Formula One 2022

[Lineker]

 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (Mercedes)
 #44 Sir Lewis Hamilton
 #63 George Russell

 Oracle Red Bull Racing (Red Bull RBPT-H)
 #1 Max Verstappen
 #11 Sergio Pérez

 Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari)
 #16 Charles Leclerc
 #55 Carlos Sainz Jr.

 McLaren F1 Team (Mercedes)
 #3 Daniel Ricciardo
 #4 Lando Norris

 BWT Alpine F1 Team (Renault)
 #14 Fernando Alonso
 #31 Esteban Ocon

 Scuderia AlphaTauri (Red Bull RBPT-H)
 #10 Pierre Gasly
 #22 Yuki Tsunoda

 Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (Mercedes)
 #5 Sebastian Vettel (Rounds 3-) /  #27 Nico Hülkenberg (Rounds 1-2)
 #18 Lance Stroll

 Williams Racing (Mercedes)
 #6 Nicholas Latifi
 #23 Alexander Albon (Rounds 1-15, 17-) /  #45 Nyck de Vries (Round 16)

 Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen (Ferrari)
 #24 Guanyu Zhou
 #77 Valtteri Bottas

 Haas F1 Team (Ferrari)
 #20 Kevin Magnussen
 #47 Mick Schumacher

CURRENT SCHEDULED CALENDAR

23^rd February-25^th February
 Pre-Season Testing (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló)

10^th March-12^th March
 Pre-Season Testing (Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir)

20^th March
 Round 1 - Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir)

27^th March
 Round 2 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah)

10^th April
 Round 3 - Australian Grand Prix (Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne)

24^th April
 Round 4 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola)

8^th May
 Round 5 - Miami Grand Prix (Miami International Autodrome, Miami Gardens, Florida)

22^nd May
 Round 6 - Spanish Grand Prix (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló)

29^th May
 Round 7 - Monaco Grand Prix (Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo)

12^th June
 Round 8 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku City Circuit, Baku)

19^th June
 Round 9 - Canadian Grand Prix (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal)

3^rd July
 Round 10 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone)

10^th July
 Round 11 - Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)

24^th July
 Round 12 - French Grand Prix (Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet) 

31^st July
 Round 13 - Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring, Mogyoród)

28^th August
 Round 14 - Belgian Grand Prix (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot)

4^th September
 Round 15 - Dutch Grand Prix (Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort)

11^th September
 Round 16 - Italian Grand Prix (Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza)

2^nd October
 Round 17 - Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore)

9^th October
 Round 18 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka)

23^rd October
 Round 19 - United States Grand Prix (Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas)

30^th October
 Round 20 - Mexico City Grand Prix (Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City)

13^th November
 Round 21 - São Paulo Grand Prix (Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo)

20^th November
 Round 22 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi)
 

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RACE DIRECTION:

• Michael Masi, who had served as race director since the death of Charlie Whiting in 2019, was removed from the role of race director after an inquiry into the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As part of a restructuring of race control, Masi was replaced by former DTM race director Niels Wittich and World Endurance Championship race director Eduardo Freitas. The pair will assume the role on an alternating basis. Herbie Blash, Whiting's former deputy, was appointed as permanent senior advisor to the race director.
• The FIA will also introduce a new virtual race control system, much like the video assistant referee in football, as well as a ban on team communications that lobby race officials. Radio between teams and FIA officials will also no longer be broadcast on television to protect race officials. Unlapping procedures are to be reassessed by the Formula One Sporting Advisory Committee and presented prior to the start of the season.

TECHNICAL REGULATIONS:

