A couple of days on, I think it depends on the person and personality on whether they liked what happened. I'll sort of put together the pros and cons on each side to try to summarise it all.
It also depends on which camp you're in (Team Dutchie or Team Met Gala).
Way I see it, the big pro is that the season ended on track and there was a spectacle and the con was that to create that spectacle Michael Masi, from most people's reading broke the rules. One tthing I'm unsure of is whether the cars that went to unlap made it to the back of the train in time as I think that's a requirement too?
The things that make Masi look horrible IMO are the comments:
- "We only need one racing lap" by Horner followed by Masi flip flopping on the lapped cars and pulling in the safety car
- "We're here to car race" by Masi because it basically meant that in the end, the rules didn't matter
Which side do I sit on? I prefer to the rules being followed. It basically leaves no doubt. No doubt people will forget (especially if Max wins a few more titles) but if it somehow ends up being the only one he wins, people will likely consider it tainted (or in the parlance these days, "asterisked"). Unfortunately they'll always be doubt now. Mind you the rules being followed doesn't mean there won't be salt thrown about. As a kiwi, even though it was within the rules, the Greg Chappell telling Trevor to bowl underarm will still rankle even though the odds of the Kiwis TYING the game was remote.
From a opinion on who deserves the title, I feel that Lewis did more, one his own albeit with better machinery. The last race showed that Bottas was a absolute road cone whereas if called upon, Perez could be relied upon to at least put up some resistance.
The both got lucky through the year, who got luckier? IMO Max by a long shot.... Yes, Lewis was allowed to unlap himself at Imola and Max at Baku.... but you know what, tyres blow out all the time, he could've pitted and changed. The one that stands head and shoulders above them all (and again it's probably a Masi thing) is the farce that was Spa. If that was a no race, the points table would've looked different going into Yas Marina. A no result at Spa changes everything for good and bad, because we'll never know as the drivers would've driven differently. Lewis also had the sprint race at the back of the grid penalty for Brazil which took him out of the running for up to 3 points (who'd have though the sprint races would actually make a difference?) but hey, rules are rules and his wing was off to the back of the grid he went.
The one thing that grates me is that Max drove like a maniac the whole year. Just dive bombing and those that've followed my posts has relied on people to get out of his way lest they get into a crash. It's his gimmick and he's ridden it to a championship. Lewis probably should've fought more, earlier in the season but again, like I've said before, he probably thought Max would Max himself and just DNF. Full credit to Max for in general, managing to keep it together. Of the wheel to wheels they had, I still don't feel Lewis did anything wrong in Silverstone, some possible understeer but it definitely felt more like a racing incident compared to the stunts Max pulled at Saudi Arabia. The best drives for both IMO.... Lewis in Brazil in the races and Max in USA.
FWIW, I think that Lewis is a twat too. Just not a reckless one. I did ask before why couldn't one of the frontrunners be Danny Ric, Lando or George cos at least they seem likeable (probably why they're not contenders too, tbh)