The investigation regarding events on the final part of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP is still a hot topic in the F1 world, with the FIA set to show some of its findings to the F1 Commission on the February 14, and the final verdict on March 18.

The investigation is expected to bring changes to race direction structure and clarification of the rules following a confusion involving safety car procedures and the clearance of lapped cars meant the title decider of 2021 ended in controversial fashion, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ultimately benefitting and winning the drivers’ world championship.

Speaking on The Jack Threlfall Podcast, Red Bull’s Sporting Director, Jonathan Wheatley, has expressed that it’s “very important” that the FIA carry out this inquiry, and says teams will work together with the organization and duly follow its potential outcomes:

“It is very important that the FIA do their investigation. And they’ll work with the teams in that investigation, and then we should all follow whatever the outcome of that investigation is.“

The FIA has recently confirmed the expected dates for its inquiry results:.

FIA Statement #F1 pic.twitter.com/smCqXQy7jz

— FIA (@fia) January 29, 2022

Wheatley highlighted how the race direction has a “very difficult” role to perform in race situations, and explains how the now famous ‘let them race’ mantra is sometimes clashing directly with the rules and regulations of the sport:

“If we look at race direction and the very very difficult role that the race director and stewards have – and it is difficult.

“If we look at that and we talk about consistency of stewards’ decisions, consistency across the board – like people who watch football would like to see from referees – it’s not always the case. Of course, we’d all love it to be very clear.

“We had this great overall philosophy of ‘let them race’. But ‘let them race’ is a philosophy, you then got the black and white of the regulations, which is often very prescribed in terms of what penalty (should be given), or there’s no wiggle room on it at all.”

According to him, the more appropriate solution for a fairer and more consistent stewarding and application of the rules, is to work from pre-defined guidelines coming from the top board of motorsport - the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) – and for the teams to work together with the FIA to ensure a fair system is in place:

“I think these are the areas from the sport that needs to come from the very top. The World Motor Sport Council needs to say ‘here are the principles by which we’re going racing’. And then it’s up to the FIA and the teams to work together to ensure a consistent set of sporting regulations.”

When asked about the difficulty the stewards historically had to police Max Verstappen’s often on-the-limit, aggressive moves, Wheatley said it’s common in top sports persons, and not exclusive to Verstappen, saying the Dutchman is a “100% racer,” along with Lewis Hamilton:

“I think if you look at any elite sportsman, in any sport, they raise the bar, they challenge everyone around them, they make it a very difficult job to try to police them, from time to time.

“Max (Verstappen) is a pure, 100%, racing driver, as is Lewis (Hamilton). What we saw last year was a titanic battle, and I hope there’s many more of those to come,” he concluded.