Right now, for those seeking validation for Max Verstappen's 2021 driver's title, the honestly truth is that there isn't. Especially when the FIA came clean about the irregularities on the condition on how Verstappen won.
He isn't close to Hamilton yet. With a single title, he is more on the level of Rosberg, Button, etc. One hit wonder. He can only be in the conversation if he win again this year fair and square and be a 2 time champion to climb above Rosberg, Button & Co.
Is he better than Hamilton skill wise last year? Perhaps. Same can be said of Russell compared to Hamilton. Difference being Verstappen was in the fastest car last year and Russell in the slowest. Is Leclerc and Norris in the mix? Most definitely. Those 4 are the most skilled on the grid. At 36 Hamilton isn't the best on the grid anymore last year.
Verstappen already got his first, so he is a leg up on the competition. The focus right now is whether Verstappen can earn his second fair and square or will Leclerc claim his first to tie Verstappen, without the asterisk.
The asterisk isn't fair to Verstappen, but it is what it is. He performed well enough last year to be worthy of the title, leading the most laps and also winning the most races, yet by the same token, Hamilton equally performed well enough to be crowned champion also if not for some questionable decisions. There is no winner for last year's championship. Both are losers, because of the circumstances. Was the FIA biased for one or the other? No. it was simply decided by a mistaken decision. On a binary event, there can only be one winner.
Maybe some diehard Max fans will disagreed with my assessment, that's ok. If they just take a step back a step or two and see the biggest picture, then it's all clear. Literally this isn't a Max vs Lewis thing. It's just a rule book decision. The FIA's own rule book.
The stewards had been consistent in penalizing the inside car at a corner last year, see Austria. So in Silverstone they were correct in giving Hamilton a 10 second penalty, consistent with every other decision they made up to that point. The rulebook never take into account how serious an accident could be, hence it was a waste effort by Horner to mention repeatedly a 51g impact or whatever. The Stewards only deviate from that inside car ruling at Brazil when they let Max off. In Hungary, it wasn't Hamilton that crashed into the pile, it was Bottas. How would Bottas know if he hit car A, then A would crashed into B then C and pinball onto car D? Wishful thinking. When Max crashed out Hamilton at Monza, stewards are again consistent in penalizing the inside car, difference being Max wasn't able to continue in the race so the penalty became a grid drop for the next race. which is a smaller penalty than it can be as 3 place grid drop doesn't even cover a 10 second penalty. More like 3/10th, or 2 seconds max. Abu Dhabi, did Hamilton gained an advantage cutting the corner? He did. But he let up enough for the rest of the lap to negate the advantage taken when the stewards saw the onboard data about the incident, hence no penalty accessed. If only people properly read the rule book instead of blindly listening to Horner or Wolff. Neither is a saint to put it mildly.
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