• The 2022 World Championship is due to see an overhaul of the technical regulations. These changes had been planned for introduction in 2021, with teams developing their cars throughout 2020. However, the introduction of the regulations was delayed until the 2022 championship in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the delay was announced, teams were banned from carrying out any development of their 2022 cars during the 2020 calendar year. Prior to the season the FIA said it anticipated that the car performance deficit between the fastest and slowest teams on the grid would be cut by half when compared to 2021.
• Drivers were consulted on developing the new technical regulations, which were deliberately written to be restrictive so as to prevent teams from developing radical designs that limited the ability of drivers to overtake. The FIA created a specialist Working Group, or committee of engineers, tasked with identifying and closing loopholes in the regulations before their publication. The elimination of loopholes will, in theory, stop one team from having a dominant car, and in turn allow for closer competition throughout the field while improving the aesthetics of the cars. This philosophy was a major aim of the new regulations. Red Bull car designer Adrian Newey noted that the regulation changes were the most significant in Formula One since the 1983 season.
• The technical regulations will reintroduce the use of ground effects for the first time since venturi tunnels under cars were banned in 1983. This will coincide with a simplification of the bodywork, making the underside of the car the primary source of aerodynamic grip. This aims to reduce the turbulent air in the wake of the cars to allow drivers to follow each other more closely whilst still maintaining a similar level of downforce compared to previous years. Further changes to the aerodynamics are aimed at limiting the teams' ability to control airflow around the front wheels and further reduce the cars' aerodynamic wake. This includes the elimination of bargeboards, the complex aerodynamic devices that manipulate airflow around the body of the car. The front wing and endplates will be simplified, reducing the number and complexity of aerodynamic elements. The front wing must also directly connect to the nosecone, unlike pre-2022 designs where the wing could be connected to the nose via supports to create a space under the monocoque, thereby encouraging airflow under the car by way of the wing's larger surface area and the nose's increased height. The rear wings will be wider and mounted higher than in previous years, with additional restrictions in place to limit the constructors' ability to use a car's exhaust gases to generate downforce. Figures released by the Working Group revealed that where a 2019-specification car following another car had just 55% of its normal levels of downforce available, a 2022-specification car following another car would have up to 86% of its normal levels of downforce.
• Teams will be further restricted in the number of aerodynamic upgrades they can introduce to the car, both over the course of a race weekend and over the course of the championship. These rules were introduced to further cut the costs of competing. Following the decision to delay the 2021 regulations to 2022, aerodynamic development of the cars was banned from 28 March 2020 to the end of 2020.
• In 2021 the championship introduced a sliding scale system to regulate aerodynamic testing. Under this system, the least successful teams in the previous year's World Constructors' Championship standings would be given additional time for aerodynamic testing. Conversely, the most successful teams would be given less time to complete testing. The system was trialled in 2021 with the results used to create a more formal, structured and steeper model for the 2022 championship.
• Discussions over the 2022 engine regulations began in 2017 and were finalised in May 2018. The proposed regulations involved removing the motor generator unit–heat (MGU-H) to simplify the technology used in the engine whilst raising the maximum rev limit by 3,000 rpm. Further proposals dubbed "plug-and-play" would see engine suppliers bound by the regulations to make individual engine components universally compatible, allowing teams to source their components from multiple suppliers. Manufacturers would also be subject to a similar regulation concerning commercially available materials as chassis constructors would be subject to from 2021. The proposals were designed to simplify the engine technology whilst making the sport more attractive to new entrants. However, as no new power unit suppliers committed themselves to entering the sport in 2022, the existing suppliers proposed to retain the existing power unit formula in a bid to reduce overall development costs.
• The quota system of power unit components would continue in 2022, with teams given a limited number of individual components that can be used before incurring a penalty. The exhaust system would be added to the list of components, with teams allowed to use a maximum of six throughout the championship.
• Standardised components were introduced in 2022, with the technical regulations requiring standard components to be in place until 2024. These standardised components include the gearbox and fuel system. Some aerodynamic components—such as the tray that sits at the front of the car floor—will also be standardised so as to restrict teams' ability to develop the area and gain a competitive advantage. Individual parts will now be classified as a way of clarifying the rules surrounding them:
  • "Listed parts" refers to the parts of the car that teams are required to design by themselves.
  • "Standard parts" is the name given to the parts of the car that all teams must use, including wheel rims and equipment used in pit stops.
  • "Transferable parts" are parts that a team can develop and sell on to another team, such as the gearbox and the clutch.
  • "Prescribed parts" are parts that teams are required to develop according to a prescriptive set of regulations. Prescribed parts include wheel arches and wheel aerodynamics.
  • "Open-source parts" may be developed collectively by teams and sold on to customers. Steering wheels and the DRS mechanism are listed as open-source parts.
  • The system of categorising parts was introduced to allow for design freedom as the overhaul to the aerodynamic regulations was highly prescriptive.
• Wheel diameter will increase from 13 inches (33 cm) to 18 inches (46 cm). The 18-inch wheels were introduced into the Formula 2 Championship in 2020, to test changes in tyre behaviour. It was originally proposed that the use of tyre warmers—electric blankets designed to keep the tyres at the optimal operating temperature when not in use—would be banned, although this decision was later reversed after opposition from the tyre supplier Pirelli. Tyre warmers will instead become a standardised piece of equipment, with all teams required to use the same product with a view to eventually phase them out altogether by 2024. While Pirelli remain the official tyre partner and provider, BBS would partner and supply the rims to all Formula One teams from 2022 as part of a four-year deal.

