removing Massi, they have confirmed that Max Verstappen’s title is in doubt therefore not legitimate.
This of course is wrong, but it does point to just how much power Wolff and Mercedes have over the F1 paddock and authorities still to this day.
Typical anti Hamilton/Mercedes rubbish. The rules were not adhered to, end of. Mercedes have not rewritten the rule book, just asked that they be followed, is that too much to ask? Mercedes or Hamilton are not the demon here, ask yourself who persuaded masi to do what he did and in doing so who would stand to benefit the most? It’s wrong on so many levels
Agree1000%.
Agree 100%
What a fucking retarded article. Mention it’s a personal opinion you dumb shit. Fuck you
All you Hamilton/mercedes haters must have shit in your eyes when masi changed the rules to help red bull. We all watch f1 to see a fair race but when someone has a 12 second leas with 5 laps to go how can the officials simply wipe that out Verstappen should be strippes of his title
what a ridiculous article, you couldn’t be honest and say in your opinion blah blah blah, instead you put a controversial fake headline then spit bullshit like a Hamilton fan. 😂😂😂
Totally agree, neither Hamilton or Mercedes changed the rules last second Masi did that and should face the consequences.
It’s Christian Horner who is to blame for most of this and he should be held accountable
It’s Christian Horner who brought all this about and he should be held accountable
Agreed decision from masi was wrong Hamilton was in control all the way
Only Christian Horner is to blame for the events of 2021 his begging for assistance to win the race put Masi in a bad light only red bull should pay the price
This “opinion article” tries so hard to get away from the fact that Verstappen isn’t the legitimate winner, anyone watching clearly saw Hamilton was robbed.
Don’t think it matters he is not a champion in my book blaming Mercedes for challenging result they know it was not a legal result how has he been allowed to still keep championship total cheats
Anti Mercedes? How many time has Mercedes benefitted from rulling and lack of punishment of Lewis and mercedes?
I hope that Lewis will start with a penalty this year, because he did not attended the fia ceremony.. if not, we will see how “bias” the fia is.
The question you should ask is how many times has they benefited from an unprecedented interpretation of the rules?
The issue here is fair application of rules and the ability to challenge any unfairness. What does FIA director stands to benefit by bending the rules? Max touched Lewis rear wing and Lewis was penalised. And there’s nothing untowards with Lewis complaining about the race director. We all saw what happened
Would you have attended if you were Lewis? If you were robbed do you attend the “not guilty party”? You are just a pitiful racist! When Michael Schumacher benefited from dubious decisions I bet you supported those decisions too, racist dog.
I the decision by FIA is correct then forfeit Max’s title along with 1 of Michael, 2 of Vertel and 4 of Hamilton. Check out Hamilton’s carrier and see how lucky he has been or how lucky he was made and been gifted race wins and at the end championship titles. No need to go too far, there are couple of races last year only. When Masi gives Lewis the benefit during the overtake maneuver by max he is a Saint. When the decision goes the other was he is the devil incarnation.
The FIA could also believe that a lot of F1 fans would abandon the sport, because the fans want to see the championship won by the drivers in the cars, not by the Race Director (Masi) conveniently bending the rules to give an “exciting finish”.
I’m also surprised that the conspiracy theorists haven’t accused Latifi of crashing on purpose to force the field to close up and create this opportunity.
They did
They have, Latifi received hundreds of death threats, mainly because the crash was as a result of a tussle with Schumacher who had plenty of reasons to stop his Dad’s record being broken and he and Max are childhood buddies. However. it really was unfair as Latifi has never understood what a steering wheel was for and crashes more often than Max.
Hey Jay why you talking about racism for, thats pathetic its got nothing to do with racism, there is thousands of much loved sports men and woman who have the same skin color as Lewis. Shut your face.
Tut,tut,tut, poor Jay. Aren’t you able to hold an intelligent discussion without resorting to racism? Try formulating your comment again then we might be interested
Your a bell end who labels people racist if they disagree with you. Now go and shove you tongue up Lewis ass
Of course there is racism there. Why else would they rob Hamilton of a clear win and hand it over to crashtappen?
Ok the last race was not fair, so the results of this race should be ignored. This means that Max is still the champion!!.
Most. Sensible comment so far, I am a fan who just wats to see fair racing! What happened was a fiasco, so yes, discount the complete race!
Either you Are stupid or you Are stupid you can choose between those 2
Hamilton was robbed end of story!!!
This article is a click bait, waste of time… The FIA didn’t admit to anything. Just more salty fanboys upset their guy couldn’t seal the deal. Merc had every chance to stop for tires and didn’t. They CHOSE track position, then a decision was made that did not break ANY rules, the fans were given a dramatic ending to the best season in recent memory, and the FIA just proved they have no backbone by firing Masi.
@Kabbie, unfortunately you don’t call the shots.
Max title is tainted whether Madi goes or not. Cheating Sir Lewis just to mix up things or create excitement isn’t fair
Agree, it’s never Mercedes or Lewis at fault is it .
