The 2021 F1 season finale will live long in the memory of fans for being one of the most controversial races of all time. The equation ahead lights out that evening was fairly straightforward. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen entered the race level on points and whoever finished ahead, would win the World Championship.
The stakes were high, but Hamilton’s W12 was too powerful for Verstappen that evening. He dominated the majority of the race until a late safety car undid all his hard work. The SC coming out, followed by a series of bizarre decisions made by race director Michael Masi effectively handed the Title over to Verstappen, leading to worldwide outrage. The drama that unfolded after the events of Yas Island was huge, and the debates regarding the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP still rage to this day.
In the aftermath, Masi lost his job as F1’s race director, and the FIA appointed two new directors that would take control of the races from 2022 onwards. Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich are the current race directors in F1, and they both take charge of races alternatively.
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F1 will never have one race director again after Lewis Hamilton incident
Mohammed Ben Sulayem took over the FIA after Jean Todt’s resignation at the end of 2021. Since then, he made it a priority to ensure that the events of Abu Dhabi in 2021 are never repeated. One of the things he insisted on was having two race directors throughout the season.
As things stand, Ben Sulayem is adamant that he doesn’t want to go back to having just one man in charge in the near future. He is fairly happy with the way things work between Wittich and Freitas and sees it continuing.
“You cannot just have one race director and rely on them,” said Ben Sulayem as quoted by Motorsport. “I see that we should prepare the second role. We cannot rely in the biggest discipline that we have, or any other discipline. I am a big believer. That there is, somewhere in the world, better race directors than anyone, better stewards.”
Hamilton’s gut wrenching defeat in 2021 wasn’t helped by the difficult 2022 season he went through. Mercedes were off the pace for the majority of the season, and Hamilton for the first time in his career, failed to win a race in an entire calendar year.