SPORTING REGULATIONS:

• Having been first trialled under the name "sprint qualifying" in 2021, the format returned also for this championship with the name changed to "sprint". The weekend format will be unchanged from 2021 and will be run at the Emilia Romagna, Austrian and São Paulo Grands Prix with points now awarded to the top eight finishers rather than the top three finishers as was the case in 2021. Unlike the previous season, the driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying will be credited as the official polesitter, with the winner of sprint continuing to have the right to start the Grand Prix from the first place grid spot.
• Following the controversy surrounding the awarding of points at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, the criteria needed for points to be awarded for uncompleted events was altered. The requirement, pending approval by the World Motor Sport Council, was changed so that:
  • No points will be awarded unless a minimum of two laps had been completed under green flag conditions.
  • If more than two laps are completed, but less than 25% of the scheduled race distance, points will be awarded on a 6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top 5.
  • If 25%–50% of the scheduled race distance is completed, points will be awarded on a 13–10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the top 9.
  • If 50%–75% of the scheduled race distance is completed, points will be awarded on a 19–14–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top 10.
  • If more than 75% of the scheduled race distance is completed, full points will be awarded.
• The previous criteria had been in place for over 40 years prior to the change, last being altered some time between the 1977 and 1980 seasons.
• Additionally, the fastest lap point will now only be awarded if more than 50% of the scheduled race distance is completed
• In light of the controversy surrounding the safety car at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the procedures for the safety car restart have been changed. Rather than waiting until the lap after the last car has unlapped itself from the leader, the safety car will now be withdrawn one lap after the instruction that lapped cars may unlap themselves has been given. Additionally, the wording of the regulations was altered and now state that "all" cars rather than "any" cars will be allowed to unlap themselves, if deemed safe by the race director.
• The rule that had been in place since 2014, requiring drivers that advance to the third segment of qualifying to start the race on the tyres they used to set their fastest time in the second segment of qualifying, has been scrapped. All drivers will now have free choice of starting tyre for the Grand Prix on Sunday at all events.

[Lineker]

Quote

Formula 1 looks set to make it mandatory for all personnel within the paddock to be vaccinated from coronavirus from the start of next year.

While F1 chiefs have successfully pulled off two campaigns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and have been able to open up the grandstands and paddocks more recently, concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant have prompted worries about more challenges ahead.

It means not only question marks about future races, with next year’s Australian Grand Prix expected to be a particular logistical headache because of strict quarantine requirements, but also in ensuring that any potential outbreaks are kept in check.

With a number of governments around the world beginning to push for mandatory vaccines, some thought has been given to make it a requirement for anyone in the F1 paddock to be fully vaccinated.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi GP, Bruno Famin, the FIA’s director of operations who is in charge of the governing body’s COVID-19 protocols, suggested that such an idea was being evaluated.

“In terms of what will happen next year, it’s a bit too early because three weeks ago, we all thought that the pandemic was almost over and 2022 would be just back to normal,” he told Autosport.

“But unfortunately, with this new variant we have in Europe, the pandemic is increasing a lot and the hospitals are getting full again.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are contaminated every day in Europe and we have to be very careful.

“We know that in some places, in some countries, at some events, mandatory vaccination is progressing, It's something we may consider, but for the time being nothing has been decided yet.”

However, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali suggests the idea has moved forward and the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has approved the idea of having staff fully vaccinated.

Speaking to Autosport about the COVID situation, Domenicali said: “There are many issues to discuss with the teams.

“We will have the problem of COVID to manage again next year and it will not be easy. But in two years of the pandemic, we have completed some super intense seasons.

“Having finished a season with 22 races, it makes us cautiously optimistic for what the start of the 2022 season should be like, where alas COVID may still be present.

“But it is no coincidence that one of the last things approved in the last FIA World Council, as a precaution, is to have all F1 staff vaccinated to be in the paddock.”

F1 became one of the first series to campaign for the public to get vaccinated, when it launched a video message featuring drivers at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

 

[Chris2K]

Stolen from Reddit, but it did make me chuckle.

[Lineker]

Quote

Aston Martin has announced that its Formula 1 team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, has left the team.

