They sort of gave the race to Verstappen, on the other hand, he did have a better season and probably should be champion. From an email from me to Linda Melton.

Max Verstappen is the new Formula One Champion after winning the last race, on the last lap, in Abu Dhabi. Without going into the gritty details, Michael Masi, the FIA Formula One Race Director, let five cars that were between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but were one lap down and would hold Verstappen up, get out of the way so that Verstappen on new, soft tires, could have a free shot at Hamilton on old, hard, tires. It was a one-off decision, similar to the Supreme Court ruling that Bush the Younger had won Florida in 2000, and Mercedes is appealing to the FIA – Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile – International Court of Appeal.

I think it was a bad decision on the Race Director’s part and a controversial way to end a race but it would be even more controversial if the Championship changed on a court ruling so I’m in favor of just getting on with it. When things like this happen, I’m always in favor of just getting on with it. It makes me realize that I’m not anywhere as competitive as somebody like Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Team Principal. On the other hand, the rumor is that Hamilton, to no avail, has asked the team to drop the appeal and he is super competitive.

While Mercedes is appealing, the earth continues to spin on its axis, every day becoming a less hospitable place to live. A major tornado plowed through Kentucky killing scores of people and leaving more than 1,000 families homeless- a “once in a lifetime event” that will probably happen again, sooner rather than later- a major ice-sheet in Antarctica is breaking up unexpectedly quickly threatening to raise sea level sooner than predicted, the temperature topped out at 127.9°F in Kuwait last year, a new but not welcome, record – it is 68°F today, BTW – two major hurricanes slammed into Honduras killing a hundred people, to scratch the surface; It all makes thinking about who won an auto race seem pretty trivial.

As the Earth heats, our country’s political life goes on: among other things, the House Committee investigating January 6th is releasing information that indicates the White House and several members of Congress knew about and participated in the Insurrection, Covid deaths in the U.S. have passed 800,000 and a new variety is scaring almost everybody else, Derek Chauvin has pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil rights during a Federal hearing, and over at Fox News, they are complaining that a mural that shows black revolutionaries is in the background of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief of Police. The strife and controversy over who won the Championship seem petty. But Next Year! Next year, Hamilton will win.