Peter Bayer, senior official of the FIA, dropped the bomb: Formula 1 race director Michael Masi could be replaced, while expressing his support for the Australian.
Masi’s position in the FIA was in question after the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix final, when drivers between race leaders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen overtook the Safety Car deployed after Nicholas Latifi’s crash. Later, we recall, Verstappen used his cooler tires to win the race and, consequently, the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship.
The FIA has opened an investigation into what happened in that race and this is still ongoing. Among the options under discussion are: reducing the referee’s workload, which built up when the late Charlie Whiting had taken on multiple roles, and having more than one referee, spinning them over the course of the season.
There are also plans underway to provide additional remote aid to match marshals. This would be a very similar method to that already used by the teams, which use engineering systems and support structures active directly from their respective factories.
Bayer, who was the FIA’s general secretary for sport, has taken on an additional role, that of executive director of the single-seater department. A change agreed before the controversial Abu Dhabi race and therefore closely involved in what happened in the season finale.
“He did a super job,” Bayer told reporter Gerhard Kuntschik when asked about Masi. “We told them, but there is also the possibility that there is a new race director. I can only make suggestions to the World Council, and they will certainly include him.”
Bayer also gave an insight into how Masi, who did not speak to the media after the Abu Dhabi race, dealt with the criticism he received.
“He has developed a relatively thick skin against the attacks received by individual teams. When you work at the FIA, you have to be aware that you are working for the sports police.”
“The policeman is rarely nice, as in everyday life. What has become unbearable are the reactions on social media. Nobody stops at nothing, as you have seen with the death threats received by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi.”
“Michael Masi doesn’t have a social media account, but the hostility in other channels hit him a lot. I assured Michael of the federation’s support in our discussions and let him know that we want to continue working with him. But I need also of its understanding, because we have to address the issue “.
Bayer then said that there will be a breakdown of the work that Masi has. So there will be other figures who will have to help the race director: “There will be a division of tasks that has the race director, who is also sporting and safety director and delegate on the track”.
Bayer also confirmed that, as expected, team bosses will no longer be allowed to speak to the race director via radio during events. This option will be reserved – as in the past – to team managers and sporting directors. “Team bosses will no longer be able to intervene on our channels. Team managers will be able to do so, because they need to be able to ask questions.”
“We want to build a bearing, with a staff member who will take these requests. In the future, the race director will be able to concentrate on his task and will no longer be distracted.”
In terms of the new race procedures, Bayer added that there is still the intention not to finish the races under the Safety Car regime: “We asked the teams if their willingness not to finish the races under the Safety Car regime is still relevant and all answered in the affirmative “.
The FIA has also scheduled a virtual meeting for February 3, but the agenda will not cover Formula 1 matters. So there has been no change related to the previously announced timeline for investigating the Abu Dhabi events. and the implementation of any new measures that could be a consequence.
Extraordinary World Council in February: no decisions on Abu Dhabi
The World Motorsport Council usually meets 4 times a year, but the extra virtual event has been added to the program as a direct result of the changes following the election of the new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, which took place last December. .
The FIA said the meeting will be a meeting aimed at appointing members of the Senate, following the transition of the FIA from former president Jean Todt to the new administration.
Key members of Ben Sulayem’s team, such as his deputy and vice presidents for sport and mobility, were confirmed at another extraordinary meeting that followed the last major meeting of the World Motorsport Council in December.
Potential changes to the regulations were discussed at a team sports directors’ meeting on January 19, but the full result is not expected to be delivered until the next World Council meeting, scheduled for March 19.
This timing has caused a stir as the meeting will take place over the weekend of the first grand prix of the new F1 season, which will be held in Sakhir, Bahrain.
A question mark remains about the future of Lewis Hamilton, who has not yet said anything in public since he lost the Drivers’ World Championship in 2021 on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix even though, according to Motorsport.com sources, the driver Briton intends to race again in 2022 to assault the eighth title of his career.
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