The fallout from 2021 Abu Dhabi GP — what changed in F1... and what didn't

However, the FIA’s investigation conceded that there was a grey area where the rules could be interpreted as giving Masi free rein to adjust the procedure, which he did by allowing only some lapped cars to unlap themselves so the race could be restarted quicker — with only the leading cars in position order rather than the full grid — and then immediately ordering the safety car in, instead of allowing the lapped cars to catch the pack up.

The rules have now been rewritten to remove that ambiguity.

Grey areas

The safety car procedure wasn’t the only part of the regulations that has been clarified since the Abu Dhabi race. It might be impossible to legislate for every eventuality, but 2021 saw the same issues resurfacing time and time again.

Exceeding track limits was the big one. F1 had seemingly slipped into a vague system where drivers weren’t allowed to cut some corners on some tracks, but could run as far off the circuit as they wanted on others, even where there appeared to be an advantage in doing so.

To popular acclaim, the white line at the margin of the circuit was reinstated as the edge and any driver putting all four wheels over the line is liable to have their lap deleted.

That has led to unpopular in-race penalties when drivers have repeatedly exceeded track limits, as well as qualifying laps deleted: at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Lando Norris set two times in the final Q3 session, which were good enough to put him second on the grid. But he went over the white lines on both occasions and had to start 10th.

However, the conundrum that drove the decisions in Abu Dhabi still remains: should races finish under the safety car?

Italian fans were denied the prospect of seeing Charles Leclerc making a last-ditch bid for the race win in Monza, 2022, when the cars processed over the finish line, still under safety car conditions, as marshals cleared the broken-down McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo.

There were plenty who thought that a red flag followed by a restart would be an apt way to finish the race.

But the 2023 Australian Grand Prix showed the dramatic downsides of stopping a race and then restarting it. Firstly a red flag in the early stages of the race ruined the strategies of some drivers who had already made their pitstop, as teams are allowed to change tyres and repair damage when a race is halted, without losing any position.

Then with four laps to go, Kevin Magnussen crashed. A safety car initially came out, then the red flag was waved. With two laps remaining, the race resumed from a standing start with predictable mayhem. Turn 1 offered the opportunity for enormous gains, followed by a short sprint to the flag and so drivers gambled en masse, piled into the first corner, and the resulting crashed left right and centre saw another red flag. The race finished behind the safety car.

Passing off track

Before the Abu Dhabi safety car, the race’s big controversy came about when Hamilton fended off Verstappen early in the Abu Dhabi race by cutting a corner.

He slowed to allow the Red Bull driver to catch him up but didn’t have to give the place back. It followed previous incidents in Saudi Arabia where teams were seen to have negotiated with the race director in order to avoid a penalty for running off track.

This was supposed to be resolved in 2022 when teams would have to decide whether to give back places without any intervention from race control. If they kept an advantage by running off track, then they would risk a penalty.

However, this seems to have broken down. Over the season, Mercedes and Red Bull told their drivers to give places back after a message from race control.

No team radio

Verstappen and Hamilton in glorious battle provided the visuals for 2021, but let’s not forget that the soundtrack was more often than not team principals whining to Masi about how their rivals had barely crossed a white line / rubbed tyres / not left enough room / had done something to offend somebody else in this notoriously sensitive sport.

It was the first year that these distracting messages to the race director had been broadcast — and the last. Pitwalls trying to dictate the rules to race control in Abu Dhabi had to be the final straw.

Unfortunately, officials — no longer the race director —  still have to listen to the grumbles. Happily, none of us do any more and that is probably a good thing for the sport.

Remote race control

With the race director under fire, it’s unsurprising that Ben Sulayem leapt upon a suggestion for an F1 version of football’s VAR: more pairs of eyes that could analyse and assist with complicated and controversial decisions, taking more pressure off the race director.

And so a new operations centre was set up in Geneva, with access to the same race feeds. It hasn’t quite panned out as billed though, which isn’t entirely surprising because it wasn’t very clear why a VAR system was needed: it’s not like in football where everyone has to stop and wait for a decision

The Swiss team is in touch with race control over grand prix weekends, helping to spot issues and analyse incidents but can’t overturn decisions.

But it may turn out to be more significant away from race weekends, where there are plans to use it to stage virtual race weekends. Officials and race directors will be able to simulate a grand prix and the many challenges that they may face, improving the standard of officiating and training new figures.

Hamilton vs Verstappen

The rivalry may have been paused in 2022 but the sense of injustice hasn’t gone away, whether it’s Max Verstappen facing endless questions about the legitimacy of the 2021 title, or Hamilton coming to terms with losing a record-breaking eighth championship in a sport where he knows there’s no guarantee that chance will come round again.

Although the pair have since rarely found themselves fighting for the big points, there was a flashback to the intense and contact-filled battles of 2021 in Sao Paulo in 2022 when battling for second. Once again, neither driver showed themselves willing to yield and they came together, dropping both down the field. “What can I say?” said Hamilton. “You know how it is with Max.”

“It’s just a shame,” said Verstappen. “I thought we could race quite well together but clearly the intention was not there to race.”

In the Motor Sport season review podcast, Mark Hughes pointed out how Verstappen’s battles with Leclerc this year had been cleaner; the Red Bull driver leaving his rival room. “That’s just not how he races Lewis,” said Hughes. “Lewis sometimes gives him room and sometimes thinks, ‘no’. It’s maybe not the wisest of choices that each of them makes.”

Dual race directors

The FIA seemed to feel guilty about the workload that it had placed upon Masi who, along with officiating 22 races, was attending other events to learn from different series, checking new venues, as well as being the lightning rod for media and teams at grands prix.

So a two-person role was created for 2022, bringing in two respected names: Eduardo Freitas from WEC and Niels Wittich from DTM. The theory was fine, but when a recovery vehicle joined a soaking wet Suzuka circuit before all cars were behind the safety car, the rotation was stopped, amid apparent concerns over continuity.

Wittich remained for the rest of the races in 2022 and has been the sole race director in 2023.