FIA Thread

[AeroDynamic]

Formula 1's governing body failed to make any proposals following its inquiry into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a high-level meeting on Monday.

Formula 1's governing body failed to make any proposals following its inquiry into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a high-level meeting on Monday.

Instead, the F1 Commission of teams, F1 and the FIA was told that analysis into the controversial events at last year's title-deciding race was still ongoing.

The meeting was told that there may be an announcement on changes to race management later this week.

However, there was agreement for F1 to hold three 'sprint' events this season.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first Formula 1 title, having overtaken the Briton on the final lap.

Mercedes' Hamilton had appeared in control of the race and on course for the title himself until a late safety car.

The race was restarted with one lap to go, with Red Bull's Verstappen on fresh tyres and Hamilton on old ones - and the Dutchman swept by to win.

A statement from the FIA said that its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had "led detailed discussions" on the Abu Dhabi race at Monday's meeting.

"Feedback from the Commission on matters raised will be incorporated into the president's analysis and he will publicly present news of structural changes and an action plan in the coming days," it added.

When the FIA announced its inquiry into the Abu Dhabi race last December, it said it would present its findings to the F1 Commission in February.

But at Monday's meeting, F1 bosses were told by Sulayem and Peter Bayer, the FIA executive director of single-seaters, that the inquiry was not yet concluded.

It means that the crisis that has engulfed F1 since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - when race director Michael Masi applied the rules incorrectly during a safety period in an attempt to ensure the race did not end under caution - is still very much alive.

Masi's improvisations with the rules on two different fronts - the timing of the restart and and on dealing with lapped cars - directly influenced the outcome of the world championship.

The crisis was not about who was champion - had Masi operated the rules correctly, there were still a series of circumstances under which Verstappen might have passed Hamilton - but about the fairness and integrity of competition.

Hamilton was devastated by events and lost faith in the FIA as a result. It emerged last month that he would not decide whether to return to F1 this season until after he had seen the results of the FIA inquiry.

Masi was at the F1 Commission meeting, BBC Sport understands.

Many insiders believe his position is untenable amid the expected reorganisation of race control that will inevitably arise from the inquiry.

The failure to announce concrete decisions as to how to deal with the issues raised by Abu Dhabi left a number of figures at the meeting frustrated.

Two months have passed since the Abu Dhabi race and some senior figures cannot understand why the FIA has been unable to come up with concrete proposals as to what needs to change in that time, BBC Sport understands.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60379723

[nzjrs]

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/02 ... on-meets-2

Nice report from the sensible and un-biased Joe Saward.

It remains to be seen what this means, but it is not thought likely that the federation will axe Race Director Michael Masi, as this would obviously be a sign of the FIA kowtowing to pressures from external forces, particularly as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi rejected the Mercedes-Benz appeal and by doing so supported Masi’s actions, whether it was popular or not. They are the official referees of the sport and thus the FIA wants them to be respected. To remove Masi would be unwise and would create unhelpful precedents for the sport. It is far more likely that the analysis will focus on the way that the Safety Car is used, as this was the fundamental reason that Lewis Hamilton lost the World Championship. Th Safety Car rules have never been fair but with new technology there is an opportunity to find new ways to bring races under caution without the leader losing the advantage that has been built up. There may also be a change to the pitlane rules so that a driver does not suffer based on where the car is when the race goes under yellow.

Everyone feels for Lewis and what happened but some of the crusaders who are trying to mount witch-hunts against Masi need to understand – as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi obviously did – that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with what the Race Director did, even if the result was patently unfair and Hamilton did not deserve to lose the race and thus the title.

This basically mirrors my position. I think MB overplayed their hand.

[Just_a_fan]

The Commission also looked at what happened in Belgium last year and proposed changes to the Sporting Regulations so that no points will be awarded unless a minimum of two laps have been completed by the leader, without a Safety Car and/or a Virtual Safety Car intervention.

If the leader has completed more than two laps but less than 25 percent of the scheduled race distance, the top five finishers will be awarded points on a scale of 6-4-3-2-1. If the leader completes more than 25 percent of the race distance but less than 50 percent there will be points for the top nine on a scale of 13-10–8–6–5–4-3-2-1 and if the race is more than 50 percent of the race distance but less than 75 percent the points will for the top 10 on a scale of 19-14-12-9-8-6-5-3-2-1.

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/02 ... n-meets-2/

This is good to see. The Spa fiasco was another farce in 2021.

