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Today the FIA will present the results of its inquiry into Formula 1’s controversial Abu Dhabi 2021 season finale and the handling of the safety car period that altered the outcome of the race and the world championship.
The review was announced a few days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix amid the swell of criticism and close scrutiny of race director Michael Masi’s actions.
Now, two full months later, the governing body is set to reveal its findings and proposals for how F1’s officiating processes will change, at an F1 Commission meeting on Monday.
What has been reviewed?
The race in Abu Dhabi appeared to be heading for a finish behind the safety car, which would have left long-time race leader Lewis Hamilton the winner of the grand prix and the championship.
That famously didn’t happen, and the point of the FIA review has been to examine exactly why that was the case and the decision-making processes behind it.
Masi opted to facilitate a one-lap sprint at the end of the race. To do that he only allowed the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves before the race restart and not the other three lapped cars of Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher, having previously indicated that none of the lapped cars would be allowed through at all – which would have put a buffer between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Crucially, he also ignored the rule that states the safety car must come into the pits at the end of the following lap.
This gave Verstappen a chance to attack long-time race leader Lewis Hamilton with a tyre advantage, win the race and the title.
Masi was supported by the FIA stewards in Abu Dhabi when Mercedes protested the results, with the justification that the race director “overriding authority” on the use of the safety car.
His decisions over how to handle the late safety car period came amid intense lobbying from Red Bull, with radio messages from team principal Christian Horner and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley urging Masi to take the steps that he eventually followed.
The phrasing in one of Wheatley’s messages was subsequently repeated by Masi in response to a radio message from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
So in short, the FIA’s review should clarify whether the rules were interpreted and applied correctly by Masi, establish the influence Red Bull’s radio messages had on the outcome, and ultimately determine whether or not Masi and the existing officiating structure are up to the task in F1.
Linked to that is the fact new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has also asked secretary general for sport Peter Bayer, the new head of single-seater matters for the FIA, for proposals to “review and optimise the organisation of the FIA F1 structure” for 2022.
This, along with any relevant recommended procedural changes, should be presented to the F1 teams on Monday and this afternoon, there’s also expected to be some public confirmation of what’s discussed after the meeting has ended.
Will Masi be kept on?
Last month, the FIA publicly admitted for the first time that Masi could be replaced, and it was already suggested that the race director role would be reimagined.
Bayer said in a surprise interview last month that Masi had done “a super job in many ways” and that the FIA “don’t want to lose him” but admitted, “there is a possibility that there could be a new race director”.
In recent days various F1 drivers have voiced their support for Masi but it is difficult to know what this means. It could mean they are vouching for him to stay as race director with shared responsibilities, that they want him to remain part of the structure in some way – or even that they expect him to be removed and that polite comments are an easy short-term move.
The likeliest outcome for Masi remaining involved is if the race director’s responsibilities are indeed split and the F1 teams approve his continuation with greater support – or if Masi vacates the race director role and takes one of the newly devoted positions, such as safety delegate.
What else could change?
There will likely be plenty of regulatory and procedural amendments as a result of the FIA’s review.
It will surely cement a planned move to stop senior team figures from being able to speak to the race director during grands prix, as happened in Abu Dhabi at a crunch moment.
And it could establish the need to formalise how to ensure a green flag finish, such as incorporating a provision such as ‘in case of a safety car incident in the last X% of the race, a red flag and restart is required’ into the rulebook.
One part of the review that was meant to be an important factor was a consultation with all the drivers, although it is unclear if all 20 have indeed been consulted as those that have commented in recent days have done so vaguely.
However, there was unanimity across the grid in 2021 that the officiating did need to improve – which could mean changes to the stewarding process (with talk of a remote stewarding set-up to support those at the track) and potentially things like the licence penalty point system (which has descended into drivers picking up points for minor offences).
Is Hamilton’s future resolved?
Part of the fallout from Abu Dhabi has been the open question over Hamilton’s F1 future.
His re-emergence into the public eye, return to training and the Mercedes factory – not to mention the fact Mercedes has confirmed Hamilton will be part of the W13’s launch next week – are all obvious indicators that Hamilton is indeed racing again this season.
However, this may not quite be a foregone conclusion. It stands to reason that Hamilton would need to prepare for the season as normal so that if the FIA’s inquiry has a satisfactory resolution, he is ready for the new campaign.
That leaves the door open for Hamilton to walk away still. Although whether he would do that on the eve of the season, leaving Mercedes in need of a late replacement, seems unlikely.
What’s at stake here?
In short, the FIA’s integrity and the confidence that F1’s officiating set-up is robust and fair.
Whatever is presented to the F1 Commission will need to be approved and then rubber-stamped next month by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on March 18.
That suggests the situation will not be entirely resolved until the eve of the 2022 season in Bahrain, but F1’s key figures should know today whether or not the right moves are being made to finally draw a line under the saga.
And if the FIA follows its recent trend, there should be a public update of some kind as well, which would help the transparency that F1’s rulemakers sorely need to improve.
“It’s clear what happened in Abu Dhabi was very controversial,” says McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl. “It was not good for the sport.
“Hopefully, we can close this topic with a good analysis from the FIA, with some good steps of how we can improve for the future.”