Clearly you haven’t really been watching the season porperly then. Verstappen didn’t get 1 penalty last year where lewis did, Verstappen had to tamper with Lewis’ car just so lewis wouldn’t start top of the grid.
So before you make such bold decisions, watch all the races properly and then see who really benefited.
Drivers are not allowed to touch other cars Mercedes wher fined because fin was a very small amount higher than should be however I fact checked and found that when hot it can be manipulated that very small amount could have been done by verstappan
No need to go through the endless fors and against.I ‘ve followed since 1950, Mai broke the rules under pressure from little Jack Horner, stole the race from Hamilton and gifted the win to Verstappen.at the end of the day the fault lies with Masi 100% fairly and squarely.
What about Wolff begging him not to bring out a safety car?? Now shut up you helmet
What are you even saying? There was a safety car. Red Bull suggested something Masi did what they suggested he needed to go as he is to easily swayed.
Correct! Only MV fans or try LH haters could think MVs title was legitimate. He lost and will forever be followed with an asterisk after the records are published.
Masi dag his own grave I wonder who paid him to make a horrible decision
I’m very proud of you. Mr Paul Hancock. I wish that man like you should be allowed to hold high posts in our world. And to help people like us. Thank you. I might not know you. But remember that you stand for the truth. And people like us. GOD bless you. And your entire family 👪..
Regarding the apparent pressure from Lewis and Mercedes on the FIA…. UTTER RUBBISH.
The truth and facts are that Masi did screw up with his decisions, that his position as race director was untenable after what happened and the Max’s title is illegitimate. FACT!
MV is the 2021 world champion ( FACT) it’s in the history books you helmet.
Hamilton won. World Rally Championship is more exciting. I’ve moved on.
I don’t recognise you as champion Lewis beat you fair and he was miles in front till that accident the race should have been stopped Lewis would have changed To new Tyres and he would beat you Iam quite surprised you never got banned for what you did in the Italian Grand prix then your an angry driver but you got away with that at Silverstone Lewis gave you a Taste of your own medicine and your still greeting about it.You trying to tell me if you done that to any other driver they would have something to say. Last season all you did is moan and bleet about everything just Like that creep Horner and Marko
Question of the day: Had Michael Masi not made the fateful decision to change the course of the race that day, would Max Verstappen have been crown world champion?
No!!!
Max is the favoured last child
Maybe it should be called a Verstappen-Masi title.
After all it was Masi who unlapped the 5 cars between Hamilton and Verstappen
Agree with Paul Hancock’s comments…Sir Hamilton and Mercedes were the victims and Red Bull should be ashamed of using media to pass blame….rules were not followed and only Red Bull benefited from that unjust calling by Masi…Whether Max’s title is removed or not…we don’t recognize that title…
Go for you afternoon nap your bed are calling for some weight.
Of course Michael Masi should have been sacked, otherwise it would show that FIA were complicit with the cheating. Yes, Michael Masi was cheating. He deliberately gave the 5 cars between Lewis and Max permission to pass, to bring Max closer to Lewis, knowing that Max had just changed to a new set of tyres and therefore would have better grip than Lewis. If by complaining that Lewis had been beaten by the cheat, is the FIA pandering to Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff, then what is allowing the Race Controller to cheat and break the rules to allow Max Verstappen to catch Lewis and overtake him all within one lap? Michael Masi was aware that when calling the Safety Car in at the end of the per his, Max was over 5 cars behind Lewis, on the last lap. Under normal race conditions, Lewis would have had control over when he took off after the safety car came in. This would have meant that with only one lap left, Max would have had no chance of catching Lewis and he would have been W
World Champion for the record 8th time. Obviously Michael Masi didn’t want Lewis to be world champion and become a record 8th time for winner, so he cheated to allow Max to catch up with and pass Lewis, a move which would have been impossible without Michael Masi cheating. Of course, unless there was something very serious going on, Max didn’t have anything to do with Michael Masi’s decision, and is just sadly caught up in the mess Michael Masi has caused. And Lewis and Toto Wolff have a perfect right to complain about Michael Masi cheating to lose them the title. This was so blatantly obviously Michael Masi fixing the result against Lewis. Of course he will complain, anyone would in Lewis and Toto’s position. Let’s hope the new season will be straight forward and no cheating. It ruins the sport for the fans when the officials cheat to create a result. Its bad enough Premier league referees cheating to create certain results, please don’t let F1 racing go that way too.
Hamilton has been helped for years and no complaints then one goes against him and all hell breaks loose. Oh and funny how no-one is talking about the agreement to finish the race under green conditions that was made before the face….
The FIA in its decision has done no justice to Lewis Hamilton. What there have done is to highlight the systemic racism in the sport. For them to have done justice, they ought to have split the title and both drivers Hamilton and Verstappen declared winners. In that decision they would have laundered the dirty history of the FIA and be poised for a fresh and bright start. They are not too late.
