Lewis Hamilton’s furious row with the FIA: ‘Always trying to slow us down’
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen analysed by Coulthard
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Lewis Hamilton has been knighted today at Windsor Castle just three days after he was denied a record eighth world title in a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He is the fourth F1 driver to be knighted, following Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Stirling Moss and Sir Jackie Stewart – and the first to be awarded the honour while still competing. Sir Lewis was included in the New Year Honours list after a record-breaking year in which he beat Michael Schumacher’s number of race wins. On Sunday, Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the last lap to secure his first world title.
Mercedes were left furious as Hamilton, who drives for the team, was left a sitting duck as Verstappen was able to move closer to his rival thanks to a controversial decision by FIA race director Michael Masi.
During the race, Hamilton could be heard on his radio saying the situation had been “manipulated”.
After the race, he congratulated Verstappen for his win.
Hamilton said: “Congratulations to Max and his team. I think we did an amazing job this year. Everyone back at the factory and here worked so hard in this most difficult of seasons.”
Hamilton has clashed with the FIA before – in 2020, he accused them of trying to slow him down.
The Briton was furious because the FIA brought in a rule to ban the use of engine qualifying modes.
On the change, Hamilton said at the time: “It’s not a surprise, they are always trying to slow us down.
“At the end of the day the guys at our team have done such a great job with the engine. This is obviously to slow us down but I don’t think they will get the result that they want.”
His Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas also expressed concerns.
He said: “The first thing that came to my mind was that in a race every team has different modes.
“We are using different modes if we’re defending or attacking. If it was the same engine mode for everyone in the race there would be less overtaking.
“Everyone would be in the same mode instead of playing with them and trying to maximise every situation by using more power or less.”
Formula 1 is set for even bigger changes going into the 2022 season, as new regulations will mean big changes to the cars.
The new regulations will include a cost cap and an aero development sliding scale that favours teams who finish lower in the standings.
They are partly a response to the dominance of Mercedes and the lack of competition throughout the field, but also aimed to limit the effects of ‘dirty air’, to make the racing better and the competitive order more balanced.
The hybrid era cars lost 35 per cent of their downforce when around 20 metres behind, and a loss of 47 percent at 10 metres.
In the new cars that should reduce to four percent and 18 percent respectively.
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The 2022 regulations include other changes., a new, more “sustainable” synthetic fuel mixture will be used.
There are heavier and more robust tyres, 18-inch wheels and the return of wheel caps. By far the most significant is the new aero philosophy.
On the changes, Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson. told the Telegraph: “We’ll only really know in that first test session when the cars hit the track for real and follow each other.
“Hopefully, because it’s [2022’s aero vs 2021’s] achieved in a different way aerodynamically, that allows them to follow closer. I think the jury’s still out at this stage.”
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