What Has the FIA Done in Response to Masi’s Last Lap Fiasco in Abu Dhabi GP?

Michael Masi’s infamous set of decisions at the title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP has finally led the FIA to bring about a rule change to the safety car period. The victim, Lewis Hamilton, had his eyes on what could have been his record eighth F1 world championship title. Unfortunately, Masi had other plans for the Mercedes driver, as he revealed a rather bizarre call during the penultimate lap of the race.

The Australian let a group of cars between the two title rivals un-lap themselves. This left Hamilton to defend against Verstappen, who was then on a fresh set of softs. From there on, it was merely a one-sided affair. The Dutchman blitzed past Hamilton on the final lap to clinch his first-ever F1 title.

The FIA then launched an investigation into the race following persistent pressure from Mercedes. Eventually, the final bit of evaluations led to the FIA sacking Masi from the role of Race Director. Moreover, they made some major tweaks to the rulebook. And here’s one of the latest rule changes that the governing body has put forward according to BBC.

FIA changes safety car rule in F1 following Abu Dhabi GP

With the 2022 season around the corner, the FIA has announced that the stewards must make sure that ‘all’ the lapped cars un-lap themselves before bringing in the safety car. Until last year, the rule suggested that “any” lapped cars between the leaders should overtake and join the back of the field before restarting the race.

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Had Masi followed the rules, it is quite obvious that the safety car would have come into the pits by the end of the final lap. Hence, Hamilton would have gone on to win the race and subsequently the championship title. However, that one decision by Masi managed to turn things around for the leaders.

As things stand, Masi is no longer the race director. In his place, two new officials, Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich, will alternate in the role this season. What’s more, like VAR (Video Assistant Referee) in European Football, F1 has brought in their own type of assistance for the stewards to prevent any such mishaps in the future.

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Former F1 driver, Herbie Blash, will take up an advisory role for the race directors. Overall, these are certainly big moves by the governing body. But will the vast changes avoid the repeat of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP?