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Before the first F1 race of 2022, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem confessed that he was 'satisfied and relieved' after the results of the investigation into the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP were made public.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson shortly before the 2022 F1 season opener in Sakhir, Ben Sulayem was asked to share how he felt. The Emirati said:
“Satisfied and relieved also. We did, as promised, a thorough investigation and now we come with the conclusions.”
On Saturday, March 19, the report with the findings from the investigation was shared with the world.
In it, the regulatory body acknowledged that race director Michael Masi was acting in ’good faith' when he tried to finish the race under green light circumstances.
The report also stated that a "human error" cost Lewis Hamilton his championship without pointing a direct finger at the now removed race director Masi.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem feels F1 Race Control cannot be run by only one person
During the same interview with Tom Clarkson, Mohammed Ben Sulayem reiterated that the F1 Race Control needed more than one person at the helm.
When asked by Clarkson to elaborate on the aforementioned conclusions, Ben Sulayem added:
“We cannot run the Race Control as we used to. Formula 1 is such a high-tech and dynamic sport... so the Race Control cannot be run by just one director. That’s the reason we’ve brought some of our staff back, like Herbie (Blash), to support the race director and on top of that, we have to do rotations also. Not just one. Because if you talk about 23 races, human fatigue is there. You are talking about travel. So that cannot be. This is also a solution.”
Earlier in February, Michael Masi was replaced by former DTM man Niels Wittich and WEC race director Eduardo Freitas. Earlier, Wittich was announced as Masi’s deputy for the 2022 season.
The duo will alternate as race directors this season and will also be aided by Charlie Whiting’s deputy Herbie Blash. Blash returned to the sport for the first time since 2016 as a permanent senior advisor after a stint with Yamaha in Superbike racing.
In addition to these changes, F1 will also have a new Remote Operations Center (ROC), working in the same manner as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) does in football or soccer.
