Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates – December 12, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates winning
the race and the world championship with the Netherlands flag on the podium as
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton looks on after finishing second REUTERS/Hamad I
Mohammed
The last lap showdown in Abu Dhabi that took place in 2021 gave the F1 world the most thrilling race finish ever. A last-minute safety car, and the championship was taken away from Lewis Hamilton by the man he had been ahead of. Max Verstappen on faster and fresher tires overtook Lewis Hamilton to bring home a championship that Red Bull had waited 8 years for. While the paddock was filled with mixed emotions, the backlash from a lot of quarters followed. The F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali spoke about how the incident shouldn’t be repeated in the future.
America’s Favorite Video Today
Still not addressing the Elephant in the room which has haunted the top management ever since the Yas Marina showdown, the CEO spoke of the future rather than looking at the past. Sky Sport’s Martin Brundle asked the CEO about the Abu Dhabi “fiasco” and the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen wasn’t sure if he had won the championship or not. He even harshly mentioned that the Formula 1 top management shouldn’t let the fans down like that. Stefano absolutely evading the haunted words “Abu Dhabi, 2021” maneuvered his way around it to answer the journalist.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
via Getty
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 12: Race winner and 2021 F1 World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing is congratulated by runner up in the race and championship Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
In an Interview with Sky Sports, Domenicali said,“I would say a strong word we will because I feel that everyone has to do its own job but and The credibility of that is really related to all of that making sure that there will be no holds on that and and it’s true what you’re saying I mean these things shouldn’t happen and and for the benefit of the sport we need to make sure that everyone is doing his own job.”
From almost evading one question to addressing another, Domenicali’s statements have been making rounds in the F1 world. He recently addressed the barbaric political speech gag as well.
Diplomacy card played over a new rule that has been said to target Lewis Hamilton
The F1 and FIA announced a new rule ahead of the 2023 season. The said rule prohibited any driver from making political or religious statements at any official Formula 1 ceremony. While many think that the barbarian rule which takes away freedom of speech of the drivers is targeted specifically at Hamilton, the top management has now claimed that they will not gag anyone.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – November 17, 2022 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton during the press conference REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
As quoted by The Guardian, Domenicali said, “F1 will never put a gag on anyone. Everyone wants to talk, so to have the platform to say what they want in the right way, the better it is. We have a huge opportunity because of the position of our sport which is more and more global, multicultural and multivalued.”
With the new season set to begin in two weeks’ time, do you think the drivers will abide by the speech ban?
Providing feedback will help us make your experience better.
The Fan's Perspective
Enjoyed Your Read? Let us know how likely you are to recommend EssentiallySports to your friends!
Least Likely
Most Likely
SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
ADVERTISEMENT
Written by:
Anmol
545Articles
One take at a time
Anmol is an F1 writer at Essentially Sports. She is a Law graduate from National
Law University, Lucknow, and currently pursuing PGD in Journalism and Mass
Communication from Symbiosis. Being a Rallyist herself she began watching F1,
the apex of motorsports, and eventually fell in love with the sport.