2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Dec 10 - 12

[mafeotul]

For LH fans, myself included, 7 world titles, 103/103 is a huge number, and we should take the reality as it is. MV is champion, he drove his heart out, and is as deserving as Lewis.

[Starkblood80]

Does anyone else think Mercedes media silence is somewhat ominous?

[Tom145145]

Does anyone else think Mercedes media silence is somewhat ominous?

I was going to post the same thing, it’s quiet on both sides.

[Tvetovnato]

Does anyone else think Mercedes media silence is somewhat ominous?

Yep. On their F1 website, the latest news is still that Lewis qualified on the front row…

[SiLo]

Lawyers deciding whether or not to continue with the protest I imagine.

[mafeotul]

Lawyers deciding whether or not to continue with the protest I imagine.

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

[SiLo]

Lawyers deciding whether or not to continue with the protest I imagine.

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

[mafeotul]

Lawyers deciding whether or not to continue with the protest I imagine.

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

Unfortunately as this isn’t a 10 second penalty, or an illegal engine fiasco like 2019, this is severe in terms of legality. I can’t see this being dropped for the sake of image, where their image has suffered the most here.

[SiLo]

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

Unfortunately as this isn’t a 10 second penalty, or an illegal engine fiasco like 2019, this is severe in terms of legality. I can’t see this being dropped for the sake of image, where their image has suffered the most here.

I'd say Mercedes has had a massive PR boost from this. The fact that Red Bull haven't been able to crow about it is kind of ironic. There are more articles about Lewis taking the result like a champ than there are about Max actually winning the thing.

[Tom145145]

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

Unfortunately as this isn’t a 10 second penalty, or an illegal engine fiasco like 2019, this is severe in terms of legality. I can’t see this being dropped for the sake of image, where their image has suffered the most here.

I agree, I don’t think image is the upmost concern for Mercedes if they think they have a case they will go for it. I feel like they want a deal with the FIA, the Overtaking the safety car protest was evidence to that. It was essentially a plea bargain, an easy route out for the FIA.

[Roo]

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

Unfortunately as this isn’t a 10 second penalty, or an illegal engine fiasco like 2019, this is severe in terms of legality. I can’t see this being dropped for the sake of image, where their image has suffered the most here.

I agree, I don’t think image is the upmost concern for Mercedes if they think they have a case they will go for it. I feel like they want a deal with the FIA, the Overtaking the safety car protest was evidence to that. It was essentially a plea bargain, an easy route out for the FIA.

It was also the tone of Masi in his comment to Wolf.

[Starkblood80]

I have seen news articles saying Mercedes are not able to take the case to the court of arbitration, is that true

[scheffers]

I think it's better if they don't. But I do think they should be pushing for rule changes, and probably for Masi to be replaced or at least someone hired to help him. Charlie Whiting literally had an assistant race director and for some reason, Masi thinks he can do it all on his own.

Unfortunately as this isn’t a 10 second penalty, or an illegal engine fiasco like 2019, this is severe in terms of legality. I can’t see this being dropped for the sake of image, where their image has suffered the most here.

I'd say Mercedes has had a massive PR boost from this. The fact that Red Bull haven't been able to crow about it is kind of ironic. There are more articles about Lewis taking the result like a champ than there are about Max actually winning the thing.

time to clear cookies on your browser mate.

[f1jcw]

Is it going down?

[DChemTech]

Some people just can’t accept that there are opposing views and will pick any argument apart if they don’t agree. Normally by focusing on a single item and forgetting the rest/intent of the post.

Agree. Selectivity is a huge issue.

I remember vividly from Bahrain, the track limit issue was discussed intensely. It was calculated afterwards that LH gained a ~3s advantage by going wide for half the race, an advantage that could have made all the difference in the championship if LH would won this weekend. There was a huge discussion over the rules: "well, track limits were not indicated in that corner" from camp LH versus "The rule is not to gain a persistent advantage regardless of whether track limits are explicitly monitored in corner X, which LH did. (and as was mentioned by Masi himself afterwards: "it was mentioned very clearly in the [drivers’] meeting and the notes that it would not be monitored with regard to setting the lap time so to speak – but it will always be monitored in according with the Sporting Regulations that a lasting advantage overall must not be gained")" in camp MV.

Regardless of which side you were on, it could be argued that Masi applied the rules inconsistently in the sense that he switched from the 1st to the 2nd interpretation mid-way, and if we go by his explanation, in doing so benefited the driver(s) that were exploiting the track limit persistently. Inconsistent application of the FIA rules by the racing director with potentially championship deciding implications. And yet, after going through the discussion-circle many times, at some point we left it there. Problematic as it is, stewarding decisions involve mistakes that sometimes benefit one driver and other times the other. But if you argue that now there is a problem because now the decision potentially affects the championship outcome - well, in hindsight so did the decision in Bahrain, so with the facts available now, perhaps that decision should be reconsidered too. Real unfairness emerges when some decisions are reconsidered, but equivalent ones are not.