Following the end of the 2021 season finale at Yas Marina, there was undeniably a large cloud of controversy over the end result; many fans lashed out at FIA race director, Michael Masi, for blatantly favoring Max Verstappen in the title fight against Lewis Hamilton.

The latter was on course to clinch his record-breaking eighth world championship title when Masi’s crucial call on the penultimate lap led to an entirely contrasting climax. The Dutchman went on to defeat the seven-time world champion instead, and more so, in an unusually straightforward manner, thanks to the helping hand.

But, then arrived the uproar. There were bitter verbal arguments all over the internet amongst the fans. Nevertheless, after massive disagreement from most of the F1 community in December, the controversy seemed to have finally subsided a bit. However, just as the fans are ready to move on from the controversial Abu Dhabi GP, here’s a French magazine that has managed to rekindle the debate again.

Back in January this year, Grand Prix Mag, a French media outlet, unveiled a cover page comprising Lewis Hamilton with a very contentious title – “Lewis Hamilton Champion of the world 2021.”

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Lewis Hamilton F1 title controversy

The magazine had a rather interesting yet questionable theme on its cover page where it reckoned Hamilton is the 2021 world champion and not Verstappen.

“Sport and fair play make lewis hamilton the only eight-time world champion in F1 history. He thus exceeds the seven titles of Michael Schumacher and should display 104 victories on his list. And that it was decided that it was better for F1 that the race resume for the sole needs of television without the conditions for this resumption being met is neither normal nor arguable,” their statement read.

Overall, the end result of the 2021 title fight is certainly debatable, especially with the race director not adhering to the FIA rulebook and making what looked like a biased decision.

But, one must also consider the fact that Masi was under immense pressure and the contrasting opinions from Mercedes and Red Bull only led to more confusion. So, with the final verdict on the ongoing investigation still to be revealed, is Masi’s role under threat? Could we see the Australian losing out on his seat?

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