Michael Masi shuts down Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s request to restart the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
We finally have a new World Champion. All Max Verstappen had to do was finish ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and that he did. Verstappen stole the race victory from Hamilton in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP and brought home the Title.
However, controversy loomed over how the race ended, as we have seen all season long. The safety car was deployed after Nicolas Latifi hit the barriers, and Verstappen decided to pit for softs to get better speed for the remaining few laps.
In the end, it went right down to the *very* end
Max Verstappen passes Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the final race of 2021, to claim the title 👀
What a season
What a battle #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/HK6C3pzJru
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
On the other hand, Hamilton decided to stay out to keep his lead. The Red Bull driver was on 2nd before he pitted but came out a few cars behind the Briton. Initially, FIA declared that the lapped cars would not be allowed to overtake the safety car.
With just one lap to go, the stewards reversed the decision, and we saw Verstappen right on Hamilton’s tail, on fresher and faster tyres.
Also read: Max Verstappen lauds Sergio Perez for slowing Lewis Hamilton down during the incredible duel
Mercedes boss pleads with Michael Masi to reinstate the last lap
The 24-year-old was able to overtake the Mercedes driver on turn 4 comfortably. He held on and took the chequered flag to win his 1st World Championship.
Lewis seemed to take it sportingly and congratulated Max after the race. The things inside the Mercedes garage were not so calm, however. Toto Wolff was furious and was heard speaking to Masi on the radio.
Toto: “We need to go back to the lap before.”
Masi: “It’s called a motor race.”😲
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) December 12, 2021
“You need to reinstate the lap before. That’s not right,” infuriated Wolff said.
The FIA race director replied to the Austrian exasperated, saying, “Toto, its called a motor race. We went car racing.”
Controversy hasn’t eluded the F1 paddock at any moment in 2021. The season ends with yet another controversial call from the governing boy of the sport. Whether Mercedes take this up as a protest or not is yet to be seen.
Also read: Jenson Button on the turn 6 incident on Lap 1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
