Red. Bull. Cheats. Three words resonated with the F1 world online and offline on a fateful night in December 2021; the injustice faced by Lewis Hamilton sent shockwaves across the community. Now, a little over a year later, Red Bull once again faces these three inconsequential words that get attached to their insanely dominant performance.
“F1xed” and “Lewis” were two trends taking over Twitter yet again as Team LH44 came out in full flow, to once again demand what was taken from them, as per the fans’ sentiment.
After Fernando Alonso’s infamous take back- give back podium situation in Saudi Arabia, conspiratorial fans had a field day yet again, rehashing the “#redbullcheats” trend on Twitter. Red Bull “haters” and Fans both chimed in yet again, on the unforgettable final overtake by Max Verstappen.
Allegations of cheating are nothing new in the F1 World. In fact, it is almost customary for teams to allege cheating on another team at least once a season. But, the way that one overtake is still living in fans’ minds rent-free shows how integral it was to the legacy of the sport. Not just any sport, but the pinnacle of motorsport.
Fernando Alonso debacle brings back painful memories
F1 World was livid at the FIA’s weird timings of executing the penalties, then taking it back and giving Alonso his 100th Podium. It was a wreck, much like the La La Land Debacle at the Oscars a few years back. As soon as the news hit social media, fans were up in arms, playing their favorite game of armchair stewards.
As Aston Martin presented the FIA with seven pieces of evidence to contest the penalty, the “seven” different instances are not enough to convince this fan that precedence matters in F1.
We could have showed you HUNDREDS of different instances where lapped cars had to be allowed to unlap themselves before the safety car comes in after the following lap, but apparently precedent doesn’t matter when you’re fixing races to help The Great White Hope @fia #F1xed https://t.co/QHNGmh4Dpa
— Beth (@BethhF1) March 20, 2023
While this fan made a special request considering FIA is taking back decisions based on history:
Hey, @fia, while you're at it, you may as well overturn Abu Dhabi 2021 race result and reinstate Lewis Hamilton as the rightful race winner and World Champion.#F1xed pic.twitter.com/1gOCknyznD
— Alina Dan (@alinadanieladan) March 19, 2023
This Twitter user took out the Rule Book only to show how FIA can still make “things right” for Hamilton supporters.
#F1 reg 12.1.2a shows the big lie that @fia made in their claim that there's nothing they can do to change the #AD2021 result. The 5 year statute of limitation is a General Provision. Therefore it takes precedence regardless of whether detailed regs allow it to be actioned#F1xed pic.twitter.com/DtiZEximSi
— Gay Cars (@GayCars) March 20, 2023
Most fans attached the reversal of the Alonso decision to the dire need for Lewis Hamilton’s 8th Championship.
Livid Lewis Hamilton fans hungry for justice
Some believe that since the Mercedes team is too far gone in the wrong direction, this is the only way that LH44 could claim that unprecedented 8th title. This user believes no need for Mercedes to put in any request for corrections, the FIA should do it themselves, unmotivated.
I agree about RBR but disagree with #AD2021 being up to Lewis & Merc to decide.
FIA have the authority to correct their own mistake. It doesn't need any team to request the correction.
At any point FIA can admit that the 2021 WDC is wrong & change it— Gay Cars (@GayCars) March 20, 2023
Again, people see precedence in FIA’s move. So they want what they want.
So if the @fia can do U-Turns after all, surely it's time to bring these back….#AbuDhabiScandal #HumanErrorChampion #VoidLap58
and not forgetting…#CostCapScandal #CostCapChampion #RedBullCheats@F1 your 'sport' is still very much #F1xed— Treacle (@Treacle34920601) March 20, 2023
It has become all too normal:
Just another day at the F1 world. #F1 #F1xed pic.twitter.com/B0dF8w5eas
— Unicorn🦄 (@hamburgerh0tdog) March 20, 2023
I see that #F1xed is trending again the @fia! I thought we were meant to have forgotten about the #abudhabiscandal by now? You need to fix your mess. After all, we all know you like fixing things. Or is it just races you like to fix? pic.twitter.com/hXuvFeqXx5
— @IvorBellić (@ivorbellic) March 20, 2023
Red Bull is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the grid. Instead of being focused on their sheer dominance and ability on the racetrack, fans are busy fighting a fight that ended 2 years ago. Like other sports, seems like the storylines become more important for the F1 community than the actual skills and abilities of the drivers and engineers.
In the end, it doesn’t look like the Abu Dhabi Debacle/Miracle will be taken up for discussion at a formal level, but for the fans, it will remain an irrevokable stain on the history of the sport, and the legacy of the driver that built it.