[AeroDynamic]

The Commission also looked at what happened in Belgium last year and proposed changes to the Sporting Regulations so that no points will be awarded unless a minimum of two laps have been completed by the leader, without a Safety Car and/or a Virtual Safety Car intervention.

If the leader has completed more than two laps but less than 25 percent of the scheduled race distance, the top five finishers will be awarded points on a scale of 6-4-3-2-1. If the leader completes more than 25 percent of the race distance but less than 50 percent there will be points for the top nine on a scale of 13-10–8–6–5–4-3-2-1 and if the race is more than 50 percent of the race distance but less than 75 percent the points will for the top 10 on a scale of 19-14-12-9-8-6-5-3-2-1.

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/02 ... n-meets-2/

This is good to see. The Spa fiasco was another farce in 2021.

The fact that these changes have been needed, emphasise the failings of Masi rather than the rules for me.

The FIA is improving the rules to protect the integrity of the sport from its own employees.

It really puts a damper on the WDC last season. It is a bit of a Masi championship :/

[Just_a_fan]

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/02 ... on-meets-2

Nice report from the sensible and un-biased Joe Saward.

It remains to be seen what this means, but it is not thought likely that the federation will axe Race Director Michael Masi, as this would obviously be a sign of the FIA kowtowing to pressures from external forces, particularly as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi rejected the Mercedes-Benz appeal and by doing so supported Masi’s actions, whether it was popular or not. They are the official referees of the sport and thus the FIA wants them to be respected. To remove Masi would be unwise and would create unhelpful precedents for the sport. It is far more likely that the analysis will focus on the way that the Safety Car is used, as this was the fundamental reason that Lewis Hamilton lost the World Championship. Th Safety Car rules have never been fair but with new technology there is an opportunity to find new ways to bring races under caution without the leader losing the advantage that has been built up. There may also be a change to the pitlane rules so that a driver does not suffer based on where the car is when the race goes under yellow.

Everyone feels for Lewis and what happened but some of the crusaders who are trying to mount witch-hunts against Masi need to understand – as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi obviously did – that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with what the Race Director did, even if the result was patently unfair and Hamilton did not deserve to lose the race and thus the title.

This basically mirrors my position. I think MB overplayed their hand.

I think this is the bit that so many people disagree with the FIA and their stewards. What he did was fundamentally wrong because he basically consciously decided the outcome of the race and thus the title. That is not something that any sporting official should do. It's as bad as Balestre's actions helping Prost win the title in 1989 - something Blaestre at least eventually had the balls to admit to when he retired. Having said that, I don't think Masi was consciously favouring Max even if his decision to abandon precedent was a conscious one.

Anyway, it wouldn't surprise me to see the eventual outcome to be "nothing to see, carry on".

[AeroDynamic]

Sky Sports understands Masi is likely to be moved on, potentially for a new safety role within the FIA.

I can't tell if this is just their interpretation or if they are reporting on insider knowledge from within the meeting?
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433 ... al-changes

probably interpretation.

Edit*

No, Craig is referencing the interpretation of those inside the meeting today.




If Masi stays in a different role, I think that's the best compromise for the sport, as long a new acting race director is actually competent and self sufficient with the rules and managing external pressure. With the new rules around communication to the race control room between senior team personal and the FIA, the external pressure should be a lot less of a factor.

[JordanMugen]

What he did was fundamentally wrong because he basically consciously decided the outcome of the race and thus the title.

This is just patently false. All the race director did was let some lapped cars unlap. The overtake for the race win and the associated championship points happened on the circuit, as a typical car race as the Race Director himself noted.

Masi is a great race director who deserves full support.

[Just_a_fan]

What he did was fundamentally wrong because he basically consciously decided the outcome of the race and thus the title.

This is just patently false. All the race director did was let some lapped cars unlap. The overtake for the race win and the associated championship points happened on the circuit, as a typical car race as the Race Director himself noted.

Masi is a great race director who deserves full support.

Unlapping some of the cars was contrary to the rules. It was also contrary to the vey thing he had previously insisted absolutely must be done - all cars must be unlapped.

That isn't the actions of great race director at all. It's the actions of a man who isn't up to the job. He needs support, yes, but only find some worthwhile employment somewhere else - he'd be perfect for touring cars, for example.

[f1jcw]

What he did was fundamentally wrong because he basically consciously decided the outcome of the race and thus the title.

