In the future there must be clarity – David Coulthard talks to BBC Breakfast about the finale of the F1 season
The Formula 1 umbrella organization FIA is under intense observation after the controversial end of the 2021 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Dealing with the sports rules during the safety car phase, which ultimately decided the driver’s title in favor of Max Verstappen, focused on a deeper dissatisfaction that was already lurking beneath the surface of the sport.
F1 teams and drivers were dismayed by what happened at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after a season where many complained about the consistency of the FIA’s decision-making.
Many believed the rules were not being followed correctly at Yas Marina, and now a number of F1 insiders believe that changes need to be made at the FIA.
The subject is controversial, so senior figures were unwilling to speak to the records immediately after the race.
But some have told BBC Sport that at least half of the F1 teams have lost confidence in Race Director Michael Masi and that many of the drivers have concerns as well.
Why was Abu Dhabi so controversial?
Masi is at the center of the controversy because, as Race Director, he was the man who made the decisions at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and has been embroiled in other contentious moments over the past year.
The main concern is whether Masi correctly followed the FIA rules when operating the safety car and restarting the race for one final shootout lap.
The concern focuses on two areas:
- His decision to only let some of the lapped cars overtake – the five between Hamilton and Verstappen – and not the others, for example the two between Verstappen and third-placed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
- Time of the end of the safety car phase.
Both the questions and the decision of the commissioners to reject the protest by Mercedes against Masi’s decisions, are covered in detail in this article.
The main concern, however, is that controversial decisions, many of which contradict FIA rules, had a direct impact on the outcome of the championship.
Aside from Mercedes’s appeals process, it is important to note that none of these broader questions within Formula 1 should be understood to include the specifics of who should and should not become world champions. You want fair and equitable competition.
The fight for the title lasted until the last lap of the last race of the season
Are there any problems with the stewards’ decision?
In the context of a year when rule consistency was a hot topic, Masi’s operational calls in Abu Dhabi and the stewards’ decision to defend them raise further questions.
In 2020 there was a safety car phase at the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Both Hamilton and Verstappen complained that it had taken unnecessarily long.
Masi was asked about this after the race. He said: “The sporting regulations stipulate that all lapped cars must be waved past.”
So in the last year he seems to have changed his mind about the meaning of the rule in question – he had one approach last year regarding lapped cars in Germany and another in Abu Dhabi.
Michael Masi has been Formula 1 racing director for two seasons
What other problems did you have?
The entire season was littered with questions about the consistency of punishment and decision-making, much of which revolved around Verstappen.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix in November, Verstappen was not penalized for knocking Hamilton off the track when the Brit tried to overtake him in the lead.
This decision caused consternation among many drivers, who said the change should have earned him a penalty.
Ros Atkins on … the Formula 1 drama of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was punished in a similar situation in a fight with Red Bulls Sergio Perez in Austria earlier this year, was among them, as were Sainz and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
At the subsequent race in Qatar, all drivers discussed with Masi and the stewards to work out a definition of what is allowed in wheel-to-wheel racing. After the meeting, a number came up that said the situation was still not clear. They were told that it was not allowed to force a driver off the track, but that at each race the matter would be at the discretion of the Stewards.
In the following race in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen pulled an almost identical move on Hamilton – and received a five-second penalty. No wonder then that he went into the last race of the season and complained about inconsistency and said he was treated differently from other drivers: “I just ask that it’s fair for everyone. That’s not the case.”
Regardless of the debate about Verstappen’s aggressive driving, and whether or not he was right about the specific incidents he was referring to, his underlying argument reflected the concerns of many drivers.
Masi’s future and deeper problems
The problem for the FIA, insiders say, is that Abu Dhabi was so brightly in the limelight in the context of the thrilling title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen that F1’s reputation as a responsibly and effectively governed sport is at stake.
And that has a potential impact not only on the FIA’s image, but also on the bottom line for owner Liberty Media. A person involved in F1’s financial side pointed out that while some investors will be drawn to the tremendous global impact of F1 over the past week, others will wonder if such a sports run is a sensible place to see them Investing money.
