Steve (sdh2903) Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 19 minutes ago, stephenh said: Personally, I think that any further appeal by Mercedes is doomed to failure. The rules weren't followed by all accounts, but neither driver and neither pit crew broke the rules. So if an appeal tribunal found that the race director broke the rules, then who can the tribunal meaningfully penalise? I would argue that neither team and neither driver can reasonably be penalised for a mistake by the race director. In effect, the race director's decision is final, for good or bad. I agree. Red bull only played the hand they were given as would mercedes if it were the other way round. If the Fia were found to have done wrong then the only people to lose out would be max/redbull. That's not right either. Would Lewis actually be happy taking the title now or in x months time after being decided by a judge? I think pursuing this further is only going to taint mercedes reputation. Which in my view has already been damaged this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djm Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 @stephenh exactly. It would be great if Mercedes bit the bullet and didn't take it any further for the future of the sport and sat down with all the parties involved to sort the regs out so that it never occurs again. But we can all dream! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 1 hour ago, stephenh said: It is BIG business. Also, my understanding is that he was there as one of many guests, not in anticipation of needing his advice! Yes the commentators on Sky mentioned that at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 With hindsight what 'should' have happened. Immediately Latifi crashed a red flag should have been shown. All cars should have lined up in the pit lane in race order at the time. Team should then have been allowed to change to tyres of their choice. The race should have been restarted for a 5 lap showdown. I know who would have won! What happened yesterday made F1 a laughing stock in international sport. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO said: With hindsight what 'should' have happened. Immediately Latifi crashed a red flag should have been shown. All cars should have lined up in the pit lane in race order at the time. Team should then have been allowed to change to tyres of their choice. The race should have been restarted for a 5 lap showdown. I know who would have won! What happened yesterday made F1 a laughing stock in international sport. Quite! Masi clearly isn't reluctant to use the red flag and it would have been far the fairest way of handling the situation. As it is I agree with those who say to MB to let it drop but send a stiff complaint to FIA about the inequity of the race director's actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djm Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 6 hours ago, Steve (sdh2903) said: I think pursuing this further is only going to taint mercedes reputation. Which in my view has already been damaged this year. Yes up until this year Ham/Merc have had no credible competition from outside the team and all their constructors and drivers championships have been easy (and boring). But this season they have shown their true colours and they haven't been pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Devils advocate here but MB MUST pursue their complaint. They may fail BUT it may also lead to changes as part of whatever settlement is reached. I firmly do not beleive that LH or MB would want to win the championship this way but I do believe they have a vested interest in removing ambiguity in the rules which might well take a legal challenge. When watching the Dubai GP and the fiasco of the red flag and place swapping "strategically", to me they are easy to clear up. 1. If a session or race is red flagged, cars are in park ferme and cannot be worked on, period. If a team cries "safety critical" then they get a time penalty equal to the accepted pit stop time taken under normal green flag conditions 'cos without the red flag they'd be in anyway. 2. If a driver is told to give a place back for whatever reason, it happens at the entry to turn 1 and the driver giving the place back may not attack until turn 3. Easy... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Personally I think all it needs to complete the modern day F1 circus is for each venue to have a "joker lap" with a tilting bridge at each track . That should even things up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 Interesting in car communications... Looks like from video only Red Balls new what was happening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR.C Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 Way Too much interference ,Senna will be turning in his grave. Loose the radio, back to pit boards. Mercedes choose not to pit, I think Hamilton would have pitted. He knew the crack, unlike the guys in front of computer's. Game over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsechris Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 You know it’s time to call the lawyers when the argument turns on what ‘any’ means in a given sentence. As in, “any lapped cars….” RB argued it doesn’t mean ‘all’ but the language seems pretty clear that it can only mean all. Nobody is a winner after this all shakes out. Masi had to go though, no matter what else may happen. He utterly disregarded the impact of his action on those further down the field, some of whom were racing for significant positions from their perspectives. If possible, finish the race under a green flag, but not at the expense of other rules, particularly those that Masi had previously enforced rigorously such as ALL lapped cars passing the pace car. Breakaway race formula anyone? Stuff the FIA?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR.C Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 There was a winner, Max Verstappen and red Bull. (And F1)and actually Lewis because he will have gained fans. And a looser Lewis and Mercedes. And of course Toto.😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Mercedes have decided not to pursue the case. I note from the item I read that that there has been "constant contact" between Mercedes and the FIA with the FIA admitting in public that this episode has tarnished the "sport". What's the betting we'll see some "rule clarifications" in the new year which, whilst it would be impossible to prove, are borne out of Mercedes lobbying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsechris Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 I saw a comment on this fiasco I liked. Some proposed rule changes. 5 laps under the safety car generates a red flag. No pit stops under a safety car. No work on cars under a red flag. Basically, that removes to a large degree the lottery element of crashes influencing the result. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Barlow - Show and Events Co-ordinator Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.