Szafnauer had long been expected to leave his role at Aston Martin, with Autosport reporting back in November that he looked set to take up a senior role with the rival Alpine squad.

Szafnauer said he had “no intention” of leaving Aston Martin and that he had a long-term contract in place, having dismissed reports as “pure media speculation and not based on fact”.

But Aston Martin announced on Wednesday that Szafnauer had left his role as team principal and CEO of its F1 squad.

“Otmar Szafnauer has left the Company and his role at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team will be managed within the leadership team until a replacement is appointed,” the statement reads.

“We would like to thank him for the service provided to the team over the past 12 years and wish him well for the future as he will undoubtedly take on new challenges.

“Fortunately, we are led and managed by a strong group of individuals, and we are comfortable to take a little time to explore options before announcing a new team structure.

“The focus of the team is currently on preparing the most competitive car possible for the start of the 2022 season.”

Szafnauer first joined the Silverstone-based squad when it was known as Force India in 2009. He played a crucial role in navigating the financial struggles it faced in 2018 prior to its takeover by Lawrence Stroll, who ultimately rebranded the squad as Aston Martin for 2021.

In September, Aston Martin hired former McLaren F1 chief Martin Whitmarsh as its group CEO of its performance technologies arm. But Szafnauer said Whitmarsh’s arrival did not impact his role with the team. 

It emerged over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend that Szafnauer could be set to join Alpine, but no news on his future plans have yet been announced.

Over the Interlagos weekend, Szafnauer said he was “as surprised as anybody else” to read reports that he could join Alpine, but fell short of denying he had been in contact with the team.

 

[Chris2K]

It seems BWT have left Aston Martin as a sponsor too, and may also be heading to Alpine.

[Lineker]

Quote

Lewis Hamilton will not decide whether to return to Formula 1 this season until he sees the results of an inquiry into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton is "disillusioned" with F1, his Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said, as a result of last year's title-deciding race.

Hamilton lost the championship to Red Bull's Max Verstappen after FIA race director Michael Masi did not apply the rules correctly in a late safety-car period.

Insiders say Hamilton has lost trust in the governing body as a result.

Mercedes declined to comment on the situation surrounding Hamilton's future when approached by BBC Sport.

The team and Hamilton are said to be aligned on the issue and waiting to see what action the FIA takes to address the matters raised by the Abu Dhabi race.

The FIA has launched an inquiry into the events at Yas Marina and is aware both of Hamilton's unhappiness and that it has a big task on its hands to win back the seven-time champion's confidence.

New president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said he has contacted Hamilton since his election five days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"I don't think he's 100% ready to respond right now," Ben Sulayem said last week. "We don't blame him. I understand his position."

Some senior F1 insiders are concerned that the governing body has not fully grasped the threat to its credibility created by the final race of the season.

It has been a month since the Abu Dhabi race. But when asked about the timing of the inquiry's findings or what matters it will seek to address, the FIA said it was not yet ready to answer queries.

The FIA admitted in a statement last month that the events of Abu Dhabi were "tarnishing the image" of F1 but also said that it had "generated significant misunderstanding and reactions from F1 teams, drivers and fans".

Announcing the inquiry, the FIA said it would be done in time for "any identified meaningful feedback and conclusions to be made before the beginning of the 2022 season".

The first of two pre-season tests starts on 23 February, while the opening race is in Bahrain on 18-20 March.

The future of Masi is in doubt as a result of his handling of the race, which came at the end of a season in which there were repeated concerns among teams and drivers over the consistency of application of the rules.

One senior source told BBC Sport that Mercedes had dropped their appeal against the results of the race after agreeing a quid pro quo with the FIA.

This deal was said to be that Masi and FIA head of single-seater technical matters Nikolas Tombazis would no longer be in their positions for the 2022 season.

Mercedes deny that any such deal was reached, and insist that they dropped their appeal after receiving assurances only that the issue would be treated seriously and appropriate action would be taken by the FIA.

Wolff said last month that Mercedes would "hold the FIA to account".

He did not clarify how he intended to do that but said he had "confidence, trust and faith" that the teams and drivers could work with the governing body to create a "more robust decision-making process".

Several senior figures have told BBC Sport that they do not see how Masi can retain his position as race director, but some have cautioned that the FIA is in a difficult position because there is no obvious replacement.

Hamilton signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last year, which in theory will keep him at the team until at least the end of 2023.

