The investigation into last year ‘s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy has come to an end and the FIA has promised to reveal its findings and an action plan to be announced imminently.
As tempers in the crowd are still high from last season’s final race, when race director Michael Masi used the rules to create a one-lap battle after a safety car period, the outcome of the investigation from the FIA is seen as critical to repairing the damage done to both the organization and F1.
Details of what the FIA is planning were not disclosed to teams at Monday ‘s F1 Commission meeting in London but it was because Ben Sulayem wanted more feedback before committing to changes.
What’s more, it’s taken for granted that if the FIA is determined to change Masi’s role or sideline him, then it might not have been a good time to announce it during a meeting where the Australian was supposed to be present.
Speaking to Sky F1 , Ben Sulayem expressed that he hopes the actions taken by the FIA will be strong and ensure that the series can start the season in a better situation.
“We agreed on some things, and the analysis is still going on, but it will be out soon,” he said of the Abu Dhabi investigation. “There was a good conversation… and the information will be made public.”
“But certainly, as we have said, the integrity of the FIA will always remain intact. I have been elected for that, but also to have a fair motor sport: that is my obligation. Yes, it was a great meeting.”
“We dealt with a lot of important things for the season, so I look forward to a good F1 year. We can only go forward. This is important for the FIA, for the integrity of the FIA and for the championship. In the future, we can only get better.” .”
It is seen as possible that the FIA will announce a new race management structure in an effort to help manage the stress and pressures on the new director.
Within F1, everyone admitted that Masi had too much to do and was sometimes too overwhelmed by external pressure from teams at critical moments to carry out his duties effectively.
The FIA may choose to revamp the structure so that the race director has more support and staff around him, likely dividing Masi’s former duties between several people.
If Masi does not continue as race director, WEC race director Eduardo Freitas and former DTM race director Niels Wittich look like the favorites to take over, even on a shared basis.