Correct, regardless of what Max lovers say, the rules were not kept to ( and all Max fans would agree were the position reversed) and not just according to the rules but according to Masi’s own interpretation of the rules back in 2020.
How they raced is not a warrant for the title as so many Max lovers say he deserves it.
That’s not how it works, not to mention that Max had essentially played a stay behind or crash race, most races.
In the final he certainly didn’t earn it.
He needed multiple help.
He needed a teammate to play dirty tricks every way possible to ensure Hamilton could not get a large enough lead, and so when pitting time came, had he done so, he would lose.
Even at the start Max took a line trying to cause a crash knowing that at that angle both out meant he wins the title and just Lewis out meant he- Max- won still.
At the end of the day it’s factual, interpreted by the book Lewis wdc 8 X And if they asked for a punishment less than remove the title from the pretender, be grateful and accept the person who wanted spectacle, knowing it was unfair, knowing Red Bull asked for that-Its on tape- and that would be incredibly uneven, its as close to corruption or at the least, incompetent, as you can be.
And Masi has been moved not entirely sacked so what’s the issue? That a pro RB director is not there ?
That this mistake we can assume will not occur again and the rules interpretation more solid?
Anyone upset that Lewis or Mercedes want that, are obviously opposed to a level playing field.
You meant that Masi helped Hamilton & Mercedes by letting him slip away his 1st lap shortcut he made without being disqualified or punished or at least … force him to give his position back to Max … what a ridiculous pro Hamilton claims 😅
Sounds like another desperate response to me, seriously! There have been many posts showing the truth and what actually happened, Max had lost, Horner saw an opportunity, bullied the hell out of Masi to get the green lap and Masi caved, gifting the title to Max on a plate. Those are facts, they happened but Max fans so desperate for their hero to be an actual champion instead of a paper one don’t like rules or facts as they expose the fact that Lewis should rightly be champion instead. You all use either the tyre change or the first corner as daft reasons why Max deserved it and are both rubbish. Also,, by the way the stewards looked at that incident and felt Lewis didn’t get an advantage so let it go and especially as Max has done the same manoeuvre several times himself in the previous races without penalty.
Illegitimate champion. That is true. All other driver want to be an illegitimate champion too?
Masi was doing his job to the best of his abilities, while trying to be impartial. I’m sure that if Max & Lewis’s positions were reversed the same decision would’ve been made.
No – this is not Masi’s fault.
Lewis was hung out to dry by his team – Mercedes/Wolff – by not having tyres that could defend in case a safety car came out.
Lewis himself said on the radio it was a risk to running v long on that hard set of tyres.
Wolff gambled and it did not pay off. Now he’s deflecting to other people for his mistake.
Nuff said, move on.
Typical reply from someone an armchair racer who knows nothing about racing and just wants us to forget Abu Dhabi, accept nothing happened and legitimise Max as a worthy champion, all of it rubbish. What happened following the worst decision in F1 history, put F1 credibility in the toilet and made F1 a laughing stock likening it to WWE, was all down to Masi inspired by Horner and it stinks.
Firstly, this ludicrous theory always trotted out by The Lewis and Mercedes haters about tyres and Merc not pitting like Red Bull is naïve beyond belief. With a couple of laps to go under the SC, Lewis did what any experienced driver would do and stay out to preserve his position, I’ve decades of racing experience and would have done the same. Max one the other hand in desperation played the do the opposite of Lewis card and came in, so not inspired thinking just desperation and Horner was quoted as saying we need a miracle. With Max on new tyres, Horner knowing it would give Max a massive advantage so continued to batter Masi with requests for one green lap but after over 50 green laps that wasn’t necessary. However, eventually and after a disturbing call from Wheatley which was leaked, Masi caved in and made Lewis a sitting duck. Lewis and Toto were only concerned about tyres when the were told cars between Max and Lewis (should have been all cars which would take longer) would then unlap themselves and they would have a final green lap, which prompted Lewis to panic about tyres and Toto to call Masi saying it was far from right and now Masi has been fired for it because of the manner in which he did it, breaking his own rules twice suited only one team, Red Bull and it stinks. What’s worse is Horner and Max parading around like nothing happened. Nothing will change Max being a paper champion and we do all need to move but stupid posts like yours I can’t leave as it insulting to true Racing fans who along with Lewis were also robbed.
Masi was only doing his job maybe but really badly definitely, all of this is of course Masi’s fault. Tell me this if you made your company a laughing stock and put their reputation in the gutter by breaking company rules twice, do you think you would still have a job, no of course not!
Haha funny, I’m a McLaren fan by the way, don’t like MV or LH, however Max crossed the line first, took the opportunity by the horns and won.
Did he make the decision for Masi or do anything wrong?
I don’t think so. If the roles were reversed for LH you probably would defend him on winning in this manner…
Get over it and enjoy the new season, it’s going to be great. The FIA made the call to sack Masi for multiple reasons, not just the last race, and they have made structural changes that benefit the sport, so be happy.
