‘Safety car should have ended when Lewis Hamilton was robbed in Abu Dhabi’

Formula 1 expert Peter Windsor believes the safety car was at the Australian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton’s record eighth Formula 1 title in Abu Dhabi in 2021 is ‘robbed’ The results should have been like this.

After a late red flag in Melbourne, an attempt at a two-lap sprint was suspended amid confusion at the restart, with multiple collisions leading to another stoppage.

After long delays, the race was finally over, with Max Verstappen taking the lead at a slower pace under the safety car, securing his second win of the 2023 season.

Verstappen won his first world title in contentious circumstances in the 2021 season finale after race director Michael Masi settled runaway front-runners Hamilton and Verstappen Use better tires for lap duels.

With F1 making a conscious effort to end races under green flag conditions, Windsor believes the crowd’s positive reaction to the safety car finish at Albert Park is proof that it won’t be if Hamilton secures an eighth title amidst caution in Abu Dhabi. a bad thing. pre-season.

Speaking via his youtube channelhe said: “They finished the game [in Melbourne] behind the safety car. Ring any bells?

“That’s what we should achieve in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

“I didn’t see any Australian fans – who are very loud at the best of times – complain or boo and say, ‘No, we want this race to end as a normal one-lap race, that’s too bad​​​​ too bad.’

“They were all cheering and clapping – as I said in Abu Dhabi ’21, if they had finished the race under the safety car, which they should have done, Lewis was cruising and winning his Eighth world title.

“For me, it’s absolutely another demonstration of what’s wrong with Abu Dhabi and I’m still very upset about it.

“I still think they totally screwed up, Lewis Hamilton was stripped of his eighth title in that incident, it’s bad.

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“Of course, you don’t win or lose titles in one game. I’m talking about decisions that have been made.

“And no one cares [in Melbourne]. The Australians liked that safety car so much they were all cheering.

“I thought there were actually a couple of drivers who might have waved at the crowd because it seemed like you couldn’t overtake, but they didn’t.

“But anyway, it’s fine.

“They slowly came around and everyone stood up and cheered and clapped and it was a great moment – like in Abu Dhabi in ’21.”

In a recent Twitch stream, Windsor portrayed Hamilton’s lost coronation moment in Abu Dhabi, claiming it could be a unique moment in F1 history.

Asked if Hamilton would take back what was taken from him at Yas Marina, he replied: “I don’t think he will, no.

“Do we think that in three years Mercedes will suddenly realize that they should sue? No.

“I don’t think that’s when Lewis gentlemanly shook Max’s hand on the podium, I think it was a very powerful thing for Lewis.

“I think it was when Mercedes acquiesced and said, ‘Let’s get on with it, we’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again’ or some other cliché, that’s it. Not anymore. Not going to happen.

“So, sadly, I think the championship is lost. Max won.

“But I think Formula 1 lost a great opportunity there to give one of the greatest racing drivers of all time to win a record-breaking eighth World Championship and celebrated with a lap behind the safety car, amid fireworks. The case took the checkered flag, dramatic music and Lewis Hamilton became eight-time world champion.

“I think that’s my answer to you guys who say it’s great to finish the race in a sprint rather than after the safety car.

“I think Formula 1 lost a huge opportunity that day.

“And it’s not going to happen again, I don’t think, moments like that.

“I was basically saying, ‘Can Lewis ever win another world title?’

“I hope so – he deserves eighth – but I doubt it.”

Hamilton has not won since the penultimate round of the 2021 season and suffered the first winless season of his career in Mercedes’ troubled 2022 season.

He is currently fourth in the Drivers’ Championship after his first podium finish in Australia in 2023.

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