Masi is a great race director who deserves full support.

seriously

[JordanMugen]

Masi is a great race director who deserves full support.

seriously

Yes, of course.



Masi is very hands-on with track repairs, and is an all-round 'top bloke' as we say in Australia.

Unlapping some of the cars was contrary to the rules. It was also contrary to the vey thing he had previously insisted absolutely must be done - all cars must be unlapped.

That's a technicality at most, the important thing is that a racing finish was delivered between the top 2 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The notion Mercedes could've predicted no unlapping is dubious as there is no way they could have predicted the various atypical delays (ERS delay, fire extinguisher delay, crane delay) in recovering the Latifi car when deciding their race strategy.

he'd be perfect for touring cars, for example.

F1 on a pedestal above touring cars? Just wow...

[siskue2005]

What he did was fundamentally wrong because he basically consciously decided the outcome of the race and thus the title.

Masi is a great race director who deserves full support.

He is not, breaking the rules for entertainment purpose is not a sign of a great race director.

He is incompetent and can be easily bullied into doing someone else's bidding.

A race director is a prevelaged and entitled position, he is supposed to be nuetral and apply evey rule as its supposed to be. He cant change any for the sake of "show". Just like a doctor/police having patient/prisoners under them, who cannot do anything which harm any of them ans have to be neutral and treat eveyone equally.

If Masi cant do that then he is not good for the job.

Yes, of course.



Masi is very hands-on with track repairs, and is an all-round 'top bloke' as we say in Australia.

So? Whats the use if he is hands on or not, if he cant be impartial ?

Unlapping some of the cars was contrary to the rules. It was also contrary to the vey thing he had previously insisted absolutely must be done - all cars must be unlapped.

That's a technicality at most, the important thing is that a racing finish was delivered between the top 2 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Really?...No, thats the rule.... all cars unlap or no cars unlap.... and to pull in the sc the next lap.
His priority is to uphold the rules and imply it unbiased. His priorty is NOT to deliver a finish for the sake of show! this is not WWE ffs!

[Just_a_fan]

Unlapping some of the cars was contrary to the rules. It was also contrary to the vey thing he had previously insisted absolutely must be done - all cars must be unlapped.

That's a technicality at most, the important thing is that a racing finish was delivered between the top 2 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

F1 on a pedestal above touring cars? Just wow...

Not following the rules is "a technicality"?

As you say, just wow.

[Just_a_fan]

https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/static/img ... 001556.jpg

Masi is very hands-on with track repairs, and is an all-round 'top bloke' as we say in Australia.

Getting his hands dirty fixing barriers isn't his job. He's supposed to be managing the entire race. If he wants to know what repairs are veing done etc., then send someone to find out, supervise and report back.

I think this actually shows what is wrong with Masi, not what is right with him.

[SmallSoldier]

No points is a win from a sporting perspective, but no points isn’t the same as no race. Seems to me the fans will still be left out to dry with zero recourse/compensation if you’re unlucky enough to attend.

Well, if the weather doesn’t allow a race… There is nothing that FIA can do about it

[Ryar]

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/02 ... on-meets-2

Nice report from the sensible and un-biased Joe Saward.

It remains to be seen what this means, but it is not thought likely that the federation will axe Race Director Michael Masi, as this would obviously be a sign of the FIA kowtowing to pressures from external forces, particularly as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi rejected the Mercedes-Benz appeal and by doing so supported Masi’s actions, whether it was popular or not. They are the official referees of the sport and thus the FIA wants them to be respected. To remove Masi would be unwise and would create unhelpful precedents for the sport. It is far more likely that the analysis will focus on the way that the Safety Car is used, as this was the fundamental reason that Lewis Hamilton lost the World Championship. Th Safety Car rules have never been fair but with new technology there is an opportunity to find new ways to bring races under caution without the leader losing the advantage that has been built up. There may also be a change to the pitlane rules so that a driver does not suffer based on where the car is when the race goes under yellow.

Everyone feels for Lewis and what happened but some of the crusaders who are trying to mount witch-hunts against Masi need to understand – as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi obviously did – that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with what the Race Director did, even if the result was patently unfair and Hamilton did not deserve to lose the race and thus the title.

This basically mirrors my position. I think MB overplayed their hand.

Many people, including current and former drivers and TV pundits share the same opinion with regards to the decision making and willing to see Masi continue. It remains to be seen if FIA would get bullied or not by Toto (I doubt if the Daimler supports it so can't say Mercedes).