© Wolfgang Wilhelm for Daimler AG
FIA’s head of single-seaters Peter Bayer says Michael Masi has been told that “there is a possibility there could be a new race director” in 2022.
The FIA is currently in the middle of an investigation into the controversial ending of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which involved race director Michael Masi ignoring the rules and protocols of the Safety Car, which basically handed the 2021 championship to Max Verstappen.
One of the pressing issues for the FIA is whether Masi will be allowed to remain the race director going forward. FIA’s newly appointed head of F1 Peter Bayer says they have already informed Masi that he could lose his position.
“Michael did a super job in many ways,” Bayer said.
“We told him that. But also that there is a possibility there could be a new race director.”
Bayer confirmed BBC’s report that the race director could receive help in the future.
“[We are looking at] dividing the various tasks of the race director, who is also sports director, safety and track delegate,” he told Austrian journalist Gerhard Kuntschick.
“That was simply too much. These roles are divided between several people. This reduces the burden on the race director.”
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Bayer added the FIA is considering revising the rules of the Safety Car. He pointed to the way NASCAR is doing things as a possible solution:
“If neutralisation is necessary in the last two laps of the race, the lap counting ends and the laps are added at the end of the safety car phase.
“This could cause a fuel problem in F1, which is why it is being looked at more closely.
“We also asked the teams if their requirement not to finish a race under safety car was still relevant, to which they all agreed.”
Bayer confirmed that team principals will no longer be able to directly talk to the race director during races.
“The team managers will still be able to – they have to be able to ask questions. We want to build in a buffer with an employee who accepts these requests.
“In the future, the race director will be able to concentrate on his task and will no longer be distracted,” Bayer concluded.