One look at the eruption on this topic on social media is enough to see that, among other things, it was asked whether the decisions were made specifically with the aspect of entertainment in mind.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff with Red Bull boss Christian Horner
That impression was hardly diminished when Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted that the F1 bosses had discussed making sure that races do not end in safety car conditions because this is an anti-climax.
With that in mind, right or wrong, there is the impression of blurred boundaries between the sport’s legislative arm, the FIA, and the commercial, F1 – two bodies that must be independent under an agreement with the European Commission more than 20 years ago Years.
This question arose after the controversy surrounding this year’s Belgian Grand Prix, when the race, after hours of delay due to the weather, ran just two laps behind the safety car before it was canceled and half points were awarded.
Had Abu Dhabi been the first controversial decision of Masi’s term in office, it would have been regrettable, but it would hardly have raised so many questions about his position.
But, related to so many over the past two years, some privately say that they believe Masi may struggle to survive the aftermath of Abu Dhabi.
Is it all Masi’s fault?
If he leaves, some will certainly not mourn him. Others, however, regret the situation, saying that Masi tries to do his best in a difficult job under extremely demanding circumstances and that the lack of structure around him does not help.
Some say he is isolated in race control and that there is no adequate support.
Others claim that he is too easy for the team bosses to reach on the radio, which led to some conversations between him and Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff and Horner in Abu Dhabi when the leaders of the two title-fighting teams tried to improve their positions.
The broadcast of these conversations – a recent phenomenon – has raised further questions as to whether Masi’s decisions are inappropriately influenced by teams.
And the teams point out other ways that they think the FIA’s response to contentious issues could have been more satisfactory.
One example was the series on flexible rear wings in the first half of the season, a technical problem and thus the responsibility of the FIA chief for single-seater matters, Nikolas Tombazis, not Masi.
Red Bull and several other teams had designs that leaned backwards on the straights at a certain speed to reduce drag – they became known as “limbo wings”.
This is clearly not allowed by a rule prohibiting movable aerodynamic devices, but the wings concerned have passed all relevant stress tests.
Eventually the FIA introduced new, more stringent tests – but gave the teams a series of races to give them time to change their designs. This was much to the frustration of the teams that highlighted the problem, including Mercedes. Not only did they feel that action should have been taken much sooner, but that resolving the problem shouldn’t have to be delayed that long.
What is the FIA doing about it?
It seems that the FIA had already realized that some issues needed to be addressed.
This week, BBC Sport announced, the organization will announce the appointment of Peter Bayer, its General Secretary for Motorsports, to the newly created post of Executive Director of F1. Among other things, he will look after Masi, Tombazis and the technical manager Jo Bauer.
This is, in a way, a reconstitution of the role of the late Charlie Whiting, the FIA’s highly regarded former director of the FIA, who died on the eve of the 2019 season – and who said the sport was missing in Saudi Arabia.
Being race director was part of Whiting’s responsibility, and as a result, people have mistakenly assumed that Masi was his replacement. He is not. Masi was only appointed to perform part of Whiting’s duties. The rest of Whiting’s job – keeping the FIA running F1 – had not been replaced as of now.
The FIA was unwilling to comment on whether it was conducting an internal investigation into the Abu Dhabi controversy or whether the Formula 1 operation or the rules themselves were fit for purpose this year.
However, a spokesperson pointed out that it doesn’t exist to please F1 teams and that any decision it makes in the sport is likely to displease someone.
“Our role is to respect the rules and be impartial, fair and transparent,” he said.
The F1 teams agree on that. But not necessarily whether the FIA was successful.
An upcoming election
All of this forms the backdrop for the election of a new FIA President on Friday, following the organisation’s annual awards ceremony on Thursday.
The candidates are the Englishman Graham Stoker and the Emirati Mohammed bin Sulayem. They have spent the last few months drummed up support from member clubs around the world and the elections are said to be too short to call them.
The FIA is responsible for much more than motorsport – as the current President Jean Todt and his predecessor Max Mosley have proven by trying, with great success and great success, to improve road safety around the world.
But F1 is the flagship of the FIA. So whoever wins the election will have these topics at the top of their inbox.
