McLaren unveiled its new challenger for the 2022 F1 season yeasterday in Woking, together with the other cars which will compete in IndyCar, Extreme E and the eSports category. 

After the unveiling Andreas Seidl, McLaren F1 Team Principal, spoke with the media about the goals for the new season, even if the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale is still a hot topic in the environment. 

All-out attack in 2022. 👊 @ArrowMcLarenSP @McLarenXE @McLarenShadow#FearlesslyForward pic.twitter.com/218LSWrTDS

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 11, 2022

On Monday the F1 Commission will reveal the outcome of the FIA's Inquiry over what happened during the last laps in Abu Dhabi, where Lewis Hamilton led the race - and the championship - until the Safety Car because of Latifi's crash.

Something didn't go as planned during the yellow flag, as race director Michael Masi allowed only selected drivers to un-lap themselves (the ones between Hamilton and Max Verstappen on track) while the others kept their lapped position behind the Red Bull number 33. 

“It’s clear that what happened in Abu Dhabi was very controversial and was not good for the sport - said McLaren's team principal - and because of the analysis that are ongoing I don’t want to go too much into the detail of judging what happened there exactly.

“It’s important now to wait for Monday and then hopefully we can close this topic with a good analysis from the FIA’s side and have good steps in place also have how we can improve for the future," he continued. 

Max Verstappen clinched his first world title in Abu Dhabi causing a lot of conversations about the way it all happened. Mercedes' Toto Wolff called out Masi for the way he handled the race, while Lewis Hamilton broke his social silence only a few days ago. 

A perfect view. 😍 pic.twitter.com/JCiNsW8YB6

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 11, 2022

Andreas Seidl continues saying that the sport is still made of human beings, both on the teams and the direction side, and mistakes can happen. 

“The beauty of this sport is that it is also, not just on the teams side, but also on the FIA’s side when it comes to the execution of races, a human sport. That we shouldn’t forget - he said -  I think it’s also important to mention whatever we put in place we’re as guilty as well as the FIA in terms of how the regulations are at the moment, because we were part of creating these regulations". 

“We need to accept mistakes can happen, on the team’s side but also on the FIA’s side. So these things can happen again, for example".

A lot has been said about Masi and soucers say that he may not keep his role for the 2022 season, but the truth is that Formula 1 - as Seidl pointed out - is not made of just cars, but humans too and it is impossible to predict every single episode that may happen during the race. Maybe the problem is not Masi or the race direction, but the body of regulations the race direction must apply. 

“For me it’s very important as well that we also discuss a racing mechanism where you have, let’s say that we’re in a position that if mistakes happen, where should you raise your hand and admit them and have a mechanism in place in order to correct those mistakes also, or correct the consequences that such mistakes or controversies could have. That is as important as trying to avoid similar controversies in the first place," suggested McLaren team principal.

Seidl recalls that a lot of mistakes and controversial episodes happened during the season, which may all have influenced the result of the championship: let's remember the inauguaral race in Bahrain, for example, where Verstappen gave Hamilton the position at the end to avoid a penalty, but similar situation where decided differently thoughout the season.

“If you look at the entire season last year a lot of controversial things happened which were not good for the sport. So we need to invest time and energy on the teams’ side together with the FIA to make sure we understand what happened throughout the season and see how we can help by making the regulations, for example, less complex.

“By giving more support to the race director. More support also to the stewards to avoid these controversies, to avoid also these things happening. By making it also easier in terms of policing or the application of rules.”