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That is what I thought (from all previous races I have seen anyway).
I suspect that the organisers didn’t want the race to end under a safety car but to decide to half implement the rules half way through the safety car period, when they has previously said that they wouldn’t, seems very unfair.
Of course it does as they would have finished behind the safety car & Hamilton would be world champion. It’s a multi billion dollar sport, with very precise rules that have just be subjectively overlooked
It’s the same as a referee awarding a penalty for a foul in the centre circle in the last minute of an FA cup final.
That’ll be Masi’s last race.
the fairest option would have been a red flag as soon as he hit the barrier . Both then could changed their tyres and we would have had 4 or 5 laps racing. At the moment it feels like a huge anti climax whether you think it was the right or wrong call.
Article 39.12 of sporting regs says: "If clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" has been sent to all teams, any cars that have been lapped by leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car."
In this case, only Norris, Alonso, Ocon, Leclerc and Vettel were allowed to overtake it - they were the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen. Ricciardo, Stroll and Schumacher were not.
In other words, the sporting regulations do not cover this specific situation.
There is also this part of that article: "Unless clerk of the course considers the presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap." There was no lap in between.
Andrew Benson - BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/formula1/54911288
George Russell on twitter-
Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot believe what we’ve just seen.
I think as time goes on more and more people will be questioning what went on. The result should not rest on someone's split second interpretation of the rules.
Max guilty of putting his nose in front of Lewis before the safety car ended?
This race is going to rumble
Hope the decision goes Max's way the sport need it.
The shortest price bet pre race had to be that the title would be decided in the stewards room or a court room. Apparently, one of the teams involved hired a barrister beforehand = what a contrast to the New Zealand cricket who accepted all of the bad luck (and there was an awful lot of it) in their 2019 World Cup Final with England with great good spirit.
Not just having a go at motor racing there, it’s the way top level sport is going.
Elsewhere, Sludge is testing out some new fishing bait.