“There needs to be consistency”– Red Bull claims F1 needs to rethink after Abu Dhabi GP’s controversial end

Tanish Chachra | 14/12/2021

Max Verstappen won the drivers’ championship after a controversial fashion in Abu Dhabi; Red Bull chief feels F1 needs to reevaluate.

The FIA race director Michael Masi made some unusual calls during the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Which immensely benefitted Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in pursuing the championship.

On the other hand, even Red Bull thought Lewis Hamilton illicitly overtook Verstappen in the first lap of the race by going out of the race limits. They didn’t use the Jeddah precedent to let Verstappen take back his position.

So, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko thinks that F1 needs to rethink its position after the controversial end to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He believes the rules can’t be interpreted differently.

“The whole system needs to be rethought,” said Marko to Autosport. “There needs to be consistency. Decisions cannot be interpreted once this way and once that way. The rules must be simplified. The premise must be: let’s race!”

Also read: Former Toro Rosso driver bashes Sergio Perez for impeding Lewis Hamilton’s race

Red Bull hints at a change in action

Marko further believes that Friday’s election to point a new FIA president gives a golden chance to be in immediate fixes. When asked about whether there should be a need for personnel change, he suggests it’s time to take action.

“A new president is coming, so he will want to start here first. And the stewards should definitely be questioned. The rules have to be such that a quick decision can be made, and those responsible have to make them in a matter of seconds.”

“And these decisions cannot vary in such a way,” he added. Meanwhile, the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that what happened in Abu Dhabi is another example of ‘marginal calls’ taken by Masi.

“I think there’s always lessons that you can learn as a team, and in life generally. We felt that the decisions at the beginning of the race [when Hamilton cut the chicane] went against us,” said Horner.

“We obviously felt that the decision at the end of the race [with the safety car] was right. It’s been a season like that. There’s been marginal calls. Some we’ve benefited from, the majority of which we’ve lost out from.”

Also read: Max Verstappen admits that a part of him felt sorry for Lewis Hamilton after he won the World Championship

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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