Lewis Hamilton fans have reacted negatively to the FIA's investigation results. Many fans believe the motorsport governing body is taking unnecessarily long to come up with an appropriate response to the final lap chaos that occurred in Abu Dhabi.
Fans of the Briton are enraged as the FIA promised to come to a conclusion about the 2021 season finale on February 14th, but have now pushed the date back by a "couple of days." F1's regulatory body, however, did declare that there will be only three sprint races in 2022.
One fan on Twitter lashed out at the FIA's alleged lackadaisical approach to the matter between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. They wrote:
“Masi’s improvisations with the rules on two different fronts - the timing of the restart and and on dealing with lapped cars - directly influenced the outcome of the world championship. The facts will not change.”
Another Hamilton fan doubted the motorsport body's competency over the matter, showing their skepticism through a Tweet that read:
“Genuine question. If it takes two months to do an investigation into the final lap, how can the stewards be trusted to do the job in half an hour on race day? It makes no sense.”
Mark Webber claims Lewis Hamilton was denied a "clean fight" against Max Verstappen
Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber claims Lewis Hamilton was denied a fair fight against Max Verstappen at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Australian made his stance against Michael Masi very clear despite being a former Red Bull driver himself.
Webber acknowledged Verstappen's 2021 prowess, claiming he deserved to win the trophy. He, however, feels as though Masi's mismanagement of the late safety car stopped Hamilton from defending his position in a fair manner. The Briton was on course to become the first-ever eight-time world champion, having led the race from Turn 1. Webber said:
“Both of them deserved to lift that trophy, but we did not want it to finish like that at all. We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was one guy with his hand tied behind his back. Of course in hindsight they would all agree we could have done something different, what happened wasn't the ideal scenario.”
With many claiming the results of the FIA's inquiry are still a deciding factor in Hamilton's future in the sport, fans are hoping that F1's regulatory body comes up with a fair decision regarding the issue.