Watch: Shocking footage of F1 race director's cooperation with Red Bull during final laps of Abu Dhabi revealed

Previously unreleased footage from last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that appears to show “co-operation” between F1 race control and Red Bull Racing during the controversial safety car restart has been unearthed.

The footage includes conversations between FIA race director Michael Masi and Red Bull Racing sporting director Jonathan Wheatley discussing the safety car restart procedure.

Wheatley seemingly requests Masi to allow lapped cars between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to unlap themselves, despite there being only one racing lap left.

Immediately afterward, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase informs the former that while lapped cars behind him won’t be unlapping themselves, the ones in front of him will be getting out of his way.

Meanwhile, apparently at the same moment, Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington appears to believe that no cars will be allowed to unlap themselves and informs his driver of the same.

After the footage surfaced online, Lewis Hamilton’s fans have accused race director Michael Masi of “executing Red Bull instructions”, without regard for proper restart procedure.

Others, however, have pointed out that while Masi might have considered Red Bull’s request, he also considered Mercedes’ request just minutes before, when he deployed the virtual safety car rather than the full safety car.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had got onto the radio immediately after Nicholas Latifi’s accident asking Masi not to deploy the full safety car, claiming it will “mess up the race”.

While Masi's actions undoubtedly tarnished F1’s reputation and potentially handed Max Verstappen a lasting advantage, it has to be noted that he was under immense pressure during the safety car period, juggling multiple tasks all at once.

Furthermore, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not the first time that Masi “co-operated” with the teams but has done so as far back as the British Grand Prix. Infamously, Wolff had “emailed” Masi with supposed drawings of racing lines to defend Hamilton after the latter collided with Verstappen at the Copse corner.

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FIA needs to tackle structural issues with race direction to restore F1’s credibility

The Abu Dhabi debacle will forever remain a black spot on an otherwise fantastic 2021 season. While Verstappen finally triumphed, albeit amid controversial circumstances, he, along with Lewis Hamilton, unquestionably deserved the championship.

While it has been easy for much of the F1 community to blame race director Michael Masi for the controversial decisions, the responsibility for the events is shared by numerous stakeholders within the sport such as teams, drivers, and the FIA itself.

Unlike most sports, F1 has an unusual power dynamic wherein teams have a disproportionately high amount of power over the sport’s decision-making process. Rather than being the sole arbitrator of the sport, the FIA is often influenced by teams, and even drivers to some extent.

Even Masi’s controversial decisions were influenced in part by teams that had requested him from ending the season finale behind a safety car. While juggling his duties as race director — ensuring safety and abiding by the sporting regulations — the Australian was also acting on requests from teams.

Many have called for Masi’s removal and for “black and white” sporting regulations. The FIA now needs to tackle the structural issues that plague race direction and stewarding. It also needs to disallow teams from influencing rulemaking and race direction, in an effort to restore the sport's credibility.