Petition to make Hamilton winner of '21 nears 100,000 signatures

By now, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a year and a half in the past, but the race still evokes strong emotions. In a spectacular final stage of the last race, the safety car entered the track. It looked like the race would end behind the safety car, until the race control gave the order that only the cars between Max Verstappen and Hamilton had to pass by and the safety car had to come in. Since Verstappen had newer tyres than Hamilton, the Dutchman was able to pass his rival and win his first title.

Petition gains momentum

The decision by race control was not very well received. The petition in question was started more than a year ago, shortly after the 2021 season finale. The initiator wrote at the petition: "If you are an advocate of justice, honesty and fairness, please sign this petition. Leaving this decision as it stands will send a very wrong message to youngsters and future racers." The petition has received a particularly high number of signatures recently. A week back, the petition passed the milestone of 75 thousand signatures. Currently, the petition stands at 96 thousand. Why the petition is getting so much support just now is not clear.

In all likelihood, the petition will not affect the outcome. During the race, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff already called for the result to be reverted to the position before the safety car. Race director Michael Masi's words then were more than clear: "Toto, it's called a motor race, we went car racing." Even an official protest by Mercedes after the race did not lead to a change in the result.