"Come on Ted": Fans react as Ted Kravitz rubbishes any conspiracy theory behind Lewis Hamilton losing a potential 8th F1 title in Abu Dhabi GP 2021

Fans reacted as F1 presenter Ted Kravitz defended Michael Masi on the decisions he made regarding Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's final lap of racing at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. The race was a title decider for the drivers, as they had the same points before the race started.

Hamilton led most of the race and was understood to be the clear winner if the event had finished without any safety cars. This would have been a record-breaking eighth World Championship. However, Nicholas Latifi's crash in the final few laps saw a safety car, and Verstappen pitted for soft tires, while Hamilton stayed out.

As the safety car was coming to an end, several lapped cars were present between Hamilton (P1) and Verstappen (P2). After pressure from Red Bull, Michael Masi, the race director, asked only the cars between the two drivers to unlap, leaving the two title contenders wheel-to-wheel.

Max Verstappen ended up winning his first championship after the safety car ended, and Lewis Hamilton finished P2. There were several inconsistencies in the stewards' decision, however, which included unlapping only the two cars between the contenders, manipulating the race result directly. Masi was removed from his post, and several changes were introduced.

Many at the time felt that Michael Masi was biased in favor of either driver, giving them the preference. However, four years later, Ted Kravitz mentioned that this wasn't the case. Speaking on the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast, he said:

"If you feel there was some intent to make sure Lewis Hamilton wasn’t an eight-time world champion," he said.

"There is no evidence to support that. There’s no evidence Michael Masi had a preference either way."

However, even after all these years, many fans refuse to accept this. Reacting to his comments, many mentioned that Masi did have a preference, and hence signed a non-disclosure agreement.

TifosiLegend44

@RandomSimracer

@CxmeronCc Come on Ted. He signed an NDA and clearly favored one team.

50PlusGamer

@50PlusGamer1970

@CxmeronCc So ask Ted why Massi let the cars between Lewis and Max go around but not all the lapped cars? You can still race under yellow with the lapped cars. It was blatant manufacturing of a result. Period

Chris Pepper

@ChrisPepperx

@CxmeronCc This is nonsense. You simply don't do what Masi did on that final lap unless you want Max to win the championship. And using not wanting to finish behind a SC as an excuse is pathetic. Hamilton earned his position through dominating the whole race and got the strategy right.

At the same time, many suggested that it was perhaps time to move on from the incident, as it had been four years since it happened.

𝐏𝐚𝐯𝐥𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐫

@Pavlo__Escobar

@CxmeronCc That was 4 years ago now, people need to move on. We were treated with the greatest season in F1 history and it didn't deserve to finish under a safety car.

Robert van Vuuren

@vvsafetyadvise

@CxmeronCc Isn't it time to move on, just like the world. Getting pretty boring 😴 from Kravitz and SkyF1

Jason Notright

@koruki

@CxmeronCc If Masi was bias he would have done much during the entire year instead of the last few laps.

Lewis Hamilton's overall performance saw a steep decline in the following seasons. He has never been the title contender since, and his struggles have amplified at Ferrari.

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Lewis Hamilton's career since Abu Dhabi 2021 at a glance

The 2022 season came with the new aerodynamic regulations, which saw Red Bull Racing begin its second dominance era. Meanwhile, Mercedes struggled with their car's design philosophy. Hamilton was regularly disqualified in Q2 and did not manage to win any races up until the 2024 season.

Mercedes did manage to improve massively over the course of the two seasons, but Lewis Hamilton signed with Ferrari for 2025. Ever since moving teams, he has been on a steeper decline, performance-wise. He hasn't managed to finish any better than P4 in any of the races so far; moreover, Ferrari isn't expected to improve anytime soon this season.

Hamilton did mention earlier that the team has shifted their focus on the 2026 car's design, which could prove out to be a much better challenger, however, it will largely depend on their competitors' performances.