The FIA published on Saturday, qualifying day for the Bahrain Grand Prix, its report on the controversial end of last season, in which it explains the events that led to the resumption of the last lap in which Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton to win the championship.
The investigation cited “human error” by former race director Michael Masi, who failed to apply at least two articles of sporting regulations in the resumption of the race.
Masi was found to have acted in “good faith” in trying to get the race to a green-flag finish, and the report acknowledged the pressure he was under due to mounting duties for the race director.
Hamilton, disillusioned by his loss and the circumstances, kept quiet over the winter before returning for the new season, insisting on the need for transparency.
Following the publication of the report, Hamilton revealed that he had not yet read it carefully and that he did not expect to receive any form of apology as part of the conclusions, but was instead focused on improving Mercedes’ performance on track.
“I’ll read it maybe after the weekend or something like that,” Hamilton said in Bahrain. “Look, I wasn’t expecting an apology, and it’s not something I’m really focused on. We know it is, and it probably wasn’t going to happen.”
“The fact is that at least there is that transparency, admitting that it’s human error, I think that’s a positive step. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and change the past.”
“So I just work on focusing on doing what I can do now, and trying to shape the future, working with this team, trying to take this car forward. We’ve got a bit of work to do.”
In the weeks before the report was released, Hamilton called for it to be made public so that fans could fully understand what happened in Abu Dhabi.
The seven-time world champion had talks with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem two days before the findings were revealed, and had a “good meeting” in which he agreed to make a €50,000 charity donation, instead to pay a fine for not attending the FIA’s end-of-season gala.
The FIA has already implemented a number of changes in the wake of the Abu Dhabi controversy, including the introduction of two race directors who rotate through the role, as well as increased support through a deputy race director, a senior adviser and a new virtual race control room.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the FIA had taken “a big step forward from what we’ve seen before” with the publication of the report.
“Whether the report is complete or not, or weak or harsh, I think publishing it is a good step forward in terms of governance, and you can read it both ways,” Wolff said.
“I think for us there is the phrase or the words that say [that it was a] human error, and human error and the recognition of it is very important, and now we close the chapter.”
“I know it has gone out, but I have not thought about Abu Dhabi since our car has proven not to be competitive on the track for this year,” Wolff concluded.
