“You can’t suddenly change the rules”– Lance Stroll contradicts his teammate Sebastian Vettel and sides with Lewis Hamilton to blame Michael Masi for Abu Dhabi controversy

Lance Stroll believes that the governing body is to be blamed for not following the usual race start and demands rules to be fixed.

Michael Masi came under massive scrutiny when he did the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP lottery. Meaning the first to reach the line at Yas Marina would take away the championship.

He placed an unusual restart for the race and allowed all the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to de-lap themselves. Therefore, it easily allowed the Dutchman to defeat his rival on fresher tyres.

This outraged fans and demanded a fair assessment of the events that unfolded in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Hamilton maintained an unusual silence after that day. He recently got active on social media, but he is yet to speak about that night.

The eerie absence of Hamilton made FIA nervous. Thus, the new President Ben Suleyman has proposed a fair investigation of the race. But Verstappen, in his interview to Guardian, is unaffected by the investigation, as he can’t be stripped from his title.

Thus, nothing else can be ordered apart from reforming the FIA’s involvement in F1. Hamilton couldn’t be compensated for his unfair treatment.

Also read: Former Red Bull driver thinks Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen should take an year off to heal the wounds of rivalry

Lance Stroll demands accountability

But with the whole blame going to FIA race director Michael Masi and many people even advocating his removal, Sebastian Vettel came for his defence.

“Absolutely wrong,” Vettel told Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater about Masi. “It’s [shameful] that it’s all focused on one man. He probably had a very, very difficult position on that day, and we probably should focus on making the rules better and clear, so it’s better for everyone.”

However, Vettel’s teammate Lance Stroll thinks the opposite of it. He claims that injustice was done on the night of Abu Dhabi GP, and rules need to be fixed.

“I think it’s ridiculous not to be able to start the race the way it should,” he said to Motorsport. “You can’t suddenly change the rules and tell half the cars that they can get their laps. Unfortunately, I was in the other half and could not overtake with the new tyres.”

“This has never been done, and it’s important that the rules be consistent. I know it’s great to be back in the race, everybody wants to see a race on the last lap and they want to see two drivers go head-to-head with one lap to go, but the rules have to be fixed.”

Also read: Aston Martin are reportedly not happy with their 2022 car and will work on improving it