Whatever you perceive F1 to be, whichever team you support, whoever your favourite driver is, one thing is for sure, the final race of 2021 in Abu Dhabi is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Liberty Media has transformed a once enjoyable spectator sport loved by millions, to a controversial, mismanaged farce.

When it was announced Liberty Media had agreed to acquire Formula One back in September 2016, there was a concern among purists that the American mass media conglomerate would alienate the fan base and destroy the sport in its attempt to maximize revenues.

Well, the purists, mentioned above, certainly got that right; viewing figures in America increased 36% in the 2019-2020 season alone. Of course, viewing figures are vitally important to ensure those in the Liberty Media hierarchy food chain get their end-of-year bonuses.

The introduction of sprint races was controversial, and increased the workload on pit crews, drivers, stewards and marshals, and even allowed the possibility that a driver securing pole position in qualifying could actually be starting at the back of the grid in the main race. Penalty decisions have not been consistent, with further increased controversy this year, as we all know. The bottom line is that this year’s championship wasn’t won by Max Verstappen, it was given to him on a silver platter; saying that, I take nothing away from his ability to be a world champion, he’s a very talented driver, but let’s be honest, the race win was taken away from Lewis Hamilton by unbelievable decisions, and those decisions land on Michael Masi’s desk.

To comment further on what happened in Abu Dhabi would be pointless because everybody is entitled to their own opinion. But, the bottom line is that the Formular 1 race held at Abu Dhabi on Sunday, December 12, 2021, will go down in history as the beginning of the end of Formular 1, as it has been loved by all those millions for the past 71 years.

Whether I’ll watch Formular 1 next year remains to be seen, but I’ll certainly not be rushing home to switch on the tv.

Best regards

Rantattack