What needs to change in F1 after the controversial end to the 2021 season

The eyes of the whole sporting world were drawn to Abu Dhabi for the battle royale between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as the 2021 season drew to a close.

New fans fuelled by Netflix’s vastly popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive documentary series flocked to see who would come out on top and there was no shortage of fitting drama to cap a whirlwind season.

Verstappen took the win for Red Bull in hugely controversial circumstances thanks to a safety car with British great Hamilton denied the chance to eclipse Michael Schumacher’s record by winning his eighth world championship.

Here we take a look at what needs to change this season after the fall-out in 2021.

Rules shake-up

The main controversy stemmed from what seemed to be a liberal application of the F1 rules after Nicholas Latifi had hit the wall at Turn 14. At that stage there were five full laps remaining, to cut a long story short Verstappen pitted to change tyres and lapped drivers filled the space between him and leader Hamilton. At first, teams were told lapped cars would not be allowed to go past as there wasn’t enough time and then race control performed an almighty U-turn. They let just the five lapped drivers in between the top two unlap themselves before bringing in the safety car immediately to ensure we had one lap of drama to round off the season with Verstappen able to use his tyre advantage to pass Hamilton. It may have been an end fitting for Netflix, but this is supposedly sport, not manufactured drama and F1 fans deserve clarity in the rules and their application from this season on.

More respect for officials

There is one name you probably have heard a lot since the F1 season finished.

Micheal Masi, the F1 race director.

He was the one you could hear on team radios giving out instructions. But more importantly, you could also hear the likes of Toto Wolff and Christian Horner trying to influence things from their perspective.

Don’t get me wrong, whatever sport you’re involved in, competitors try to sway the officials but given the high-pressure stakes and safety on the line in motorsport, it is essential comments that cross the line are not brought into 2022.

It does not reflect well on anybody, regardless of your position.

Mercedes dynamic

This is a bit of a fudge because arguably the most important thing to happen this year for F1 is something not to change and that is Lewis Hamilton’s status as an F1 driver.

Hamilton has so far refused to discuss his status amid the fall-out and furore but who does not want to see him renew his rivalry against Verstappen?

And to add even more excitement into the mix, it’s an all-British line-up at Mercedes now with the exciting George Russell replacing Finn Valtteri Bottas.

Perhaps a bit more in-house competition is exactly the spark needed to reignite Hamilton and help him get the edge this year and cement his place in F1 history.

Either way, we can’t wait to see how things pan out.

Image credit: Getty Images