You are just creating a toxic environment for anyone new coming into watching the beautiful sport that F1 is and draining the excitement out of it.
Move on already.
They compare Lewis to Michael Schumacher, but Lewis didn’t have anybody to race him until this year where Michael raced against Damon Hill, Mikka Hakkinen, Eddie Irvine, Kimi Rakkinen etc to challenge him and to even say Lewis is better is wrong. As soon as Lewis got a car to challenge him he lost. Can’t ever be compared to the GOAT Michael Schumacher
Sorry to burst your bubble Dennis but it’s records that largely determine a GOAT and Lewis has beaten nearly all of Schumacher’s records and would have broken the last one had Masi not become a Red Bull employee. Also, many of the greats like Jackie Stewart all agree Lewis is the best they have ever seen and they are better qualified than the guy in the street. Also, Schumacher had a terrible record for cheating like parking in the middle of the track at Monaco to get pole and crashing into Damon Hill to win the championship, something Max tried in Jeddah.
Maybe you should read my message again as firstly I repeatedly said I’m a racing fan and not a Lewis fan, he can defend himself. I disagreed with your comment that it wasn’t Masi’s fault, who’s fault was it then, Mercedes, please! The same old tired ‘didn’t changed their tyres line’ so Toto’s fault, always trotted out by people that don’t understand racing. As I said read it again as I explained why that was irrelevant, of course it was Masi’s fault but I do have some sympathy as the real villain is Horner who knew bloody well that by getting Masi to agree would hand the race to Max. I will never understand why Masi caved and did what he did, such a dreaful decision and it’s cost him his job and quite rightly so.
I’m a big fan of McLaren too and great to see them challenging next season. I used to fly over their factory when landing at Fairoaks airport next door, the factory is shaped like their logo.
Typical Lewis fanboy, did you forget it was the teams (all the teams including Mercedes) in the numerous team meetings told Masi over and over again they would not want a championship decided by a safety car. Even that very day in Abu Dhabi the teams told Masi to make sure the championship was won under a green flag. Maybe Masi used the rules not exactly as they were intended but he gave the teams a finish under a green flag that they adamantly wante
d. What Mercedes did or what Red Bull did, is not the question, the final lap was under the green flag as the teams wanted. Toto and Lewis completely forgot it was their adamant decision that a championship winning race finish with a green flag. Masi gave them what they demanded, like it or not.
So true , but the Lewis fan club will never acknowledge this. He had the best car and team and got schooled all season, max is a better racer and over the season deserved the championship.
I’m sick to the back teeth of the lh ass lickers crying.
I’m not a Lewis fan I’m a racing fan and what happened in Abu Dhabi was an insult to racing fans and put F1 credibility in the toilet but you Lewis haters don’t care about that and rules or facts just as long as Lewis didn’t win. Such a typical line from the ‘nothing wrong happened’ camp, ‘Maybe Masi used the rules not exactly as they were intended’ is like saying you were caught breaking in but it’s okay because you were lost 😂There has and never was any contention about the safety car as it’s in the rules, which I know you don’t care about. The ‘Green Lap’ was Horner’s idea after Max changed tyres because he knew it would give Max a big advantage but Masi wouldn’t budge initially then Horner started using ridiculous reasons for doing so like ‘It’s racing’, even though we had already had 50 laps of racing and Max was losing and then Horner finally caved in after a disturbing call from Wheatley which made Masi look like he was on Red Bull’s payroll.
I think you are starting to believe your own rubbish, the mood from the drivers was that it was a farce which it was. Also, this nonsense about everyone wanting a green lap is utter nonsense, as that decision only suited one team, Red Bull. Also, there is a huge difference between finishing on a green lap and just unlapping the cars between Lewis and Max which made Lewis a sitting duck, you unlap the cars then you unlap all of them but then Max wouldn’t have won. You don’t care but that wasn’t racing it was a bad joke and only you Lewis haters living in your own bubble don’t think so.
You’re getting high on your own rubbish! The only gamble Merc made was to strategise based on the usual interpretation of the rules, not the free wheeling crap Masi came up with.
Verstapen does not deserve the champion title. Hamilton was robbed end of story.
I agree 100% with you! Max should be stripped of his Championship Title.
This is an illogical conclusion by tj13 and I am disgusted he wld write such clickbait nonsense. There are numerous other “conclusions” that could be drawn on this flimsy line. e.g.the FIA bowed to the pressure from Wolf and others to keep the peace, or for whatever reason.
L H & Mercedes are now the owners of F1 they will rules as they see fit F1 gone to the dogs how’s putin doing
Carry on taking the tablets from the nice men in white coats 😂🤣
Andrew see advice below!!
For you bunch of know it alls in the Verstappen camp. For a moment, please take your heads put of your own asses. Wolff made that decision based on what has happened throughout F1 history. They correctly assumed that the race would finish behind the safety car because all the cars would have to pass first. As for the race to end in a race, it was theoretically impossible because they have run out of laps. RB knew that. So, by convincing Masi to finish in a racing state, they pushed him to swing the race in their favour by going against the FIA tradition and fool Wolff who assumed that things would happen normally. RB should put Masi on payroll because he took the fall for their manipulation of the situation. RB is devious and I have always thought that Horner was a bit of a manipulative dick. But now I am convinced of it.
