Over the past few weeks, the FIA has been accused of being biased towards McLaren. The Sprint Race in Brazil was another example of the FIA allegedly being biased towards the Papaya team. The event saw McLaren take a 1-2 finish with Norris on top while Verstappen finished 3rd. After the race, Liam Lawson called out the FIA for their suspicious actions.
The Sprint Race in Brazil was all about the top 4. Right from the start, the McLarens, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were all very close to each other, leaving fans at the edge of their seats.
Towards the end of the race, Hulkenberg suffered an engine failure and had to stop right beside the track. At the time, the FIA just waved the yellow flag in that sector. But after a while, the VSC was deployed. The timing of the entire thing was very suspicious.
Liam Lawson calls out FIA for delayed VSC deployment
When Nico Hulkenberg stopped, it was in a very dangerous position as it was very close to the track. Ideally, a VSC or a safety car should have been deployed immediately to neutralize the race and give the Stewards time to clear the Haas.
LANDO NORRIS WINS THE SPRINT RACE IN INTERLAGOS!
Piastri finishes in Second, and Verstappen in third.
Verstappen’s Championship lead narrows down to just 45 points. #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/fYuS3iD6wK
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) November 2, 2024
However, only yellow flags were waved in sector two for a very long time. It was only a lap later a VSC was deployed. But why did the FIA wait so long to deploy the VSC? During the race, Liam Lawson came on the radio to say:
“Mate, the timing of all of that is unbelievable. I don’t even have words for what I’ve just watched.”
Lawson is left speechless by the timing of the VSC. But why?
Just seconds before the VSC was deployed, the McLaren swapped positions. It seemed as though the FIA waited for the McLarens to swap positions before deploying the VSC. If this is true, it would be very damaging for the FIA.
Given that Lando Norris is the one in the Championship fight against Verstappen, the team will obviously want Norris in front of Oscar. This is why the team wanted to switch positions before the VSC was deployed.
Lando Norris post-race:
“Not proud of it, but we worked well together as a team, but that’s why I thanked Oscar.
“Oscar deserved it, but we are doing what we have to do.”#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/eXIIhcaGgZ
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) November 2, 2024
Given that the incident with Hulkenberg occurred very late in the race, there was a chance of the race not resuming if a safety car or VSC was deployed. So if Oscar was ahead, Norris would not have had the opportunity to get past. This is why it was crucial for the McLarens to swap positions before the VSC was deployed.
Do you think the FIA purposefully delayed the VSC to allow McLaren to swap positions? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
