The FIA has released the report into the events of the Abu Dhabi GP. After several weeks of speculation we can finally look at exactly what has been uncovered, why did the end of the Abu Dhabi GP overshadow one of the most exciting Formula 1 seasons in decades.
WHAT HAS ALREADY CHANGED.
We knew almost as soon as it happened, things were going to change, the biggest change was the removal of Michael Masi as the Formula 1 race Director. This decision was inevitable, and not really a surprise.
Two experienced Race Directors are to take his place, Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will share duties with Herbie Blash as permanent Senior Advisor.
Other changes include the introduction of a VAR style system that will give the Race Director and Stewards real time support during the race.
Direct communication between teams and the Race Director will not be allowed. The FIA will implement a “go Between” that will speak on the behalf of the Race Director, they will decide if communication should be made with the Race director.
A slight but important change has been made within the sporting regulations, the change of the word “any” to “all” is a small but significant alteration to the Sporting Regulations. This is one if the main issues with the events of the Abu Dhabi GP.
THE REPORT AND FINDINGS
- The safety car procedure was a central topic of discussion during the detailed analysis and clarification exercise, stemming from the application of this procedure at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, pursuant to Articles 48.12 and 48.13 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
- The Race Director called the safety car back into the pit lane without it having completed an additional lap as required by the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations (Article 48.12).
- It was apparent from the analysis that there could be different interpretations of Article 48.12 and Article 48.13 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, and that this likely contributed to the applied procedure.
- It was also considered that the decisions regarding the Safety Car at the end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix likely took into account previous discussions that made clear the Formula 1 Stakeholders (FIA, Formula 1, Teams and Drivers) preference to end races under green flag racing conditions, rather than behind a safety car, when safe to do so.
The first notes made it clear what was found to be the issue with the implementation of the regulations.
It has also noted the error made by the Race Director, when the Safety Car was brought back into the pits before the additional lap completed. This was a clear breach of Article 48.12.
Interestingly, the report notes that “interpretation” of the rules could happen. Further to this it was noted that all stakeholders had agreed that races should not be completed under Safety Car conditions.
- In combination with the objective to finish under green flag racing conditions applied throughout the 2021 season, the report finds that the Race Director was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams.
This conclusion is important to note, In a way it confirms that Michael Masi did not deal with the pressure of the situation. With the pressure of completing the race under green flag, the pressure from the teams and the time constraints with making decisions at the time. This is important as it shows that the FIA did not protect the Race Director from undue pressure.
- The results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed. In accordance with the rules, Mercedes made a protest to the stewards after the race, seeking to change the race classification. The stewards dismissed the protest and Mercedes then had an opportunity to appeal that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, but did not do so. There are no other available mechanisms in the rules for amending the race classification.
Max Verstappen is the 2021 Formula 1 World Champion, this does NOT have an mark against it. Crucially this will NOT change.
- The process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error lead to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves. Due to the fact that manual interventions generally carry a higher risk of human error, software has been developed that will, from now on, automate the communication of the list of cars that must un-lap themselves. In addition, the 2022 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations have been recently updated to clarify that “all” and not “any” cars must be permitted to un-lap themselves.
Without admitting it the FIA has admitted that “human error” led to the how the race was finished. It does not name who made the “error”, however it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work it out.
Michael Masi made the wrong call. He applied the rules in a way that was not how the rules are to be applied. The FIA has moved to take out the ambiguity of the regulations and remove the undue pressure towards the Race Director.
- This process of identifying lapped cars has been reviewed as part of the recommendations previously announced by the FIA President in his statement of 17 February 2022, which also includes the creation of FIA Remote Operations Centre, the integration of a new and extended team to run trackside operations as well as a review of the interactions between teams and Race Control during track running.
As noted above the creation of further support in the form of FIA Remote Operations Centre, this will be an extended team to support the running of the race weekend.
CONCLUSIONS
The report doesn’t add to what is already known, it was clear that Michael Masi made the wrong decisions, this was done in an attempt to please everyone, however as he may well know now, if you bow to one person, you are showing your arse to someone else.
Time to draw a line under 2021 and look forward to 2022.
The full report can be found here: https://www.fia.com/2021-f1-abu-dhabi-grand-prix-report-world-motor-sport-council-19-march-2022