Still the best ending in F1 so well done Masi. My kids cant wait for this season the excitement of the last race. Is call racing. Come on Maxi… The peoples champ….
Better start teaching your kids to respect facts and not lies. You may end up regretting teaching them falsehoods.
Sorry Fabian, my kids love racing too but were appalled as I taught them that cheating is wrong. We had over 50 laps of racing where Lewis drove the pants off of Max who had no answer. If you call the last lap racing you need to think again, Masi made Lewis a sitting duck with no chance of defending his place, it wasn’t racing it was a scandal and Max has gone way down in my estimation for acting like nothing happened. Ask yourself honestly how you would have felt had it been the other way around, I think we all know the answer. Horner would have sued everyone and Max would be holding his breath until they reversed the decision. Look at the all howling for Lewis head after Silverstone and yet the same people were very quiet when Max decided to park his car on top of Lewis’s. We need a lot more honesty and consistency from max fans.
I lost respect for Max when he ran over Hamilton and then just walked away like nothing it happened. I hope Verstappen has himself under control this year.
They should call FBI to investigate properly and you see Mark and is red bull team plus Mess all going to prison for manipulating the race. They should shut up.
Oh you mean the totally corrupt FBI, give me a break.
What a bunch of totally cry babies these hamilton fans. Just wanted to say… Max won the world championship and it doesn’t matter how. Hamilton lost, he is a loser. With all his trickery throughout the year in the end the bulls got the best trickery. Hamilton lost and he is a cry baby loser. Get over it. Next season he will not only lose from Verstappen but many others as well. Time to leave the stage cry baby!
Lewis Hamilton & Toto Wolf should wipe their eyes out now. Otherwise they will not see the 5 red lights for the beginning of 2022. Shame. I thought they are more mature than this. Just imagine eating with then at a restaurant and the food is not to their liking prepared. What a humiliation that would be.
Shame. Get over it please.
Max passed him in the last round. He defended two very close passes by LH.
Max Verstappen crossed the line first.
Max Verstappen World Champ 2021.
Congratulations Max
Best for 2022.
Write any comment about the farce in Abu Dhabi and cue the Lewis haters with the same old garbage ‘crying, wipe your eyes, Max crossed the line first, blah blah’, can’t any of these sheep think of anything different! They all want us to believe like they do living in the ‘Max is a great worthy champion’ bubble where nothing controversial happened, Masi did nothing wrong but has now been fired for no reason. In the real world the rest of true racers know Lewis was robbed blind after Horton sensing an answer to his ‘we need a miracle’ comment, realised with Max on new tyres, which was desperation not strategy, began badgering Masi to allow a final green lap using all sorts of crap like you can’t finish under a safety car, we need a final exciting lap, this is not racing etc knowing full well Lewis would be a sitting duck if that happened. Finally Masi cracked like an egg and made the worst decision in F1 history leaving Lewis and Toto panicking with them on old tyres and Masi making a decision that suited only one team, Red Bull. No wonder Lewis was disillusioned and his stoic behaviour on the podium was how a true champion behaves compared to that petulant brat Max. Who when caught lying his arse off in Jeddah, sulked and threw massive tantrums and storming off the podium, what a great champion!! His and Horner’s behaviour since has been nothing sort of disgusting with Horner urging everyone to forget what happened (nothing happened here, move on) and Max making constant gloating childish digs at Lewis and acting like he thoroughly deserved it or in his words ‘I deserved a bit of luck’, deserved a massive helping hand from the FIA would be much more accurate.
So all you Lewis haters carry on living in La La SuperMax land, while the adults will watch the new season in the real world. It’s okay though because in your fantasy if Max loses it will be those nasty people at the FIA making sure Max loses because Mercedes told them to 😂🤣
I am a fan who has watched F1 for 40 odd years, I think MV is very much of the same calibre as Senna and M Schumacher but (here comes the controversial part) they both were dirty drivers who thought nothing of driving the competition of the track, so yes he is as “good” as them, albeit he didn’t cheat in ABU DHABI, but was gifted it. Now for LH, I am not a fan off track, he is in my view an egotistical diva, BUT he is the best driver I have ever watched, there was that slightly dodgy move in the first couple of corners, but it was only similar to what MV had been allowed to get away with in previous races. As for Wolf and Horner, both as bad as each other, as you would expect from passionate racers.
