“Given The World Championship To…”: Monza Rule Book Debate Dubbed “Horrendous” As Reignited Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen Debate Finds True Victor

“What we saw at Monza, was what didn’t happen at Abu Dhabi”. Peter Windsor, Formula One journalist, finds the perfect words to sum up the confusion and chaos around the 2 GPs. Lewis Hamilton was the one hurt in Abu Dhabi; Charles Leclerc was hurt in Monza.

Windsor, speaking on The F1 Hour podcast, discussed the controversy around the 2 incidents. He said “It is not surprising a lot of people are angry or annoyed after Monza… at Abu Dhabi, they [FIA] thought “forget the rules and let’s make sure this race finishes as a race”… at Monza, they could have easily restarted the race while they were pushing Daniel’s car but the problem was they couldn’t get it out of gear.”

He believes that the furor after Abu Dhabi was partly to blame for how the race finished in Monza. Going clearly by the rules and concerns for safety, the decision taken at Monza was correct and fair. The issue was and remains to be the consistency of application of those rules.

He says “All the do-gooders of the world and the powers that be said well it is horrendous and massive mistakes were made it this must never happen again and from now on we must follow the rule book to the letter and that’s what they did at Monza… not enough complaints were made after Abu Dhabi.” 

He further adds “They should have I think given the World Championship to Lewis and I think they should have said that the last lap was completely illegal and should not have been allowed and we’re going to give the results as they were behind the safety car.”

“And that’s what should have happened and because they didn’t do that’s why we have all this stuff now.”

Read More: Max Verstappen’s Afterglow of Defeating Lewis Hamilton Induced “Fear” in Ruined Charles Leclerc

Post-Abu Dhabi, a lot of allegations and accusations flew around. Mercedes chose to file an appeal with the FIA against the decision. But the matter ended there and Max Verstappen was crowned the World Champion. However, things haven’t been the same for Lewis since then.

A different Lewis Hamilton this season

Windsor on the podcast says, “I think any TV director, stroke commentator who couldn’t have brought tears to everybody’s eyes as Lewis Hamilton was driving that last lap at Abu Dhabi behind the safety car waving to the crowd, fireworks going off under the night sky, having just broken Michael Schumacher’s record.”

History was being created. It was possibly the biggest moment for F1 in years, and that shall remain for some time. He said, “So I think not only do I think it was wrong to finish as a race at Abu Dhabi I think Formula One Missed a massive opportunity to create one of the most emotionally charged moments in the history of its sport.”

Not only did F1 lose a chance on a once-in-a-lifetime moment, but so did Lewis. The Briton, a fierce competitor otherwise, just hasn’t been the same since that night. Before 2021, he had won 6 of the 7 World Championships. His lowest finish in his F1 career is a 5th in 2009 and 2011.

But as it stands, he is in the 6th position. Points-wise this might not be his worst F1 season, but it could very well be his worst rank-wise F1 season.

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While all cannot be blamed on the way that night in Abu Dhabi unfolded, things have changed since then. It looks like the baton has been passed from Lewis to Max. Can we see the old Lewis back next season, or is it the end of an era?