#lhfia

Daaaaamn. I wasn’t expecting a Spanish newspaper to go this hard and be so pro-Lewis. Let alone Marca.

The final paragraph summarizes why Mercedes must go on with this. Not to claim this title, but also for the integrity of this sport:

“For the purposes of the Netflix docuseries 'Drive to Survive', the climax of the 2021 season was perfect, almost too perfect.

It will attract eyes to the sport, with new fans thinking it is always that dramatic, but then how does F1 keep that attention? Do they ensure there is a dramatic finish on the final day next year? What about the year after?

At the end of the day, when all the dust settled on the season. The work of Hamilton and Verstappen was rendered worthless, with the championship not decided on skill or strategy, but merely by a race director making a decision solely focused on drama, and that can kill a sport.”

“Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment,” said Wolff on Thursday following Mercedes’ announcement it would not pursue the appeal. We’re not disillusioned with the sport, we love the sport with every bone in our body and we love it because the stopwatch never lies.

“If we break that fundamental principle of sporting fairness and the authenticity of the sport, then suddenly the stopwatch doesn’t become relevant anymore because we are exposed to random decision-making.

“You start to question if all the work that you have been putting in, all the sweat, tears and blood, can actually be demonstrated in terms of bringing the best possible performances on track because it can be taken away randomly.

“It’s gonna take a long time for us to digest what has happened on Sunday. I don’t think we will ever get over it. That’s not possible and certainly not [for Lewis] as a driver.

“I would very much hope that the two of us and the rest of the team can work through the events with the FIA, together with F1, to improve the sport going forward.



“Of course, we'll have to be also be following our rules. But in the meanwhile, it doesn't stop us from making a champion feel good about the sport, you know.”

"It's easy to be nice to people. And it is cheap to be nice. And it's also to motivate people. But definitely, if there is any breach, there is no forgiveness in this."

Asked to clarify if he could really rule out any "forgiveness", Sulayem said: "Forgiveness is always there, but rules are rules. We look at the rules.

"And I always say: rules are not made. A human made them...and they can be improved and changed by humans. So the rules are there to be improved.

If Hamilton is found guilty, then he could face a financial penalty for his absence rather than any sporting sanction.

————-

I was a bit in shock by the headline because it sounds like a threat, but now that I’m reading the article I’m a bit conflicted. And I feel like Sulayem is as well.

On one hand you can see he’s saying rules are rules. Like it’s indeed written in the FIA regulations.

On the other hand you can also see how he wants to keep a dialogue going and says: “Rules are there to be improved.”

I think what the FIA will also struggle with is if they allow this that would also be a precedent for following Galas’s.

Here I am agreeing with Helmut on this part. How bad did the FIA have to fuck up for the team that won the WDC having to say this after the race though…

"The whole system needs to be rethought,” said Marko, after a season when Red Bull has been unhappy at times with FIA decisions.

“There needs to be consistency. Decisions cannot be interpreted once this way and once that way. The rules must be simplified. The premise must be: let's race!”

Asked if he was especially unhappy in how Masi handled the Abu Dhabi race, Marko said