When I first saw your message, I thought I had wrote it as your title is very similar to mine and it is also much the same as my thinking even down to the 40 racing years fan, it’s always nice to get a measured informed post rather than all the same vile nonsense from the Lewis haters. I always admired Senna and Schumacher for their exciting talent but could never stand for the dangerous no limits driving and how Schumacher got away with what he did, like against Damon I never understood. Rosberg was also the same and also got away with murder, remember the ‘I didn’t turn into him’ quote when the cameras showed him doing just that. Unfortunately, Max is the same great talent but dangerous and reckless, other drivers don’t trust him as he would rather crash than let someone past. Last season in the last four races Max had no answer to Lewis and in Jeddah, he shamelessly tried driving into him and luckily in Abu Dhabi he couldn’t catch him until Masi intervened.
Toto and Horner are much the same although I think Horner would sell his Mother to beat Mercedes and sold his soul after what he did in that final race.
Well it’s pretty obvious from your title and your post, you have all the intelligence and sense of a ham salad 😂 Max won, doesn’t matter how! Lewis is a loser! Your not a Lewis hater by any chance, is it because he is a winner and you are a total loser or maybe it’s because you envy his dress sense.🤣 Also all you haters have the same comments, stop crying, Lewis is a cry baby etc.. Don’t you sheep have anything new! Also, Lewis is a cry baby that’s rich after Max was caught lying his arse off in Jeddah and sulked and threw a massive tantrum before storming off the podium, what a brat!
Either way, like the Neanderthals and Trolls in Football, which try to ruin it. Racing has no place for unintelligent bigots that are only interested in hate, it should be about the racing, period. If people are allowed to change the outcome of a race by breaking the rules just to let someone else win, it ceases to be racing and becomes WWE and all the true racing fans would watch something else, that’s what offends true racing fans. People like you who only care if their hero wins and couldn’t care about rules or fairness, should try WWE instead.
Please get someone to read this to you and explain and also calm you down when Max loses to Mercedes and Ferrari next season and goes back to crashing into everyone instead 🤣
If they’re going to have rules they should follow the rules to the letter! Not make things up at the end of the race.
Do you remember Max crying behind the bins in Turkey, until his daddy made him come out?
When a person, in charge, goes against all the rules, and the regulations, and clearly, in all sports, All Rules, are known, so you Play to those Rules, only for someone to be forced to change it, then that is so wrong.
The Fans of the Sport, have been cheated.
Lewis and his whole team were Cheated.
The other Drivers were cheated.
Max Verstappen was handed the trophy on a platter, by the person who changed those rules, but why did he change them for Red Bull ?
Back Hander ? Allegedly He had a bet on red bull. ? Allegedly
He has a foot in red bulls door ? Allegedly.
It has to be something . Allegedly.
We dont know the whole story here, but Max and his team MUST know, he is not a true champion, but a hollow victory, created for him.
Disgusting. Disgraceful.
You can’t blame anybody else for the ‘bus crash’ you caused by taking a detour and going against the road signs quite clearly put in place to avoid such a crash happening. Max grow up and see you got there by default. If the she had been on the other foot I’m sure you would have reacted in the same way. Actually probably more as you seem to have quite a temper..
Cry about it.
Hi FIA team,
If Verstappen title is not legitimate, please have another title ceremony and hand over title to Hamilton. Alas, a governing body is unable to make decisions independently.
Masi is doing his job and earning money for himself and his family. Does sacking a person’s job being under pressure from a person and a racing team define FIA?
Is Britons time penalty at Silverstone legitimate decision FIA?
Lewis was still in front in last lap. Even if Masi allowed those lapped cars to pass, why Lewis couldn’t defend himself?
Is max passing hamilton at the hair pin corner non-legitimate according to you FIA?
What would happen if Lewis had crossed max in final DRS zone then would you sack Masi in that scenario?
Alas F1 has lost its charm and sport spirit!
I have been an F1 fan since the sixties. I love the sport. It has always been professionally run and the rules have been clear and rigidly adhered to by those in charge until we lost Charlie whiting. Since then there has been a softer approach trying to appease different teams. As a result the rules have on several occasions throughout 2020 and 2021 been bent.
Regarding the last race. The rules are very clear. The lapped cars may unlap themselves under the safety car or they may not. Whichever of these scenarios had been applied lewis Hamilton would have ended the race in front either under the safety car if all the cars had been allowed to unlap themselves or in race conditions with five cars between himself and max verstappen. That having been said if through the year the rules had been strictly applied it may not have been such a close run title race. My comment is this. Set the rules. Stick to the rule. And let us the fans enjoy the racing.
It’s always nice to have someone on this site that knows the rules and talks common sense, there are many that do and defend posts by the Lewis haters and devout Max fans that prefer we ignore the rules as long as Max wins, which makes good reading. Although my wife hates me going on these sites as it raises my blood pressure.
I agree rules are there to be utilised and a yardstick for fair play and we seem to be getting to a situation where the rules come second place to marketing and brand. The reason Masi was fired as you know, was mainly because he only allowed the cars between Lewis and Max to unlap themselves leaving Lewis a sitting duck and it annoys me when the haters point to tyre changes and other irrelevant things to justify the result. The fact is Lewis stayed out to preserve his position as any experienced driver would to preserve his position, as he expected to finish under the safety car, If they had started to unlap all of the cars Max would have had not enough time to pass Lewis and the proper result would still have prevailed.
