After Lewis Hamilton lost the driver’s title, Toto Wolff believes that the whole decision-making system needs improvement.
Lewis Hamilton lost what could have been a historic eight world championship in the Abu Dhabi GP. The controversial decisions made by Michael Masi left many fuming along with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
FIA race director made an ad-hoc decision over the safety car procedure in the penultimate laps of the race. This decision essentially handed the win to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and along with it gave him his maiden title.
On the other hand, the decision also took away from Lewis Hamilton his eighth world championship which up to that point, the Briton pretty much had in the bag.
Since the Abu Dhabi GP, many have called upon the resignation of the race director Michael Masi. Toto Wolff, however, feels that simply firing Masi is not enough.
“It is not just about replacing the race director. The whole decision-making system must be improved. It’s one thing to drive hard and have a different point of view between drivers and teams, that’s normal.”
“But inconsistent decisions inevitably lead to controversy, much of it totally unnecessary,” said Wolff.
Also read: Mercedes boss fears Lewis Hamilton departure would damage the reputation of the sport as a whole
Not the first Michael Masi mess up
Michael Masi made a bunch of controversial decisions throughout the 2021 season. The exchanges between him and Mercedes and Red Bull at one of the several restarts of the chaotic Abu Dhabi GP were definitely unorthodox.
Masi basically bargained grid positions between the two teams following an incident at the earlier restart. Such an exchange was unprecedented. However, no decision of his was as big or contentious as the one he took right before the final lap of the race at Yas Marina.
“This last decision had the biggest impact, and from a sports perspective, it was catastrophic because it decided the World Championship,” said Wolff.
The FIA is working on what may be considered a ticking time bomb. The governing body seems to have bought itself some time by scheduling the deadline of their final decision into the inquiry of the events in Abu Dhabi right before the inaugural race of the 2022 season.
Sources close to Lewis Hamilton said his decision on whether or not to continue in F1 relies heavily on what decision is arrived upon by the FIA.
