“FIA is hopelessly overshadowed by its lack of manpower,” Helmut Marko requests the grid to not scapegoat Masi for Abu Dhabi GP fiasco


“FIA is hopelessly overshadowed by its lack of manpower,” Helmut Marko requests the grid to not scapegoat Masi for Abu Dhabi GP fiasco

The F1 Commission meeting which is supposed to take place today saw Austrian former racing driver come out in support for current Formula One race director, Michael Masi.

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The winter break of the last Formula One season saw a lot of controversies being speculated by fans and people on the grid alike as an aftermath of the nerve-wracking last race of the 2021 Formula One season, the Abu Dhabi GP which saw Max Verstappen win his first WDC.

However after this span of two months, the FIA will today come out with their results of the Abu Dhabi GP inquiry at the F1 Commission meeting. As for attendance in this extremely crucial meeting, the FIA is expecting the presence of all ten F1 team bosses, FIA representations and the current serving CEO of Formula One, Stefano Domenicali.

Helmut Marko has requested the grid to specifically not drag Michael Masi and not put all the blame on him for what happened at the very eventful last race of the season which saw undefeated Lewis Hamilton lose to Dutch driver Verstappen after a very controversial decision regarding the deployment of the safety car.

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Masi wanted to find a sporting solution: Helmut Marko

The last lap of the Abu Dhabi GP 2021

Marko was seen telling Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, “No, of course not, he wanted to find a sporting solution. As is often the case with Safety Car periods, one driver benefits more than the other. In the American IMSA, three laps can be added so the races are suddenly longer. In Formula 1, with all the tight fuel calculations, this is not an option,” said Marko as quoted by Planet F1.

The big teams, like us, have people in the factory who analyse every little detail and immediately let them know on the pit wall. So in that respect the FIA is hopelessly overshadowed by its lack of manpower,” Marko added.

The deployment of the safety car at the Abu Dhabi GP after Williams’ Nicholas Latifi’s crash gave Max Verstappen the needed edge to go on and win the race in the clinical last lap. It was upto Masi to decide on allowing the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to allow themselves to unlap. Mercedes AMG Petronas’ boss Toto Wolff was seen being absolutely disappointed at the crucial decision taken by the Austrian race director right before the last lap. It was this controversial decision that led to the inquiry.

Marko also mentioned how he just hopes that people understand that there’s no point in dragging Masi and that he eventually retains his position as the race director of the grid. The current advisor to the Red Bull GmbH teams and head of Red Bull’s driver development program was also seen saying, “Everything should be clearer. I think they will try to relieve the race management a little more.”

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