I started watching racing in the sixties with my Dad who helped me to get into 100Nat karting in the 70’s. He took me to Brands Hatch for the British GP which I’ll always remember as it was my first time and awe struck, I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve been driving single seaters and cars since then on many UK circuits, including Silverstone, for many years and love racing and have many friends in the sport. I was always taught to trust the stewards result but like football referees they made mistakes. The Lewis haters bombarded Lewis with threats and called for a ban after Silverstone which i thought was a massive overreaction and also some dirty tricks from Red Bull, I would be interested what you thought and when you felt Lewis was let off lightly last season. I’m not a massive fan of Lewis but I admire his talent enormously. Max I find is hard to like and too arrogant to accept he still has things to learn like the young Lewis. Also what did you think of the handling of Max in Jeddah, after trying to drive into Lewis like Schumacher and Rosberg? Then finally brake testing him and denying it although Telemetry told otherwise?
It would be good to hear what you think and would be much better for my blood pressure.
Here here. Agree absolutely. Why the moaning that FIA listened to Mercedes was wrong but OK that Masi agreed to do what Red Bull wanted at the end of the race, despite the standing rules. For him to keep that job would be ridiculous!
Biased report, yes it’s true that it is a demonstration that Max shouldn’t have won, he shouldn’t! But it’s not a show of Mercedes’ power over the FIA, MAYBE IT’S JUST THAT MASI DID A MISTAKE AND IT’S TIME TO CORRECT IT (or at least admit it)!!!
Wolff, has tarnished the great Mercedes brand name. Mercedes should fire him.
Yeah, because Marko and Horner havent done any damage to Red Bull and F1….
It’s simple, all the years if the safety car came out you had to stay in your position until such time that it was withdrawn and you could continue racing. So if you had 10 laps or 1 lap to go and there were slower cars in front of you to be overtaken to be laped to fight your way past them, no such thing as they were allowed to pass the safety car, if so then what the hell is there a saftet car there thin in the first place. Even all racing legends would tell you that. I’m very sure Anton Senna, Allen Prost & even Micheal Shoemaker would tell you that.
Yet more clickbait and bullshit with no official statements shown. Just shows how desperate the media is for readers that they type opinions as facts
The FIA did not admit to anything. The only thing they did was to prevent that 2022 would be difficult to police, with a race director who didn’t have the trust of all the teams.
As a race director you need that to function properly. So although Masi (one S) may have done nothing wrong, according to the FIA, it would be hard to keep him on as a race director.
This is a silly article. This has nothing to do with Merc or Hamilton power. The ONLY issue is Masi’s inexplicably rewriting of the rules in Abu Dhabi and other failing as a RD. Let’s on forget how he negotiated with RB offering them a deal in Saudi Arabia instead of adjudicating. When someone messes up at this level in any job they need to be replaced.
The real story should be how he was not sacked from any FIA roles. He was not sacked (which would mean he is looking for a job) he was reassigned.
So, the upshot of this clutching-at-straws report is that the FIA have NOT admitted that Verstappens title was not legitimate.
The facts are facts masi broke several rules during Abu Dhabi race that basically gave the win to crashstappen..for you to then write a biased piece like this implying that the only reason for masi to be move out his current role is because were objections from mercedes and lewis is ridiculous..you know as well as many in the paddock masi’s decision making which was heavily influenced by red bull before the final lap at Abu Dhabi was wrong on every level.
He wasn’t thrown under the bus, he was moved from his position for not following the correct procedure, thereby creating an illegitimate champion. All this shows was the power that Red Bull had last season to influence the race director on two occasions to the detriment of F1. Belgium was disgraceful and Abu Dhabi was a farce.
This is trash what the hell lewis why be a cry baby over 1 race. And why did u not go to the ceremony if u lost but why go if u win. That’s just stupid
What an absurd conclusion! Masi was there to FOLLOW the rules not to INTERPRET them as he likes. No criticism of Hamilton or Verstappen but Masi got it WRONG and therefore the FIA was RIGHT to relieve him of his duties. As a consequence the title was illegitimately awarded to Red Bull. They did nothing wrong but the Race Director did, so, as in any other sport, the governing body came to the CORRECT conclusion.
The result needs amending and rather making it an issue just make the simple gesture and call it a draw. It’s really that simple Lewis gets his 8th title and verstappen gets his first. Job done no issue
Hi, there is only one rule. In the case of last GP, the result of the race is supposed to take the positions of the pre-last lap, it means Lewid first Max second. So Masi perhaps didn’t know,but anayway it shows that many people did not know rules… so compicated situatyions must be cleared for any next times. Max wanted his title, Lewis got the race of his life… both are fristated of all this melting pot with human decisions. Lewi will do his best in 2022, Max has now to confirm. 2022 would be fantastic !
Max will say what ever because he benefits on the situation but look into it thoroughly Hamilton leads along it would be acceptable with the red flag so taking Masi out is the right decision 1000%
Hamilton is almost as big of a crybaby and sore loser as his fans. He’s like the Trump of F1.
