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'Hamilton would have been an eight-time F1 champion had Whiting not died'
Guenther Steiner believes Lewis Hamilton would've been an eight-time Formula 1 World Champion if Charlie Whiting had been the race director at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Whiting, who had been in the role for a long time, died suddenly just prior to the 2019 Australian Grand Prix weekend at the age of 66.
Steiner, former Haas F1 team boss, will release his new book, called Unfiltered, in early October. In it, the Italian argues that the FIA 'have ceased being culpable for their mistakes and have lost their humility.' According to Steiner, this is "isn’t a good situation".
What does Steiner think about Abu Dhabi 2021?
The book includes Steiner's opinion on the controversial ending to the 2021 Formula 1 season. After a season long duel, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrived at Abu Dhabi level on points. Hamilton was attempting to secure a record-breaking 8th World title, while Verstappen was going for his first. Whiting's successor, Michael Masi, decided to send only the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves after a late safety car. This allowed one lap to be completed.
Hamilton, the lead car, was on used tyres, with Verstappen on fresh tyres. The Dutchman made the move early in the lap and held on to win the World Championship for the first time. Steiner has expressed his thoughts on that moment.
"Wherever your loyalties lie with that one (and yes, I agree, it was amazing entertainment), from a regulations point of view it was a s**t show of biblical proportions, and regardless of what decision Charlie Whiting might have made in Michael Masi’s position there would have been far less controversy and embarrassment," Steiner said.
Still, the former team boss concludes: "Oh, f**k it. We all know what Charlie would have done. Had he been at the helm Lewis would now be an eight-time world champion."
This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
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29 September 2024
