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Opinion | How the Hamilton-Verstappen battle could end in controversy

Opinion | How the Hamilton-Verstappen battle could end in controversy

11-12-2021 07:00
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With only one race left, title protagonists Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are level on points. This season will certainly go down as one of the greatest championship battles in recent history, with enthralling battles, controversial moments, and the battle for a record-breaking eighth championship versus a career-defining first. Here we consider the possibility of a title-deciding collision and the potential ramifications in the build-up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen crosses the line

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen head into the title decider with 369.5 points apiece. However, it is Verstappen who leads the championship on countback, as he has nine race wins to Hamilton’s eight. As such, any result where both contenders do not finish will earn Verstappen his first championship. 

The Yas Marina Circuit, with its recent modifications, theoretically favors Mercedes due to its numerous straights and relative lack of high-speed corners to the Corniche Circuit. Pitted against an opponent equiped with marginally better machinery at his disposal in the past few races, Verstappen has shown a tendency to push the limit (and step over it) in wheel-to-wheel combat with his foe. 

He was unnecessarily aggressive in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and was penalized several times for his misconduct. On the lap 15 restart, Verstappen was beaten soundly off the line by Hamilton. The Dutchman attempted an ambitious move around the outside, despite being behind at the braking zone. He had to cut the first corner, and rejoined in such a way that compromised Hamilton’s exit. 

Verstappen was relegated to third for the second restart on lap 17 for overtaking off track. He swiftly executed a daring double pass to take the lead again. However, the 24-year-old could not shake his pursuer. On lap 37, Hamilton inched forward into turn one, but Verstappen dived down the inside, taking both himself and Hamilton off track. Verstappen ended the exchange with a bigger advantage than when he started, and his defense was quite similar to his lap 48 incident with Hamilton in Brazil.

Verstappen was then instructed to concede the position to Hamilton, which he attempted to do “strategically” before the main DRS straight. The two made contact as Verstappen slowed down to let Hamilton past. Verstappen was penalized after the race for braking “erratically”, applying 69 bar of brake pressure which resulted in 2.4g deceleration while Hamilton was tucked in behind. Both drivers should have done more to prevent the collision, but Verstappen's sudden increase in braking is egregious.

On lap 42, Verstappen again let Hamilton past into the last turn, before immediately re-overtaking and claiming DRS down the pit straight. Truth be told, it was surprising to not see this encounter investigated. We have precedent from the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, where Hamilton was given a 25-second penalty for overtaking Kimi Raikkonen into La Source, mere seconds after he had let him through for overtaking off track. Hamilton and Mercedes are not without their subtle tactics, but it is clear that the two title protagonists have different definitions of racing.

For his antics, Verstappen was criticized by pundits and former drivers following the race. "I think Verstappen has got to think about his driving standards. They were too much today. There's aggressive, determined, feisty racing and then there's what we saw this evening, which was too much" said Martin Brundle on broadcast. In his column for F1, respected journalist David Tremayne expressed his opinion of Verstappen's racecraft: "I like him and respect him as a tough racer, though at times I’m not happy with the choices he makes. He takes some tactics too far for my liking. It was the same with Ayrton Senna, and we often disagreed over what he believed to be acceptable."

Conundrum for the FIA

Equal blame must be apportioned to the FIA for its lack of consistency. By not even investigating (let alone penalizing) the lap 48 incident in Brazil, the governing body set the dangerous precedent that allowed this type of driving (overtaking off track) to continue to Saudi Arabia. One could argue that Verstappen is merely taking full advantage of the FIA's hesitance to draw a concrete line in the sand. Even the ten-second penalty for Verstappen’s alleged “brake test” seemed mild in comparison to similar past offences. 

Each and every penalty could be a decisive factor in this tightly contested battle, which may explain the FIA's reluctance to get involved and award harsher penalties. "It is clear to me that the FIA does not want to interfere in the championship fight at all with a wrong decision. This is one of the toughest title fights we have seen in a long time" told former driver Timo Glock, in conversation with Sky Germany.

To Michael Masi’s credit, he has explicitly warned both Verstappen and Hamilton against unsporting behavior in his event notes for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even threatening to deduct points. However, these warnings open another can of worms. 

Should the FIA even consider incidents in the title finale differently? Penalties are supposedly assessed by the incident, and not the consequences. The championship implications of the Silverstone and Monza crashes are the same, regardless of whether they occur at the first or the last race. Moreover, how does the FIA punish an incident like Silverstone or Monza, where there is no malicious intent but one driver is predominantly to blame? How does the FIA prove that an incident is malicious or deliberate, and not merely accidental? Proving intent is far more difficult and requires a higher standard of evidence than proving fault.

Hopefully, the championship is decided fairly on track, and not in the stewards’ room. Both Verstappen and Hamilton have driven brilliantly this season. Verstappen is a prodigiously talented racer, and has had some genuinely standout performances this year in Zandvoort and Austin. It would disappoint to see him stoop to the same underhanded tactics as Schumacher and Senna (both of whom won championships in dubious circumstances). As we head to Abu Dhabi, everything is still up for grabs, and we as viewers should revel in witnessing two generational talents battle for ultimate glory.