"If they had followed the protocol correctly, he’d be an eight-time World Champion"- Formula E driver on Abu Dhabi incident that affected Lewis Hamilton

Formula E driver Sam Bird reckons Lewis Hamilton would have been a record eight-time world champion if the rules were followed at Abu Dhabi last season. Talking at the BBC Radio Show at the Italian GP, Bird talked about how the sequence of events might have been very painful for Hamilton, where he missed out on a podium.

The race at Monza ended behind the safety car, as a late-race DNF for Daniel Ricciardo forced the McLaren to be stranded on the track. With not enough laps left, the race did not restart and came to a close behind the safety car.

The sequence of events was contrary to what happened at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP last year, where the race restarted with only one lap left.

That one-lap shootout left Hamilton exposed against Max Verstappen, which cost the Briton the title. Talking about the sequence of events, Bird said:

“For him, it’s a horrible situation, because now they’re following the protocol correctly. If they had followed the protocol correctly, he’d be an eight-time World Champion, to be honest, and Max Verstappen would be about to be a first-time World Champion, a very impressive first-time World Champion."

Bird made comparisons with Ayrton Senna as well who also had issues with FIA during his career. He said:

“It reminds me a lot of Senna, when he was driving. You had the FIA changing the rules of the final chicane at Suzuka, and Senna stormed out of the drivers’ briefing (at Japan 1990), saying 'This isn’t fair, you guys completely destroyed me last year; you took my licence away from me, you banned me. So I’m walking out’. It’s a little bit similar. I can certainly understand why Lewis Hamilton feels a bit aggrieved.”

Hamilton looked good for a podium finish at Monza before finishing fifth.

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After Lewis Hamilton debacle last season, Italian GP was FIA's worst nightmare - Sam Bird

Sam Bird feels that what happened at Monza was FIA's worst nightmare where it was caught in a catch-22 situation, especially after what had happened last season. He said:

“I feel like what happened again was the FIA’s worst nightmare at the moment. Because of what happened last year and the fallout of how it all transpired last year. A Safety Car going out and picking up the wrong car, and you had lapped cars in between the leader and second place – both of whom had just pitted, and you have got a race that could get going with two laps to go. And it could be extremely exciting."

He added:

“You’re in Italy in front of the tifosi with a Ferrari in second with the chance to win. (It’d be) very brave to let the two lapped cars go and get the racing going again. Because can you imagine the fallout from that kind of situation again?”

Hamilton drove a brilliant race at Monza, making his way through the field from P19 to narrowly miss out on the podium.