Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Formula 1’s governing body says inquiry is ongoing

Formula 1’s governing body failed to make any proposals following its inquiry into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a high-level meeting on Monday.

The meeting was told that there may be an announcement on changes to race management later this week.

However, there was agreement for F1 to hold three ‘sprint’ events this season.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first Formula 1 title, having overtaken the Briton on the final lap.

Mercedes’ Hamilton had appeared in control of the race and on course for the title himself until a late safety car.

The race was restarted with one lap to go, with Red Bull’s Verstappen on fresh tyres and Hamilton on old ones – and the Dutchman swept by to win.

When the FIA announced its inquiry into the Abu Dhabi race last December, it said it would present its findings to the F1 Commission in February.

And a statement from the FIA said that its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had “led detailed discussions” on the Abu Dhabi race at Monday’s meeting.

But at that meeting, F1 bosses were told by Sulayem and Peter Bayer, the FIA executive director of single-seaters, that the inquiry was not yet concluded.

“Feedback from the Commission on matters raised will be incorporated into the president’s analysis and he will publicly present news of structural changes and an action plan in the coming days,” the FIA added.

It means that the crisis that has engulfed F1 since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – when race director Michael Masi applied the rules incorrectly during a safety period in an attempt to ensure the race did not end under caution – is still very much alive.

Masi’s improvisations with the rules on two different fronts – the timing of the restart and and on dealing with lapped cars – directly influenced the outcome of the world championship.

The crisis was not about who was champion – had Masi operated the rules correctly, there were still a series of circumstances under which Verstappen might have passed Hamilton – but about the fairness and integrity of competition.

Hamilton was devastated by events and lost faith in the FIA as a result. It emerged last month that he would not decide whether to return to F1 this season until after he had seen the results of the FIA inquiry.

An FIA spokesman said that Sulayem, who had already consulted the teams individually on Abu Dhabi, wanted to discuss the issue with the F1 Commission in a formal session.

The spokesman said he “understood” the surprise expressed by some at the delay but said: “What is important is a good process and a good decision, explained well.”

He added that a statement on the reorganisation of race control in the wake of the inquiry was expected this week.

Masi was at the F1 Commission meeting, BBC Sport understands.

Many insiders believe his position is untenable amid the expected reorganisation of race control that will inevitably arise from the inquiry.

The failure to announce concrete decisions as to how to deal with the issues raised by Abu Dhabi left a number of figures at the meeting frustrated.

Two months have passed since the Abu Dhabi race and some senior figures cannot understand why the FIA has been unable to come up with concrete proposals as to what needs to change in that time, BBC Sport understands.

Insiders said that one possibility for the future organisation of race control has emerged.

This could see the role of race director rotated through a number of people during the season – but that Masi may well not be one of them.

Three sprint races agreed

The meeting did succeed in solving the impasse over the number of ‘sprint’ races this year.

A stand-off over financial issues has led to the abandonment of the initial plan to double the number of ‘sprint’ events to six.

Instead, a compromise plan has been agreed to hold three sprints again this season, on the same financial terms as last year.

These will be held at the Emilia Romagna, Austrian and Brazilian Grands Prix.

The points available at the sprint events will be expanded, with eight points for the winner, seven for second and so on down to one point for eighth place.

The FIA said that there would be “a number of updates to the format based on the feedback of fans, media and teams”, without saying what those would be.

However, a couple of changes have become clear. Last year, points were available only for the first three finishers, with three to the winner, two for second and one for third.

‘Sprint’ events see a shorter race held on Saturdays, the results of which set the grid for the main grand prix. Qualifying is moved to Friday, setting the grid for the sprint.

And pole position will be officially awarded to the faster driver in qualifying, after drivers objected to the winner of the ‘sprint’ race being designated as the pole winner.

Dealing with shortened races

The FIA has announced changes arising from last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, which caused controversy when it was declared a race after just two laps behind the safety car and half points awarded.

In future, no points will be awarded for a grand prix unless at least two laps have been completed under racing conditions, without an intervention by a safety car or virtual safety car.

There are then three different allocations of points applied depending on whether the race has run less than 25%, 50% to 75% of a full distance. – bbc.com