F1 | FIA Race Director will have 'better support' according to Christian Horner
With so much pressure on FIA Race Director Michael Masi, Christian Horner made this prediction to Sky Sports this past Sunday night at the Autosport Awards
Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner spoke to Sky Sports this past Sunday night outside the London-based venue of the Autosport Awards on the red carpet. Horner’s comments showed that he expects the FIA Race Director to have greater support in 2022.
Back in July last year, in the fallout of the infamous collision at Silverstone between Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, FIA Race Director Michael Masi was asked if the stewards were being used too much in the intense battle between Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Red Bull Racing. At that time, Masi replied:
“You’ve got such a close championship which is fantastic for Formula 1, you’ve got two magnificent drivers fighting it out for the World Championship. As a regulator, you’re always going to come out like any referee in any sporting competition so there’s always going to be an element of it. But whatever sniping is happening between Mercedes and Red Bull behind closed doors is not of concern to us. We judge it on what happens out there on the sporting field or on the track.”
Fast forward 5 months to the final race of a 22 race 2021 F1 season and all the headlines were full of Michael Masi. Having chosen to apply the rules in such an unprecedented and well documented way, this resulted in Sir Lewis Hamilton claiming the result was being ‘manipulated’. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, race victor of the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, claimed his maiden F1 Drivers’ World Championship.
In the weeks that followed, many critics have called for Michael Masi to be replaced whereas others believe the FIA Race Director needs assistance having had two years of intense racing with barely a day off.
Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner spoke to Sky Sports this past Sunday night outside the London-based venue of the Autosport Awards on the red carpet. Horner’s comments showed that he expects the FIA Race Director to have greater support in 2022. The catalyst for change is also expected to come following the appointment of new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem is a seasoned racer having been a 14-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion and is currently in a four-year term after replacing Jean Todt after he completed three terms in the role. Sulayem made clear early on that he had a great desire to resolve the Abu Dhabi GP situation and hinted at changes in the structure and make-up of race control to better support the race director. This desire was reiterated to Sky Sports by Christian Horner.
"The new president has put a key focus on this, and I think there's a drive to make sure that the race director has better support," Horner said. "The tools we have at our disposal are far in advance of that of Michael and his team. So, I think there has been a lot of focus on that over the winter.
"I think you'll see that role better supported, which will hopefully enable decisions to be easier and swifter. I think we also need to look at the regulations to simplify some of those as well."
With the dawn of the 2022 F1 season upon us, there is still so much unknown.
As such, this month will see F1 teams gather at the F1 Commission for decisive talks. This meeting must first take place so that then the World Motor Sport Council can give final approval to any changes ahead of the coming season of F1 racing.
Having been such a controversial conclusion in Abu Dhabi, the question was posed by Sky Sports as to whether the fallout from Abu Dhabi dampened Red Bull's celebrations of Max Verstappen’s maiden F1 Driver’s Championship.
"Not really, because the only ones talking about it have been you guys!” Horner replied. "We've enjoyed getting that championship victory, and obviously focus is now on 2022. '21 is already history, but we're excited about the season ahead."
The F1 Commission will no doubt answer some questions but F1 is no stranger to controversy.
There will always be fans who view Damon Hill as the real Champion of 1994 after the infamous collision with Michael Schumacher in Adelaide. Years before this, Ayrton Senna was stripped of a 1989 Japanese Grand Prix victory which handed Alain Prost the title. Therefore, no matter what is decided, there will always be a loyal base of Sir Lewis Hamilton fans deeming their man the victor irrespective of what the history books show.
The worst thing for Formula One would be to dwell on the 2021 season as opposed to being excited for the season to come. It is well documented that FIA Race director Michael Masi failed to implement at least two articles of the sporting regulations. Nevertheless, an F1 Drivers’ Championship is decided over the course of a season and not a single race. If teams are too focused on the past they may lose sight of a very exciting future, one which will bring a record breaking 23 Grand Prix weekends. Who knows, with so much track time and better support for the Race Director, maybe by the conclusion of this season we will actually have a Champion everyone can agree on.
