Formula 1's longest season yet came to an end on Sunday evening with Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen pipping rival seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first-ever drivers' championship title.
However, it is the events that transpired towards the end of the 58-lap-long Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — and the decisions made by the race director and stewards thereafter — and not the actual racing witnessed at the Yas Marina Circuit by millions across the world that has dominated media chatter.
Many, from fans to drivers, have termed the decisions made in the last two laps of the race as controversial, with some claiming that entertainment was prioritised over sporting rules.
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Here's a lowdown on what the incident(s) was all about and why the declaration of Verstappen as the 2021 champion has stoked controversy.
What is the row all about?
It all began when Williams' Nicholas Latifi spun at turn 14 on lap 53. As a result of his crash, the stewards and the race director, Michael Masi, triggered a safety car. This meant that Hamilton, whose lead over Verstappen until the crash stood at an almost unassailable 12 seconds, would be reduced to just a second.
The row was not about the deployment of the safety car, but over two other matters – letting lapped drivers unlap themselves and the decision to bring the safety car back to the pitlane ahead of the final lap.
On the penultimate lap, Masi and the stewards instructed that only five lapped cars — of Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel — would be allowed to unlap themselves. Soon after, it was announced that the safety car would enter the pitlane at the end of the lap.
What happened next?
With only one lap of racing left, Max Verstappen, having fitted a fresh pair of tyres, was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton at turn 5. The Briton nearly took back the lead later at turn 9, but his decision to not pit for newer rubber backfired.
In the midst of it all, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, in an exasperated radio message told Masi: "You need to reinstate the lap before, that's not right." The race director offered Wolff a terse response: "Toto, it's called a motor race, okay? We went car racing."
Mercedes' protest
Soon after the race, the 2021 Constructors' champions lodged two protests with the FIA — one regarding the safety car restart. Both protests were however rejected.
In short, Mercedes appealed that either all lapped cars must unlap themselves, or none of them does. That the race director chose to allow only five cars to unlap themselves was a violation of Article 48.12 and the subsequent race restart was a violation of Article 48.13.
The England-based racing outfit demanded that the FIA restore the classification (order) that was in place before the restart, which would mean Lewis Hamilton wins the race and the championship.
As quoted from an FIA document, Mercedes claimed that there were two breaches of the Sporting Regulations (Article 48.12) namely that which states “..any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car” and “…once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.”
"Mercedes argued that had this been complied with, Car 44 would have won the race," it read.
What the race director and FIA said
"The Race Director stated that the purpose of Article 48.12 was to remove those lapped cars that would “interfere” in the racing between the leaders and that in his view Article 48.13 (pertaining to the return of safety car to pitlane) was the one that applied in this case.
The stewards said that "Article 15.3 allows the Race Director to control the use of the safety car, which in our determination includes its deployment and withdrawal" and "although Article 48.12 may not have been applied fully, in relation to the safety car returning to the pits at the end of the following lap, Article 48.13 overrides that and once the message “Safety Car in this lap” has been displayed, it is mandatory to withdraw the safety car at the end of that lap."
How did drivers and the F1 fraternity react?
Incoming Mercedes driver George Russell termed the proceedings as "unacceptable." "Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot believe what we’ve just seen," he tweeted.
1996 world champion Damon Hill described Masi and stewards' decisions as "ad hoc."
India's first-ever F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan described Sunday's events as unfair. "How the entire situation unfolded, it seemed like they wanted Max to win. It was a great battle for the championship but what happened yesterday wasn't sport. You need close battles in Formula 1 but it has to be fair at the same time," he told PTI.
What next for Mercedes?
The Silver Arrows have announced that they will appeal the stewards' decision. "We have lodged a notice of intention to appeal the decision of the stewards under Article 15 of the Sporting Code and Article 10 of the Judicial and Disciplinary Rules," their statement read.
They were represented on Sunday night by Paul Harris QC, who was instrumental in overturning UEFA's ban on Manchester City from European club competitions.
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