Structural changes and an “action plan” will be implemented by the FIA following its review of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but details will not be revealed until later this week.
Race director Michael Masi’s handling of a late safety car period in Abu Dhabi influenced the outcome of the race and the world championship.
While his actions were justified by the FIA stewards following a protest by Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team, the furore afterwards and in the following days prompted the governing body to pledge a full review into the process that triggered a one-lap restart and allowed Max Verstappen to win the race and title instead of Hamilton.
In addition, new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem 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, was expected to be presented to the F1 teams at a meeting of the F1 Commission on Monday.
Instead, while Ben Sulayem is said to have led “detailed discussions” of what happened in Abu Dhabi, no proposals appear to have been tabled, let alone announced afterwards.
The FIA says that what was discussed is going to be incorporated into the new president’s “analysis” and that he himself will “publicly present news of structural changes and action plan in the coming days”.
One of the key questions is over Masi’s future as many in F1 have been left feeling that his position is now untenable.
However, the FIA’s reforms are expected to go beyond whether it installs a new race director. That position is likely to operate in a different structure, with other responsibilities such as those of the safety delegate – which was also Masi – separated, to give the race director a clearer focus.
In addition, there will likely be a barrier between the race director and team personnel over the radio, to prevent a repeat of the direct exchanges last year between Masi and the likes of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff.
Only team managers will be able to speak to race control to obtain key information, and these messages will be vetted before the race director is involved.
A remote centre in Geneva to assist officials working on-site has also been suggested.
