Formula One: Safety car rules tweaked by FIA in wake of controversial 2021 title decider please log in to view this image By Andrew BensonChief F1 writer Last updated on 15 March 202215 March 2022.From the section Formula 1 please log in to view this image Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap in Abu Dhabi to win the 2021 title after a late safety car Formula 1's safety car rules have been changed to make it impossible for a race to be conducted in the manner of 2021's controversial title decider. Michael Masi was removed from his role as race director last month as a result of failing to apply the rules correctly in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Masi's actions had a direct result on the outcome of the world championship. Governing body the FIA has now made it clear "all" lapped cars must un-lap themselves before a restart. The change replaces the phrasing in last year's rules, which said "any" lapped cars between the leaders should overtake and join the back of the field before a restart after a safety car. Masi's decision to allow only the cars between race leader Lewis Hamilton and title rival Max Verstappen to un-lap before a restart was at the heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy. Andrew Benson's 2022 season preview Hamilton plans to change name It meant not all drivers in the field were treated equally - as lapped cars between Verstappen and third-placed Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, and others further down the field, were left in place. McLaren's Lando Norris said the climax to the race had been "made for TV" and his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo added: "I'm glad I wasn't part of that." Hamilton had dominated the race and was on his way to an eighth world title. But after the restart the Mercedes driver was left exposed on old tyres and passed by Verstappen's Red Bull, earning the Dutchman a maiden championship. Verstappen's Red Bull team used this as an argument that Masi had not erred in his procedures and the result should stand. And the stewards also used it to retro-fit a justification for Masi's actions and keep the outcome in place after Mercedes lodged an appeal after the race. The second rule at the heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy has been left unchanged. This is the requirement the race must be restarted "at the end of the following lap" after the message is relayed that lapped cars may now overtake. Masi ignored this rule and restarted the race at the end of the lap on which he had ordered only some lapped cars to pass the leaders. Had he followed the rules as intended on this aspect, the race would not have restarted and Hamilton would have been world champion. The rule changes are the latest in a series of moves by the FIA that amount to an effective admission Masi made mistakes in his handling of the Abu Dhabi race. The first was the admission that the controversy was "tarnishing the image" of F1 and the decision to launch an inquiry into what had happened. After conducting the inquiry, Masi was removed as race director and replaced by two two new officials who will alternate in the role, Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich. And the support structure in race control was beefed up, including the establishment of a department similar to football's video assistant referee (VAR) and the return of F1 veteran Herbie Blash in an advisory role to the race directors. Blash, 73, was the right-hand man of former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, whose death on the eve of the 2019 season led to Masi being appointed race director. A full report into the events of Abu Dhabi is expected to be published during this weekend's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. It is widely accepted within F1 that Masi did not follow the rules correctly. The closest there has been to an explicit admission of that fact by the FIA has been an interview by executive director of single-seaters Peter Bayer. He said that, had Mercedes pursued their appeal, it would likely have been decided that "it's different in the regulations, he [Masi] decided that [other] way, so we could just void the result". Had the race been declared void, Verstappen would still have been champion as he started the event ahead in the championship by virtue of results count back.
Glad they're making that change to remove any confusion. Clearly 'any lappad cars' meant 'all lapped cars', not that the race director can pick and choose which get to unlap themselves, that would be ludicrous. The fact that we are having to make these changes just shows how ridiculous the whole thing was.
Let's move on now its getting boring, if Hamilton had pitted and max has stayed out and lose it the way Hamilton did no one would probably care.
Ah, you see there's no chance of moving on if we're going to dredge that up. Mercedes gambled on keeping track position, because Red Bull had nothing to lose by pitting and Merc had everything to lose. If the safety car hadn't come in and they had pitted, they would have handed the championship to Red Bull. They were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't.
Yes, we very much would care. Had the tables been turned and Max become the victim of this it would still be as wrong. We can't have the people who are there to enforce the rules making them up on the spot. And I can guarantee you that we'd have had as much noise about it if not more. And though the reality of this whole mess may be hard for some to accept, we can move on once we've finished plugging the holes that will stop this happening again.
Well said . I think it’s fair to say Horner and Helmet would have made AT LEAST as much noise as Toto !
if it had been the other way round, we definitely wouldn't have heard the last of it. Red Bull would have appealed and gone to FIA/CAS straight away. Horner’s still bleating about Mercedes bullying The FIA to get rid of Masi as well as moaning that Masi made many errors against Red Bull and nothing went their way.
Dunno mate. I really don't get why people think horner is worst than wolff. They are as bad as each other Masi should have red flagged it if he wanted green flag racing. He had 2 laps to make that call.
For me Toto got found out last year , under pressure he cracked and we saw what he can be like . I think Horner is worse as he is always sticking the knife in , look at the way he dealt with Abiteboul in press conferences etc . Utterly classless spiteful piece of work .
The thing that made me think Horner is worse is when he said that Lewis had tried to kill Max! That is going way too far. While they both have to stick up for their drivers Horner goes a bit OTT to me.
I don’t like Max , but I agree with him about Drive to Survive , he says they are turning it into a reality show and he wants nothing to do with it . I started enjoying it , but not anymore . If it wasn’t for Gunther Steiner , I doubt I would have tried this season at all .
Wolff came across as a bit of a snob on drive to survive. I enjoyed the McLaren bits zac brown seems like a great boss. Seems to really love the racing! Didn't realise that lando and Ricciardo had a sour moment though. But then again as max says they are possibly making it more than it was
