The FIA World Motor Sports Council met before the start of the first Formula 1 race of the year 2022, and discussed the results of the investigation for the end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen was proclaimed champion of the world to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton with a controversial restart after the safety car.
The British driver previously said he hoped the governing body would release the report in full so fans could understand what happened after race director Michael Masi misapplied two articles of regulation.
Hamilton said ahead of his first podium finish of the year at Sakhir that he expected the FIA to publish the full report, also revealing that he had had a meeting with FIA President Ben Sulayem on Thursday in Bahrain: “I think it’s important as a sport that we are transparent,” said the Mercedes driver. “I had a good meeting with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem], and he agreed that this is the direction we need to take as a category.”
“I’m looking forward to it coming out and letting people know that this sport is transparent, that we are learning from what has happened in the past, and that we will make improvements in the future,” continued Hamilton.
The FIA announced last February that it would make a number of planned changes to its F1 operations, including the appointment of two rotating race directors – Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas – as replacements for Michael Masi, as well as the introduction of a new virtual race control room, similar to that of VAR in football.
Hamilton said he had not yet met Wittich , who will be race director at Bahrain, as “everything has been very smooth”, and he had no further information on the virtual race control system.
The seven-time champion added that he expected to receive a fine from the FIA for not having attended last year’s end-of-season gala, but that “they would work together so that the money goes to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter motorsport engineering. “.
Pilot opinion has been divided on the ongoing investigation. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen felt there was no need to publish the full report, and was supported by Fernando Alonso.
However, George Russell, Hamilton’s team-mate at Mercedes, believes it is “very important” that the findings be released “as soon as possible”.
“The events that took place in Abu Dhabi did not live up to what we all expected, all the F1 fans, the drivers, the teams,” said the Briton.
“Clarity is needed, and it is important that, even if the issue is past and that we have to move forward, it is not swept under the rug, so we have to see the result,” he said.
