Lewis Hamilton fans create #VoidLap58 website, urge FIA leadership to "restore credibility"

An F1 fan seeking to “restore” Lewis Hamilton’s eighth world title has created a dedicated website seeking to officially “void” the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Fans want the FIA to change the final classification of last season’s title decider to reflect the grid order as it was before the controversial safety car restart, essentially handing back the world championship to Lewis Hamilton.

The site was created by a Twitter user going by the handle @WhingerSpice after the hashtag #VoidLap58 started trending on social media. The site voidlap58.com contains a letter to the FIA, making a case for the reversal of the Abu Dhabi results. It says:

“As more time passes, we come to understand more of what happened, not less. And outrage grows, rather than fades... For the sake of the sport and its integrity - lap 58 needs to be voided. It has no legal basis to exist, and the way in which it was created was not sporting.”

The fan explains that the “bizarre” safety car restart had no grounds in the sporting regulations, therefore, the restart should be considered illegal. Furthermore, the letter goes on to accuse Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley of manipulating the race results by putting race director Michael Masi under “immense pressure”. It goes on to say:

“It’s clear race director Michael Masi was placed under huge pressure. Not just due to the stress of managing the situation at hand, but by continuous lobbying from teams looking to gain advantages and make situations work in their favour. Clearly, he does not thrive under this pressure, as he then made probably the biggest blunder of his career, corrupting the integrity of the competition as a result.”

The letter urges the FIA, particularly the new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to “restore F1’s credibility” by rolling back the controversial results and to award Lewis Hamilton the world championship.

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Jenson Button expects tougher 2022 title fight from Lewis Hamilton

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button expects Lewis Hamilton to return to the sport stronger than ever in 2022, delivering a tougher title battle against Max Verstappen. Button believes Mercedes and Red Bull will remain at the forefront of the upcoming season despite a massive regulation overhaul and expects the two title rivals to go head-to-head once again.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, the Briton said:

“I think you’ll still have the Mercedes and the Red Bull right at the front. I have to say Mercedes [will be stronger in 2022]. I think Red Bull were strong last year but throughout the season Mercedes got closer.”

He went on to add saying:

“And I think they overtook them on outright pace, and we all know to beat Mercedes you have to be faster than them because they do not make mistakes as a team. I think Mercedes and then it’s the fight between Lewis [Hamilton] and George [Russell]. I really can’t wait for that. Two Brits at Mercedes fighting for a world championship hopefully.”

While Hamilton will be on a mission to finally clinch his eighth world title, he will potentially have tougher competition within his own team in the form of George Russell. The young Briton is moving up to Mercedes after three years in uncompetitive cars with Williams. With huge expectations to perform, Russell will be hoping to outpace Hamilton from the get-go.