What pissed us off in 2021

Legendary races, where are you?

If the cascading cancellations and schedules of 2020 seemed extravagant, 2021 demonstrated that such program changes were becoming the norm. The absence of Australia F1 has become a habit, with the authorities advocating “zero Covid”. In Macau, the sporting level has become poorer with the sole presence of local drivers. Some politicians also saw the coronavirus as a reason to cut spending; the absence of the Pau GP had a bitter taste. Finally, the impressive images of Suzuka are starting to age as Japan has received the Olympic Games.

Suzuka has once again disappeared from the F1 calendar in 2021 (Photo: © DPPI)

Formula E: Valencia ePrix, the breakdown

The Valencia ePrix will be remembered, but for the wrong reasons. At the end of a race marked by numerous incidents, more than half of the grid crossed the finish line, or not, with no power available. The reason ? The regulations withdraw 1 kWh of energy per minute of Safety Car intervention, which intervened five times! Logically, the single-seaters were running out of juice! The image of FE desperately slowed down in the final moments remains disastrous for a championship which claims to be of the future. Except Nyck de Vries, victor saved, this breakdown only created losers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8soI-tT2U

Formula E: Di Grassi's crazy bet in London

What was supposed to be a simple intervention by the safety car during the London ePrix last July turned into a charade that Formula E would have been fine with. Then in 8th position, Lucas di Grassi decided to take the pit lane to make a so-called stop. Of very short duration, this pit-stop allowed him to come out in the lead ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne. An unsporting action which earned him a drive-through which he would not respect. Faced with this refusal, the race management imposed a time penalty on him before disqualifying him for good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8NQpLiegqU&feature=emb_logo

F1: Belgian Grand Prix, the scam

“The most grotesque race in history” we had rightly called this non-Belgian GP. While some great qualifications in the rain had made our mouths water, notably with a sparkling George Russell (Williams) on the front line, F1 is drowning in ridicule and the wait for a hypothetical weather clearing which would have allowed the event to take place. Whether the Spa-Francorchamps circuit is deemed dangerous because it is impassable, no problem on that. But why make thousands of spectators wait for hours in the downpour and in the cold only to end up sending the drivers to do 2 poor laps behind the Safety Car before interrupting the race? Why award points to this charade, at the risk of distorting the championship, particularly at the back of the grid? To declare that the test took place and thus pocket the fees provided for this purpose? Never ! swore the stakeholders of the sport. How can we dare to make such insinuations? Let's face it, the fans are still waiting for a refund.

In Belgium, the drivers competed in a Grand Prix which never really took place. ©DPPI/A. Vincent

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DTM : Lawson, alone against everyone at the Norisring

With the title within reach, Liam Lawson had to be sure to be crowned. Unfortunately, the German DTM union decided to thwart the young Kiwi's plans. After a stormy attempt at the first corner by Kelvin van der Linde which sent him into the background, the New Zealander watched helplessly as the game of orders between the teams racing under the banner Mercedes. The only driver capable of still challenging him for the crown, Maximilian Götz saw Daniel Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Philip Ellis let him pass to win the victory and the title, much to the regret of Liam Lawson. A very sad outcome.

Liam Lawson's distress after the final DTM race (Photo: DR)

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WEC : The BOP war

The famous Performance Scale has once again been talked about. A thorny question within the paddockEndurance whose shadow hangs over every ordeal. A necessary evil to harmonize a set of cars and ensure a spectacle, but doesn't it go against the very essence of motorsport to restrict performance? The chaos surrounding the decisions taken against Ferrari for the final double-header of the WEC polluted the atmosphere at the end of the season, adding to Glickenhaus' comments on his refusal to participate in " une perpétuelle parade victorieuse de Toyota ». And to ask the question of how this could go well with the long list of manufacturers planned from 2023…

Malgré tous les débats autour de la BoP, la bataille fut présente en piste entre Porsche et Ferrari (Photo : Germain Hazard / DPPI)

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WEC: The absence of competition in Hypercar

The question will no longer arise in 2023 with the avalanche of new LMDh and LMH. In the meantime, the top category of Endurance is played between two cars from the same team. Alpine fought hard with its weapons to try to stop Toyota's domination, but the reliability of the "grandmother", despite six podiums in six races, could do nothing against a car meeting much more recent regulations . At the same time, Glickenhaus only participated in half of the season and disappeared after a more than encouraging first participation at Le Mans. Insufficient to fight against a machine as experienced as Toyota.

Toyota's control over the Hypercar category was total (Photo: Germain Hazard / DPPI)

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F1: The deadline for knowing the penalties in Brazil

It took 24 hours for the panels of stewards of the Brazilian Grand Prix to decide and deliver their verdict concerning the investigations carried out against Max Verstappen et Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman was in the eye of the storm for putting his hand on Hamilton's rear wing in Parc Fermé, which was deemed technically illegal a few minutes later. Except that an hour before the start of Saturday's sprint race, we still did not know whether the two men were penalized or not. Is there really a need for 24 hours to judge whether a hand is placed on a fin and the size of the opening? Certainly not. At the heart of one of the most beautiful fights for the title in history, we would have liked the FIA ​​to show itself at the level of the two main characters in the breathtaking series that this 2021 season will have been.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton waited a long time to learn their respective penalties in Brazil (Photo: DPPI)

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F1: Sprint qualifications imposed before the end of the test phase

Tested this year on three events on the calendar (Silverstone, Monza, Interlagos), the sprint qualifications did not have the opportunity to convince many people except Ross Brawn, the sporting director of the discipline, amazed by these mini-races of 100 kilometers yet not so exciting apart from the bursts of Fernando Alonso in Great Britain and Lewis Hamilton in Brazil. Here is F1 decked out with six of these devices for 2022, notwithstanding the opinion of Formula 1 followers, unconvinced by this format. It is a shame that in its quest for ever more spectacle, Liberty Media forgets the opinions of the main stakeholders.

Lewis Hamilton offered the public a crazy comeback in Sprint Qualifying in São Paulo (Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI)

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F2 : Oscar piastri on the key in F1

Usually, the theorem is flawless: a driver who wins Formula 2 in his first year has a 100% chance of going to F1 the following year. This recently happened to Charles Leclerc in 2017 and to George Russell in 2018, but this time the theorem took a hit. Crowned F2 champion after winning the F3 and the Formula Renault consecutively, Oscar Piastri will have to be content with a role of reserve at Alpine, while waiting (perhaps?) for better in 2023, without however being certain that a place will become available. Not seeing the Australian in F1 is necessarily a huge frustration given his last three seasons, especially when at the same time, the Chinese Guanyu-Zhou, only third after three years in the category, managed to win a seat. The system is unfortunately not perfect. We can only hope that he is given a chance in 2023.

Oscar Piastri will be third driver Alpine F1 in 2022 (Photo Agency / DPPI)

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F1: The incredible finale of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After an extraordinary Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) presented themselves in Abu Dhabi on equal points for a final awaited by the whole world. There was no need for more to make this final round of the season more exciting. However, blinded by his desire to put on a spectacle until the last lap, Michael Masi decided to ridicule Formula 1 on television, by rewriting the rules. His about-face on the latecomers influenced the awarding of the world title in defiance of all common sense and especially of sport. Everyone knew, and the Australian first and foremost, that a Verstappen wearing Soft tires would make short work of a Hamilton on used Hard tires. If only, as initially announced, Masi had not allowed the late drivers to overtake, he would have balanced the odds, and given the Briton some hope. Instead, he brought an entire discipline into disrepute.

Lewis Hamilton found himself defenseless against Max Verstappen on the final lap of the season (DPPI Photo)

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