F1
Abu Dhabi 2021 wouldn't have been a 'shit show' with Whiting, Steiner says
Guenther Steiner - Photo: Eric Alonso / DPPI
Charlie Whiting has left a huge void in the world of Formula 1The iconic race director died in Melbourne (Australia) on March 19, 2019, at the dawn of the F1 World Championship season which was starting in the antipodes. He was then replaced by Michael Masi.
According to Guenter Steiner, the sport's governing body, " stopped being guilty of his mistakes and lost his humility " at that time. The former boss of Haas in Formula 1 chose Abu Dhabi 2021 as an example to illustrate his point. A race in which Michael Masi's handling of the Safety Car in the final laps created controversy, with the world title swinging at that point to Max Verstappen et Red Bull to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton et Mercedes.
« From a regulatory perspective, it was a shitshow of biblical proportions, and whatever decision Charlie Whiting might have made in Michael Masi's shoes would have been far less controversial and embarrassing. We all know what Charlie would have done. If he had been in the dock, Lewis would be an eight-time world champion today."
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Valentin GLO
Journalist. Endurance reporter (WEC, IMSA, ELMS, ALMS) and sometimes F1 or IndyCar.
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vincent moyet
01/10/2024 at 10:52 a.m.
I share this opinion and do not believe in chance in a sport either... sorry, a show run by financial interests. Especially after the huge losses of 2020 and the COVID crisis. A big media stunt was needed to revive F1. Was the rule change that brought RBR back to the level of Mercedes really also a coincidence when it was necessary to replenish the coffers and bring back the public? Neither the FIA nor Liberty Media had an interest in yet another title for Mercedes and Hamilton. One would have said "all that for (again) that??", the suspense of this 2021 season would have been a mountain giving birth to a mouse. Everything had been done to prolong this suspense until the final round and maximize profits. Michael Masi was the instrument of this staging, and someone had to serve as a fuse.
Eric Stevens
01/10/2024 at 04:46 a.m.
an 8th title, that's precisely what the FIA didn't want! i don't believe in chance, like in singapore 2008, i'm convinced that something helped destiny. it needed renewal, schumacher needed to keep his record a little longer, it was better for the business of F1 that it ended like that. i love this sport but am not fooled, the goal is to make money, winning races is a means, not an end, and sometimes losing can bring in more... it's not being a conspiracy theorist but simply logical. and that doesn't stop me from loving FXNUMX and its political and financial failings!