Formula 1 News: Lewis Hamilton 2021 title taken away from him: George Russell firmly believes that his new Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was robbed of the 2021 World Championship. He also added that his title was taken away from him. Follow Formula 1 2022 LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN
Russell said, “He had that race completely under control. He only had to bring it home and he’d have been an eight-time champion and he had that taken away from him.”
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
New car, new teammate, new year, new drive. @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/A72n5VhcgO
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 19, 2022
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
George did acknowledge that it was a mistake that cost Hamilton his title in 2021. But, hopes that the restructuring of Race Control which has happened since will avoid any repeats.
It was the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year which ended in controversy. It was Nicholas Latifi who crashed in the 54th lap after which the safety car was brought onto the track. The race was also stopped and the red signal came into power.
Max Verstappen did clinch his first-ever Formula 1 title in that race. It was a last-lap shootout where Max overtook Hamilton and secured the win. However, Max had just pitted and also was on fresher tyres. Whereas, Hamilton was still on his hard compound tyres which didn’t help his cause.
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
Formula 1 News: George Russell has his say on Michael Masi
George has joined Mercedes from Williams this year. He will now be driving for the Silver Arrows team.
Michael Masi has been sacked from his race director role. His role will now be shared by two individuals. Having support from Charlie Whiting’s former deputy Herbie Blash and a VAR-style remote virtual Race Control room.
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
Russell added, “Mistakes happen when the heat of the moment is on and people’s emotions are high. In sport, there is always a huge amount of pressure on every individual, whether it be the athlete, the coach, the manager, the engineers, the referee, or the race director.”
“We’ve all come to the agreement that what happened in Abu Dhabi was incorrect. The changes have been made because of the outcome of Abu Dhabi. The FIA were incredibly proactive straight after Abu Dhabi to find better solutions.”
“I think the VAR solution is great and it makes total sense to have further assistance. People analyze live and more input to get a quicker view and decision to be made. Times progress, things move on, the way drivers are exploiting the rule book is understandable.”
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
“The FIA need to do more to compensate that because every team and driver will always look for ways to get the upper hand. It will take some time to refine but it is definitely a step in the right direction. It is always going to need more and the more things we can do virtually can only be beneficial.”
Formula 1: George Russell backs restructuring of race refereeing, claims eighth title was ‘taken away from him’
