Formula One: Safety car rules tweaked by FIA in wake of controversial 2021 title decider

Method 1’s basic safety motor vehicle regulations have been altered to make it unattainable for a race to be performed in the manner of 2021’s controversial title decider.

Masi’s steps had a immediate outcome on the consequence of the earth championship.

Governing body the FIA has now built it clear “all” lapped automobiles will have to un-lap themselves just before a restart.

The modify replaces the phrasing in previous year’s guidelines, which said “any” lapped automobiles concerning the leaders should overtake and join the back of the subject before a restart following a safety motor vehicle.

Masi’s final decision to allow only the cars and trucks concerning race leader Lewis Hamilton and title rival Max Verstappen to un-lap ahead of a restart was at the coronary heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy.

It intended not all motorists in the discipline had been dealt with similarly – as lapped cars among Verstappen and 3rd-put Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, and other folks additional down the industry, had been still left in place.

McLaren’s Lando Norris stated the climax to the race experienced been “created for Television” and his group-mate Daniel Ricciardo extra: “I am happy I was not aspect of that.”

Hamilton experienced dominated the race and was on his way to an eighth globe title. But following the restart the Mercedes driver was remaining exposed on aged tyres and passed by Verstappen’s Crimson Bull, earning the Dutchman a maiden championship.

Verstappen’s Purple Bull team utilized this as an argument that Masi had not erred in his strategies and the end result need to stand. And the stewards also made use of it to retro-healthy a justification for Masi’s actions and maintain the outcome in place after Mercedes lodged an attractiveness soon after the race.

The second rule at the coronary heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy has been left unchanged.

This is the requirement the race ought to be restarted “at the finish of the following lap” following the information is relayed that lapped vehicles might now overtake.

Masi disregarded this rule and restarted the race at the close of the lap on which he had ordered only some lapped automobiles to move the leaders.

Experienced he adopted the principles as meant on this element, the race would not have restarted and Hamilton would have been globe winner.

The rule alterations are the most recent in a sequence of moves by the FIA that sum to an effective admission Masi created mistakes in his dealing with of the Abu Dhabi race.

The initial was the admission that the controversy was “tarnishing the picture” of F1 and the decision to launch an inquiry into what had happened.

Just after conducting the inquiry, Masi was eradicated as race director and replaced by two two new officers who will alternate in the role, Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich.

And the assist structure in race management was beefed up, like the institution of a department identical to football’s video clip assistant referee (VAR) and the return of F1 veteran Herbie Blash in an advisory purpose to the race administrators.

Blash, 73, was the ideal-hand guy of former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, whose dying on the eve of the 2019 season led to Masi remaining appointed race director.

A complete report into the activities of Abu Dhabi is envisioned to be published through this weekend’s period-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

It is broadly acknowledged in F1 that Masi did not stick to the rules correctly.

The closest there has been to an express admission of that point by the FIA has been an interview by executive director of single-seaters Peter Bayer.

He reported that, experienced Mercedes
pursued their attractiveness, it would possible have been decided that “it truly is diverse in the restrictions, he [Masi] made a decision that [other] way, so we could just void the final result“.

Experienced the race been declared void, Verstappen would still have been champion as he begun the event forward in the championship by virtue of benefits count back.