F1: The results of Abu Dhabi 2021 are not going to change

Martin Brundle insists there is no “asterisk against” Max Verstappen’s 2021 F1 World title and the results are not going to change, no matter how much Lewis Hamilton fans whine and cry about it.

Mercedes and Hamilton made a mistake not pitting for fresh tires, and that cost Hamilton the race. Mercedes and Hamilton had an 80% chance to win, but they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as we have shown in this article.

But instead of manning up to it and admitting they blew it, they did everything they could to blame Michael Masi. Whether Masi cleared all of the lapped cars or some, Verstappen was always going to be behind Hamilton on fresher tires, and he was always going to defeat him.

Masi would have had all the lapped cars go around a lap earlier if he was not distracted by the team bosses on the radio nagging him. Then there would be no argument and Verstappen would have defeated Hamilton the same way he did.

Mercedes, Hamilton and their fans wanted the race to finish behind the safety car because they knew they blew the decision by not pitting for fresh tires. They choked when it counted.

Verstappen on new soft tires, out brakes Hamilton on worn hard tires for the win. Mercedes left Hamilton a sitting duck, and Verstappen, like any good hunter, executed the kill.

Sky Sport’s Craig Slater putting the question to former driver turned pundit Brundle.

Brundle replied: “I think we have to be clear that championship is not going to change.

“It’s a year ago, there are no asterisks, it’s not going to change. That is the defined result of the championship year.

“Lessons can be learned from it and we can talk about it forever but other than the stewards penalizing Max for what…we’re not going to unravel that. Never going to unravel it.”

1996 World Champion Damon Hill, he recalled that his “immediate reaction to the finish was ‘well you can’t say it’s not exciting’. I mean, it was unbelievably exciting.”

He continued: “Unfortunately there was this kind of debate about the Safety Car and what should or shouldn’t have happened.”

But, he added, even if Abu Dhabi was voided, Verstappen would still be the 2021 World Champion as he had more race wins on the board.

1996 World Champion Damon Hill, he recalled that his “immediate reaction to the finish was ‘well you can’t say it’s not exciting’. I mean, it was unbelievably exciting.”

He continued: “Unfortunately there was this kind of debate about the Safety Car and what should or shouldn’t have happened.”

“Now we’ve been there, we’ve done that, the results stands,” Jenson Button added. “How would you unravel an event like that? Even if you were to annul that race, Max will still be champion.”

“It was such a spectacular season, probably one of the best seasons we’ve ever had in the sport,” said the 2009 World Champion Jenson Button.

“And that’s why it came down to that last race and it came down to the last lap of that race.”