© Wolfgang Wilhelm for Daimler AG
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali defends F1’s “credibility” and says the controversial finish of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not “built on purpose”.
The 2022 season is upon us, but there are still unresolved issues surrounding the final race of the 2021 season, which ended with Max Verstappen being crowned champion after race director Michael Masi broke the rules that govern the use of the Safety Car.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali completely denied that the result of that race was engineered on purpose.
“I have not for a single second in my mind thought that was something built on purpose,” Domenicali said.
“As a sportsman, if I thought that was the case, I would not be there. And I can guarantee that from Formula 1’s perspective, that is not the case.”
When Martin Brundle asked Domenicali about Formula 1 “rebuilding trust”, the Italian said:
“I think to be honest the trust is already there. We had last week a meeting with all the promoters. Almost all of where we’re going are sold out.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“That means Formula 1 is not that problem and it means the trust is there.”
The FIA did however decided to remove Michael Masi from the position of race director, which means they do consider his decisions to be problematic.
Domenicali, however, says Masi was removed as a way of “protecting” him.
“What we need to avoid is a personal discussion,” he explained.
“We are all human beings. You may say you are performing well as a driver, as a team, as a referee – but this is not relevant to the credibility of the sport if the sport will be able to take all the lessons in order to improve that.
“The credibility is passing through this kind of action and this is what we’re expecting the FIA to take on board in preparation for next year,” F1’s CEO concluded.
