Some rules "over-ride" others ... a direct quote from the stewards following the race (stewards who fully supported Masi's decisions). Some rules are subject to "different interpretations" ... a direct quote from the FIA, in their final report. Where ambiguity exists, where different interpretations are possible, the Race Director is given authority, by the rules, to resolve the ambiguity ... certainly in all matters relating to the safety car. If not the Race Director, who exactly has the authority ... in the heat of the battle? Which is, quite likely, why the FIA has left the door wide open (according to bin Sulayem) for Masi to return
Masi is getting a new job at home with a national sporting authority, not inside the FIA. I doubt if he will be allowed to officiate ever again in an FIA- sanctioned international championship.
From May of this year (2022): https://www.sportsfule.com/2022/05/14/fia-president-michael-masi-can-return-as-race-leader/ Couple quotes: FIA president Ben Sulayem does not rule out Michael Masi returning as F1 race leader: "We never said: it’s over with Masi at the FIA" according to Ben Sulayem. "We might use him again. I’m open to anything. ” Hardly the vicious "sacking" that some have suggested. Sure sounds like the door is wide open for Masi to return to F1, wouldn't you agree?
One or two of die hard cult members left the site and only came back when Merc started performing again. Curious...
If the FIA said they would never use him again because he completely ****ed up the 2021 championship conclusion, it'd put a huge asterisk next to Verstappen's first title and put pressure on the FIA to reassign the championship to Hamilton. They're in a no win situation with respect to certified results, as everyone involved, fans of both drivers, and fans of motorsports in general could feel aggrieved by whatever action they take. Even though Massi has obviously become persona non grata at the FIA, Sulayem is going to continue to politely gloss over it by saying nothing is ruled out and Massi (who signed an NDA) is going to continue to say nothing at all while working the rest of his career in other organizations. All the best, Andrew.
The alternate interpretation is that Masi was authorized/justified in his actions, just as the stewards said immediately following the race, but the FIA needed to adopt a certain "posture" where Masi was concerned in order to appease and entice a certain driver back to the sport ... a "posture" that only needed to be temporary. In any case, I'm entirely satisfied with these conclusions drawn by the FIA: - the 2021 WDC is validated (direct quote from the final FIA report) - the rules have been changed to prevent more than one interpretation (another direct quote from the FIA) - the door is wide-open for Masi to return as a race director in F1 (according to Sulayem ... who could have simply chosen to stay silent on the matter following the final FIA report, but instead opened the door, quite publicly, for Masi's return) I doubt that many Hamilton fans are equally satisfied.
The FIA found itself in a very difficult situation at the end of 2021. If it admitted fault it opened itself to all kinds of legal exposure so you can imagine that it had an enormous self-interest to handle things the way it did. Insisting on not accepting the finale as controversial at least by quoting the FIA is rather disingenuous and flies in the face of common sense. The event at Spa in 2021 was deemed a 'race' even though not a single racing lap was completed. Should we believe that it was a race because the FIA tells us it was? Again this contradicts common sense. Now for the common sense that some choose to ignore from AD 2021. Michael Masi's role is to act as a referee applying the rules equally and fairly to everyone. I'm sure nobody can argue that basic job description. Fact is that at the end of the race he made a decision where one group of drivers had one set of rules applied to them (being allowed to pass the safety car) while another had a different set of rules applied to them (not being allowed to pass the safety car). The CRITICAL detail is that this distinction took place within the SAME RULING. By its very nature the drivers were not treated equally by the very person who is entrusted to apply the rules equally to everyone. This is IRRESPECTIVE of who it advantaged or not. Some people are not being able to accept this basic reality and spend endless time trying to explain how other actions justify this flawed decision.
All too many fans find it very convenient to ignore some basic facts regarding the final race of 2021: - the stewards FULLY supported Masi, following the race, with a clear explanation of how the "letters" of the rules were in fact followed appropriately - it turns out that Masi was actually following a script written years earlier by Mercedes, almost verbatim, regarding the "spirit" of the unlapping rule - there was a pre-race agreement, by all teams, to finish under green if at all possible (some fans have even denied the very existence of this agreement ... but it has been acknowledged by the FIA) - "unfair" ruling happens all the time, it's part of the sport. An "unfair" ruling in the first lap of Abu Dhabi arguably had a bigger impact on the outcome, than anything that happened in the final laps But yes, this is pointless. As i've stated above, i'm entirely satisfied with the conclusions drawn by the FIA, and Sulayem's open-door for Masi's return to F1 (and once again, it wasn't a Verstappen-fan or Masi-defender who re-opened this old thread doesn't feel, to me, that the Verstappen fans are the ones refusing to move past 2021 )
Mercedes just needed to pit Hamilton, then we wouldn't have had to hear about this for months! Teams agreed they were gonna find a way to end under green
Not really, If they pitted, they give up the lead, RedBull then dont tell Masi how to not stick to the rules then the race finishes behind the safety car, then it would be how a merc mistake cost LH the title.....
With fresher tyres he would not have any difficulties to overtake Max on the track. End of story. Unlucky but this is racing sometimes.
Even Hamilton himself knew it was a huge mistake to not pit, for fresh tires. Just listen to the Mercedes radio transmissions, in those final laps ...
No, cause as i said in the post you are quoting, Redbull wouldnt have talked with Masi to alter the ending of the safety car, it was going to finish behind the safety car..... Just as the commentators was saying live at the time then all shocked it didnt, as was / did some of the drivers at the time.
It's so funny that when almost everyone has accepted Verstappen's 2021 championship, and the FIA decisions following Abu Dhabi, there are still some defending Masi !! Masi wasn't only SACKED because of Abu Dhabi, but for constant incompetence all through the season ! Even if the FIA acted very diplomatically, it was a dismissal all the same. He didn't keep his job, because MBS don't trust him to as a race director in a world championship.
Why, then, did Sulayem publicly announce, in May of this year, that he would re-use Masi as a Race Director in F1? It was either a "true" statement, or he felt the need to "appease" someone ... who could that "someone" even be? Nope ... Sulayem could have stayed silent, and that would have been that. Instead, he publicly announced that the door was wide-open for Masi's return Turns out, it wasn't a "sacking" at all! Masi was merely given a temporary vacation, in order to appease someone ... and we all know, who that particular "someone" could be. Finally, one last time ... this old thread was not re-bumped by a Verstappen fan, or Masi defender. So who, exactly, won't let 2021 go?
A deciding race in a very entertaining championship to finish behind a safety car when they had seven laps to clean the track after a minor crash ? Do you really believe this fable ?
That was under the Latifi crash. You are correct IF Mercedes pitted Lewis(Latifi crash), Lewis would have given up track position to Max. HOWEVER, earlier in the race under the VSC, Mercedes coulda-woulda-shoulda pitted Lewis to change tires but didn't Mercedes left Lewis out at the end of the race on 39 lap old tires. ALSO, Masi let the 5 cars (between Lewis and Max) unlap themselves on lap57. Had Masi let ALL cars unlap themselves on lap 56, the end result ends the same......Max wins.
+1 At the moment of the accident, ALL teams had the FULL expectation that the race would end "under green" ... and made their pit-stop/tire decisions accordingly (long before any unlapping decisions were made by the race director). Why did all teams fully expect a green finish? Two undeniable reasons: first, the average safety car interval at this track was a lap or two shorter than the number of laps remaining ... and second, the agreement by all teams to end under green if at all possible, if it was safe to do so. The teams agreed-to a green finish, the fans wanted a green finish ... was that all to be denied, simply because one team made bad pit-stop decisions during the race?
