New FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Thursday announced a series of changes to the way F1 races will be refereed following the controversial end of the 2021 title showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Race director Michael Masi will be replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas , and the new telematics race control room (a la VAR in football) will support the FIA stewards. Herbie Blash , Charlie Whiting’s former right-hand man, also returns as Senior Advisor.
Mercedes initially protested the result of the Abu Dhabi race, where Hamilton lost the championship on the final lap restart. It eventually dropped all action after the FIA confirmed its plans to investigate and act.
Speaking at the presentation of Mercedes’ new 2022 car on Friday, Toto Wolff said he thought “the right steps had been taken” and that he was “optimistic about the changes that had been implemented”.
“It is clear that the role of race director is not easy, and now we will have two very experienced men there, that is good,” said Wolff.
“But the support structure that has been built around it is essential, not only in the race director’s room, but also with a remote control room where race directors can rely on feedback and material to make it easier for them to Decision-making process”.
“I think in the last couple of years we’ve seen a little freestyle in the interpretation of the rules. So yeah, I’m happy with what the new president has put in place.”
Michael Masi
Wolff denied that Mercedes’ decision to withdraw its appeal was related to Masi’s departure, but said the division of opinion over some of the race control decisions last year showed a need for change.
“The restructuring of how decisions are made in Formula 1, the sporting decisions and also the technical decisions, was necessary,” Wolff said.
“Last year was a great season, but it created a lot of polarization with decisions that weren’t always easy to understand.”
Hamilton was known to be upset with the FIA’s decisions in Abu Dhabi following his loss to Verstappen, with the Englishman saying on Friday that it was a “difficult time” which led him to keep quiet and go into hiding over the winter.
Wolff said the Abu Dhabi decisions remained “a shock” and “unprecedented” but insisted on the need to focus on next season, where Hamilton will seek his eighth world championship.
“We have to get on with it,” Wolff said.
“I think it’s already in the past, and with the measures that Mohammed announced, I think we have to put it aside.”
“We are not going to forget it, because that is simply impossible. But we have to look towards 2022 and, especially today with the presentation of the car, it should be the moment where we can really, with the steps that the FIA has taken, enter with Cheers to the season.”