Funny how someone calling themselves ‘The Truth’ wouldn’t know the truth if it hit him in the face. 😂🤣
Yet another Lewis hater pouring out the same vile trolling rubbish, haven’t you lot got anything better to do? It’s not as if you like racing you just hate Lewis for probably no reason other than your jealous. You obviously have something really missing from your life. Also try and think of something more original than ‘He’s a cry baby, stop crying, he’s a bad loser’ etc etc.. Maybe put your minds together and come up with something new, it’s all getting a bit same old and boring now.
OK first off I will start with I am a Lewis Hamilton fan because these type of articles always come down to who you support as if that automatically means the comment is biased lol. Everything I have just read is complete conjecture…they said this so therefore that also means this….no that’s not how it works sorry. Everything from end of season break, all the drama, was media spin. All wolf and Mercedes want was to be able to look at the rules and know that is how they will be interpreted that way all teams have a level playing field and can make decisions based off that. Too many times last season the rules were stretched because one person or others interpretation of it. Which brings me onto Lewis Hamiltons comment of “we’ll see” when asked what’s next for him at the end of season. He never came out and called for massi to be sacked at no point has he been quoted as saying that, again that’s another conjecture he’s radio silent so he must be waiting to see if they sack massi, no-one knows why but I will say he just lost the world championship on the last lap of the last race of the championship, just maybe the radio silence was him trying to process that without all the media circus, I mean look what they did without him responding…. and lastly the sacking of massi does not automatically make verstappens championship illegitimate. That was one of the best seasons I’ve watched in a long and both deserved it. The real shame is there will always be controversy around how it ended instead of genuine acknowledgment of two drivers at the top of their games, you just have to look at the rest of the field noone could match them or get close to. I for one am looking forward to the new season and am just about fed up with all this talk about how it all ended last season and the repercussions. The fia haven’t even released the findings and full set of changes yet and we won’t know exactly what they plan until 2 days before for the first race. So how about we wait and see, but then again that’s crazy because ya know that doesn’t sell
Max Verstappen and Red Bull have deliberately cheated in F1 by deliberate utter bullying by the FIA, Michael Massi. I’m a major fan of F1 but this year’s championship I won’t be watching due to the corruption by Red Bull and Max Verstapping by bullying and deliberately forcing Lewis Hamilton off the track during the championship fight to the title. All of the F1 fans should boycott this year’s F1 as all rules have been broken and not being seriously addressed.
There seems to exist some megalomania from the RB camp and equally disturbing was the comment Verstappen Senior made: “A Verstappen can’t lose.”
Well, auchtung baby, that’s a bit scary!
Seeing as Max lost the last four races last season badly that’s a really stupid and ridiculous thing to say but like Marko Jos was never known for his brains. You see I include the last race because Max was crushed in that race and had already lost the race but Masi decided he didn’t like that so gifted it to Max instead and has been fired for it. If I was Max I would have been too embarrassed to have picked up that trophy but he is a petulant childish brat so of course he did and carries on like he deserved it, which is just sad.
Maybe Max senior knows Red Bull have other bribed officials in the FIA for next season as that’s the only way Max will be champion again.
I’ve just read that Horner has gone on record and accused Mercedes of ‘Bullying’, has that poor excuse for a human being no shame!! He says it is he wants to protect Masi who shouldn’t be the only one to blame and he wants to stand up to bullying! So what exactly do you call his merciless bullying of Masi in Abu Dhabi, he was relentless but now he is against it. Also, he is right that it wasn’t just Masi, if anyone is to blame it’s Horner he is a disgrace to the sport and if their was any justice he wouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. Is he so stupid that he thinks racing fans believe the nonsense he has been pedalling since Max was handed the title on a plate! Everyone who watched that race knows what happened and that last conversation between Wheatley and Masi they tried to hide and was probably leaked by a true racing fan shows Masi acting like he was on the Red Bull payroll. No wonder he is annoyed he’s been sacked, why wouldn’t you want a Race Director on the payroll. There has been corruption in other sports, especially Football but I never thought it would come to F1, these are sad days indeed, RIP F1.
I have been an avid fan of F1 since the days of Stirling Moss and other greats. Over the last decade F1 has been going downhill. Too many rules, stupid compulsary pit stops, change of tyres. All I wish to see in a race is drivers in cars that go on until the end of the race. Basically we do not have a Drivers championship, it is another constructors championship.
Too many ‘has beens’ giving their opinion. I am going off F1 very quickly, just like many people.
I am a Lewis Hamilton fan and beleive he was ‘hung out to dry’ last year.
Rules been there for decades.
Wow, what a disgusting peace of lies.
We all know that Lewis should have been banned from the sport in the first place ages ago.
The piece of text you kids wrote is just slandering.
I’m surprised to see you kids haven’t been sued yet, but I guess it’s because nobody but me takes it serious in the first place.