Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle said he hopes Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can “share the championship” to resolve the huge controversy after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In the race at Yas Marina, because race director Michael Massi asked the safety car to “break” the “rules of the race” and restarted the race on the last lap, the attention of the outside world to F1 has remained high for the past few days.
This decision gave Verstappen all the opportunities he needed to surpass Hamilton whose tires had worn out, and in one fell swoop he won a victory that was enough to lock himself into the championship.
In view of the fact that Marcy only informed some of the lower-ranked drivers that they could release the lap, and did not wait until the next lap in accordance with the rules to resume the race, the above two points were protested by Mercedes on Sunday night. However, although Mercedes’ complaint has been rejected by the FIA, the German automaker is still evaluating whether to continue to file a formal appeal on the matter and will make a final decision on Thursday night.
It is still unknown whether such an appeal will be successful. And even if the appeal is supported, the FIA is unlikely to deprive the Dutchman of the title just a few days after Verstappen won the championship.
However, as a veteran, Brendel believes that in such a fiercely competitive season, “sharing the championship” will be a satisfactory solution.
“Does Max deserve the championship? Of course he deserves it,” Brundle wrote in a column on the Sky channel. “He led 652 laps, while Lewis only had 303 laps. He led the standings in 15 of 22 games, including the last seven. He won 10 games and Lewis won 8 (yes, I know, we will talk about this soon), and he won 18 podiums, Lewis was 17. His luck was not the best all the way, of course until the last few miles.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd position, congratulates Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“Lewis is also worthy of his eighth title. Frankly speaking, I hope they can share this title. His speed, stability, determination, style, level and endurance, especially in the final stages of the season. , Are very good. At the age of close to 37 years old, he presented another amazing start in his 288th Grand Prix.”
“In the last few laps of Abu Dhabi, the world‘s eyes are focused on us, but this is not our most glorious moment. Some things must change this winter. On Sunday we really confused the fans.”
And before Brundle published this “championship sharing theory”, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso also proposed that this season’s championship should be “divided into two.”
“I think this will be a sensational topic, but as I said on Thursday, if you look back at these 22 games, either of them is worthy of the world championship,” the Spaniard said. “I think that if the trophy can be divided into two, this year will be more suitable than any previous year. Because they are both excellent.”
Translation/Peter Pan