Mercedes have recruited George Russell, one of the leading lights of the new generation of drivers, as the seven-time champion's team-mate in 2022.

The likeliest outcome is thought to be that the FIA will take significant action and that Hamilton will return in 2022.

But if Hamilton did decide to step away from F1, it is not immediately obvious who Mercedes would recruit to replace him.

Every major driver is under contract for the 2022 season and it is likely Mercedes would have to seek a deal to buy their chosen candidate out of his current commitments - as they did when they bought Valtteri Bottas out of Williams when Nico Rosberg retired after winning the 2016 world title.

Hamilton had dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was on course to win a record-breaking eighth world drivers' title when the safety car was sent out when Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams with five laps to go.

Red Bull pitted Verstappen to fit fresh tyres in the hope the race would restart before the chequered flag, but Mercedes felt they could not do the same with Hamilton because it would have meant the Briton losing the lead with no certainty the race would restart.

Masi then failed to apply the rules correctly in two different ways.

Normal protocol is to allow either all the lapped cars dotted through the field to un-lap themselves so they do not interfere with racing on the restart, or leave all in place.

But Masi allowed only some of the lapped cars in between the leaders to un-lap themselves - sending the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen through so they were not in the way, but leaving all the others in place, including the two cars between Verstappen and third-placed Carlos Sainz's Ferrari.

In addition, Masi ignored a rule that dictates that the race restarts at the end of the following lap after the lapped cars have been removed, and restarted it a lap early.

That lap was the last racing lap, and Verstappen used the extra grip of his fresh tyres to pass Hamilton, win the race and take his first world title.

An initial appeal by Mercedes against the results of the race was rejected by stewards that night. The team gave notice of their intention to appeal against that decision but withdrew that notice after three days of talks with the FIA.

Wolff has accused Masi of "a freestyle reading of the rules [that] left Lewis like a sitting duck", adding: "Robbing him in the last lap of the race is unacceptable."

But he has also said that there is a bigger problem for the FIA to solve than just finding a new race director.

"It's not only a decision to change the race director; the whole system of decision-making needs to be improved," Wolff said. "The race director is certainly under big pressure and some of that is due to our own faults."

One major change expected as a result of Abu Dhabi is for team principals to no longer be allowed to contact the race director during a grand prix.

Both Wolff and Red Bull's Christian Horner lobbied for actions that favoured their teams in the course of the race, as has become normal practice in recent seasons.

 

[Chris2K]

I always thought it was people over-reacting thinking that Lewis would retire, but now it obviously seems like a genuine possibility.

I have absolutely no idea who they'd choose to replace him if it happened. Ocon maybe?

[Lineker]

Bottas.

[Lineker]

 

[Adam]

Getting replaced by Szafnauer?

[JasonM]

On 11/01/2022 at 19:26, Chris2K said:

I always thought it was people over-reacting thinking that Lewis would retire, but now it obviously seems like a genuine possibility.

I have absolutely no idea who they'd choose to replace him if it happened. Ocon maybe?

Probably Ocon, if Alpine isn't selling (I doubt it), maybe they have to run it back to bottas (also doubt it) or pick up any of Hulkenberg, Nyck de Vries, or Stoffel Vandoorne. The latter two most likely as Mercedes reserves, but Hulk has much more actual racing experience that neither really has.

But it'll probably be Ocon, Toto is his manager and Alpine has a guy like Oscar Piastri in the pipeline who has won back to back F3/F2 championships. So I don't see Alpine fighting it hard or asking impossible fees.

Super left field option, Pierre Gasly, but I can't see any situation where RBR are going to give up a guy like Gasly to their biggest rival, unless Gasly himself somehow can get out from under his contract.

Finally there's Grosjean and K-Mag, despite their lack of success they seem to enjoy plenty of respect in the paddock.

Honestly, anybody who isn't Norris, a RBR driver, or a Ferrari driver is fair game for Mercedes to make a realistic play for. The only object is money.

[Chris2K]

40 minutes ago, Lineker said:

 

Apparently he was told he was being let go on the day of the Abu Dhabi GP, and before the end of season photo was taken. He let his feelings known during said team photo.

Not a photoshop (other than the circle), as this was the photo on Alpine's website before they edited it earlier today.

[Chris2K]

Aston Martin's new team principal is named Mike Krack.

 

I expect he's hoping to take them forward from the rear of the grid.

[Lineker]

Jesus - go by Michael!

