Sand Storm Brewing As Abu Dhabi Dust Has Not Settled
The FIA the week after the Abu Dhabi shambles and can only imagine what everyone was talking about. The story hasn't just gone away and now the media are on their case. The media were quiet for so long and only now are asking the right questions. This is not about who you support or whose side you are on, but what is right or wrong.
I think every Formula One fan knows exactly what played out at Abu Dhabi over a month ago. The decisions made by the race director to change the written rules in order to have a race finish under racing conditions is not going away and is actually getting louder.
How wrong was that decision should tell you when Paddy Power the Irish bookmakers paid out for Verstappen and Hamilton as World Championship winners. This is not something they had to do, but how could they not as they know what transpired.
When sporting decisions are wrong and are not rectified there are ramifications far beyond someone lifting a trophy. Paddy Power showed more dignity than the FIA as they had to make the decisions regarding payout. Not only did they pay out for the Championship to both drivers, but also for the race win.
“We at Paddy Power hate sporting injustices – so we’ve done our bit after a controversial end to the F1 season in Abu Dhabi".
"Max Verstappen needed a miracle to win, and one duly arrived in the form of a dodgy decision from the race organisers who appeared to rip up the rulebook and go rogue for the final lap of the race."
The controversy and final verdict is still to come as the drivers meet the FIA on the 19th January. This I can imagine is going to be very heated as out of all the teams only one was happy with what transpired. The discussion will be about the use of the safety car and would love to be a fly on the wall with this meeting. The drivers have already said quite a bit questioning what went down. The FIA will not be looking forward to this as they know deep down what is going to be said. The findings and drivers input will then go forward to a meeting in February before a final decision is released on March 18th.
The FIA has a new President being Mohammed bin Sulayem who replaced the outgoing Jean Todt. This is a serious task he has to complete as this will define his Presidency. Make the wrong decision and you lose the support of the teams as this has to be transparent.
Lets hope Ecclestone's wife isn't running the inquiry being FIA VP now.
Fabiana Ecclestone:“I can’t see any reason why Michael shouldn’t continue doing his job. It would be equally unfortunate to end the race behind the SC. Massi is a good person & FIA must stand by him.”
One gets the idea they were hoping the dust would settle and everyone would just move on but, racing fans won't accept this. The media realise that they need to make some noise as they are also losing any support they had. Sky Sports Formula One who were celebrating with Christian Horner and Red Bull have come out saying things were not managed well and incorrect decisions were made which broke all regulations.
The FIA needs to gain the trust back and Massi the race director in question no longer sits on the FIA staff planogram. The excuse saying the job has high pressure and stress levels which caused mistakes to be made just doesn't wash.
I don't know what the answer is and whatever is decided needs to be put to bed before the new season starts. Can the decision be reversed as that may seem unfair right now to Verstappen but then the way it has been handled isn't fair to Hamilton either.
If you are a referee and make a mistake this big in any other sporting event it would be career ending. The FIA are worried as they cannot win on this either way as the decision should have been rectified immediately. You cannot fix this announcing a verdict 3 months later.
Great photo. Paddy power is hilarious here. Their Twitter account is banter central . I am not a fan of Hamilton but it is clear he was screwed there.
What was the motive to hand it to Max? Is there an anti Hamilton sentiment or something?
The FIA want a new champion as it becomes more marketable then. Bernie Ecclestone said it outright that Schumacher's legacy was at risk as he had won the title 7 times and Hamilton should not win 8 and needs to retire. This was all about making a spectacle increasing the following for the sport, but in many ways have lost what they had. This was so blatant and wouldn't blame Hamilton if he doesn't drive again. He is not bigger than the sport, but he is a figurehead for F1 they cannot afford to lose. The 8 teams on the grid are totally pissed with what took place as they all know it was wrong. Only ones happy are Red Bull and Alpha Tauri who are owned by Red Bull. The media is starting to speak up which has not happened before so expect pressure to now start gaining momentum. Twitter has been trending for the last month on this and now is also increasing.
My God man that's messed up!!! Regarding Ecclestone, what ever happened to British pride !!!!????? I suppose everything has a price. Thanks so much for making it clearer for me 🙏🏽
I hadn't actually heard that about Paddy Power paying out on both, nice touch that to be fair. The decision by the race director was nuts, surely his position should be called into question. Is there talk of him losing his job?