Valtteri Bottas admired the work ethic of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Photo / Don Kennedy
Don Kennedy on Formula One
The FIA has released a statement relating to race director Michael Masi's controversial decision to allow racing on the last lap in the Abu Dhabi title showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
That was back on December 12, yet the furore continues as various drivers, not confined to F1, chime in with their views on what Australian Masi should have done, with mounting speculation he will either lose his job completely or share it without someone else. The intent of the statement is to take the pressure off Masi.
The statement read: "At this stage, no decision has been taken on the outcome of the detailed analysis currently underway into events of the last Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As previously announced, the findings of this detailed analysis will be presented at the F1 Commission meeting in London on 14th February after an open discussion with all F1 drivers and then finally have to be approved at the World Motor Sport Council meeting on 18th March in Bahrain, under the authority of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem."
Sky Sport commentator Martin Brundle has suggested Masi could as the FIA's way of holding someone accountable for the adverse publicity F1 has received, be the sacrificial lamb. Masi had inherited the job following the sudden death from a pulmonary embolism of former race director Charlie Whiting, literally on the eve of the season-opening race in Melbourne, Australia in 2019.
Whiting had been in that role since 1997, with Herbie Brash as his assistant. Masi seemed to cope well with his promotion and had stayed under the radar until those fateful last five laps in Abu Dhabi, with Hamilton leading Verstappen and seemingly on his way to a record 8th drivers' championship. But then Nicholas Latifi crashed in his Williams.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was on the radio directly to Masi imploring him to finish the race under the safety car, but Red Bull boss Christian Horner was in his other ear asking for lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to be let through, so Verstappen, having pitted for fresh tyres while Hamilton stayed out, could attack on the last lap. The rules apparently require Masi to let all lapped cars through, not just five, which is what Masi opted to do, with the result being Verstappen overtook Hamilton and was series champion for the first time.
The FIA investigation into what happened that day, and what, if any, changes will be made so the controversy is not repeated in future, will be announced the weekend of the season opener in Bahrain on March 18.
A BBC report has stated the FIA are planning to change the structure, which would see the race director sharing responsibility with several people. FIA secretary-general Peter Bayer has noted the public hostility towards Masi, which is probably similar to that which Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley felt with his decision to support the unvaccinated world number one Novak Djokovic playing in the Australian Open.
For two weeks, the Djokovic saga hogged the headlines as the drama of his arrest at Melbourne Airport after the Federal Government cancelled his visa on the grounds he couldn't enter Australia unvaccinated, unless he had a medical exemption, which they said he didn't have, even though the Victorian government and Tennis Australia said he did, because he had had Covid in mid-December.
Djokovic appealed to the court and was granted a reprieve on procedural grounds but was subsequently deported when the Minister of Immigration cancelled his visa again, and the Federal Court ruled it was powerless to overrule the minister's discretion. Djokovic's absence enabled Rafa Nadal to win the tournament and his 21st grand slam, leaving Djokovic and Roger Federer, who was absent through injury, on 20 grand slams.
The Djokovic saga has some parallels with what happened to Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.
Not of course in respect of Hamilton's right to be there, but rather the fact that Hamilton and his supporters are still adamant his eighth title was stolen from him, just like Djokovic may feel his chance to defend his Australian Open title and get to 21 grand slams was stolen from him.
Few will have any sympathy with Djokovic, given all he had to do was be vaccinated to attend, which will be a requirement for all drivers and F1 personnel in the F1 paddock this season.
But a lot of F1 personnel and fans support Hamilton, whose silence since only adds to the mystique and the garnering of sympathy.
Hamilton is extremely religious, with a "God is Love" tattoo on his neck, but thankfully his father Anthony hasn't suggested his son is being crucified like Jesus was, which is what Djokovic's father back in Serbia stated had happened to his son, who was given the nickname of "Novax" in Australian social media.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott says that after having had no race for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Melbourne race on April 10 will go ahead and "we are working with the Government to make sure that everything will allow us to have maximum crowds".
The Australian Open finals were staged with 80 per cent crowd capacity, so it is looking good for Australian fans. Hamilton has finally broken his silence on social media by announcing "Mission44" aimed at ensuring underprivileged children are not excluded from schools, because Hamilton says "having experienced unfair exclusion during my time at school" without claiming it was he himself was excluded. But it is Hamilton's "exclusion" from being crowned an eight-time world champion that like the Djokovic saga, refuses to go away.
Sebastian Ogier, the eight-time World Rally champion, is adamant Hamilton was "robbed".
"It must have been very difficult to accept," Ogier says of Masi's decision.
"He [Hamilton] had the impression he was robbed, and he has been robbed. Let's not be afraid of words. Even though I have a lot of respect for Verstappen. He had an amazing season; he has not stolen the title.
"The truth is both would have been wonderful champions but on this last weekend, it is theft."
Ogier, though, has no doubt that Hamilton will be back, even though there have been no social media posts from Hamilton on the subject of F1 since he lost the championship.
"He will come back," Ogier says. "He is in an ultra-competitive environment with the best team right now."
Hamilton's former teammate Valtteri Bottas, who is driving for Alfa Romeo this year, has revealed that Hamilton losing the championship cost him a team bonus, but it was only in his three years with Williams that he felt the need to check his bank balance.
"I don't really measure it like that but at some point, a moment came when there was no need to look at the bank balance anymore," he said. "Money is of course a big thing in Formula 1, but I remember where I came from, and I have done quite well because of that."
Bottas has no doubt that Hamilton will return, his reasoning being F1 means more to Hamilton than any other driver in his view.
"He rarely has bad races, he adapts very well to all situations. I review everything very precisely, but Lewis, if he hears that I have been to the factory for two days, he goes for three days. If he has any doubt about something, he does something about it. This year [2021] he was in the simulator almost every week, which he has never done before, always reviewing things, and his commitment is something I can only take my hat off to.
"I think F1 means maybe more to him than to the rest of the drivers right now," he added.
Toto Wolff has been reflecting on what happened between himself and Horner as tension in the title battle rose and he has regrets.
"I always try to stay professional, approach things professionally. However, it got very personal between the two of us at some point," Wolff told Dutch magazine Formula 1.
"At one point he told me to shut up. Then I responded by saying he was a windbag and talked too much for the cameras. I shouldn't have said that because it's a professional relationship and you know that even your worst enemy has a best friend.
"You have to respect that person, even if you fight a hard duel."
The FIA has now banned team bosses from contacting the race director directly, but other issues in what could be called a season of change remain to be addressed.
In other news, it's reported that the Red Bull and Mercedes cars have both failed the FIA static crash test, which means the designers will have to move to "plan B" if they are to be compliant for the hard battle ahead.
In the meantime, Aston Martin has rubbished rumours its car won't be ready for what is now being called the pre-season test in Barcelona on February 18. There is said to be turmoil in the team due to the departure of team boss Otmar Szafnauer, with the workforce growing to a "far larger entity of what appears to be headless chickens", impacting the development of the car, according to a recent article.
Time will tell, with Aston Martin due to unveil its new car on February 11. By then Hamilton should have resurfaced but for Michael Masi, the wait to lean his fate will go on much longer.