[Chris2K]

Given the Djokovic debacle, it has been stated that you're either vaccinated, or you're not part of the Australian GP. This includes drivers, F1 employees and all team personnel, so noted anti-vaxxer Alan van der Merwe won't be driving the medical car I assume.

[JasonM]

2 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Given the Djokovic debacle, it has been stated that you're either vaccinated, or you're not part of the Australian GP. This includes drivers, F1 employees and all team personnel, so noted anti-vaxxer Alan van der Merwe won't be driving the medical car I assume.

You love to see it. Hope whoever's still unvaxxed gets their fucking jab.

If not, i'll love the scenes if any of the drivers are unable to drive and they'll be publically ousted and ridiculed for it.

[Bobfoc]

It says a lot about someone if they're happy to compete at circuits funded by violent and oppressive governments, but their moral compass is compromised when it comes to being vaccinated.

[Lineker]

Quote

Senior FIA official Peter Bayer admits Formula 1 race director Michael Masi could be replaced, while also expressing his support for the Australian following the Abu Dhabi finale controversy.

Masi’s position has been in question since the controversial ending of the Abu Dhabi GP, when the drivers between leader Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were waved past the safety car deployed after Nicholas Latifi's crash.

This ultimately helped decide the outcome of the 2021 world championship, as Verstappen used his fresher tyres to overtake Hamilton on the last lap.

An investigation into the events in Abu Dhabi, as well as an analysis of how to improve FIA procedures, is still ongoing.

Among the options under discussion are reducing the workload on the race director – which built up when the late Charlie Whiting took on multiple roles – and having more than one race director, and rotating them during the season.

Plans are also in hand to provide extra remote help to the decision makers in race control, in a similar fashion to the way teams make use of engineering and strategy support from mission control facilities at their factories.

Bayer has been the FIA’s secretary general for sport since 2017.

In December he took on an extra role as executive director of the single-seater department – a change agreed before the controversial Abu Dhabi race – and thus he is closely involved in the fallout of the season finale.

“He has done a super job,” Bayer told journalist Gerhard Kuntschik when asked about Masi.

“We have told him that, but also that there is a possibility that there will be a new race director. I can only make suggestions to the World Council, and they will definitely include him.”

Bayer also gave an insight into how Masi, who did not speak to the media after the Abu Dhabi race, has dealt with the criticism that he’s faced.

“He has developed a relatively thick skin against the attacks of individual teams," he added.

"When you work at the FIA, you have to be aware that you are working for the sports police.

“The policeman rarely gets sympathy, as in daily life. What has become unbearable is reactions on social media, they will stop at nothing, as you saw with the death threats against Williams driver Latifi.

“Michael doesn't have a social media account, but the hostility in other channels really hit him.

“I assured Michael of the federation's backing in our discussions and let him know - we want to continue working with you, but I also need your understanding that we have to deal with the issue.”

Regarding reducing the workload Bayer added: “There will be a division of the tasks of the race director, who is also sports director, safety and track delegate.”

Bayer also addressed the specific issues in Abu Dhabi that remain under investigation, admitting: "Masi had several options in those seconds when he had to decide, all according to the regulations.

"He could have finished the race under the safety car or aborted it. But Nicholas Latifi's accident would not have justified that. Or he could have done what he did.”

Bayer also pointed out that had Mercedes pursued its appeal the outcome of the race might have changed, but not that of the World Championship, as Verstappen was ahead prior to Abu Dhabi, while confirming team principals will no longer be allowed to talk to the race director via radio during events, with that option reserved – as it was in the past – for team managers and sporting directors.

Meanwhile the FIA has no plans to fast-track its response to the Abu Dhabi investigation, despite convening an Extraordinary Meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The FIA has scheduled the virtual gathering for 3 February – but says that it won’t cover F1 matters.

Thus there has been no change to the previously announced timeline for the investigation into Abu Dhabi, and the implementation of any new measures that might result.

The WSMC usually meets four times a year, but the extra virtual event has been added to the schedule as a direct result of changes that have followed the election of new president Mohammed ben Sulayem last December.

The FIA says that the meeting will in essence be to address “housekeeping” issues, such as the appointment of senate members, that follow the transition from former president Jean Todt to the new administration.

 

[Gazz]

Boring.

[Chris2K]

It would be really cool if the FIA would just step up and say "fuck off with that Russian flag crap", but oh well.

It sure would be embarrassing if they spent the whole of last year working on their 2022 car, only to still be at the back. Embarrassing and a little funny.