Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton’s future with the world’s premier racing series remains in doubt as the FiA – Formula 1’s governing body – inexplicably continues to prolong their inquiry into the highly-controversial 2021 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In that race, Hamilton was comfortably in front and on his way to a record eighth F1 world title when a late race crash set into motion a series of events which saw F1 race director Michael Masi go rogue by failing to follow several F1 rules, resulting in Hamilton being at a significant disadvantage and allowing Hamilton’s Red Bull rival, Max Verstappen, to “win” the race.
Newly appointed FiA director of F1, Peter Bayer, who is conducting the inquiry, has indicated that Masi will likely be replaced as F1 race director for the upcoming F1 season but Bayer and the FiA continue to fail to adequately address the Masi-led inequity of the late-race situation causing Hamilton to race with a significant disadvantage.
Mercedes had protested the race results to race stewards but race stewards merely deferred to Masi’s faulty decisions leading Mercedes to initially appeal the race result to the FiA but withdrew that appeal when they correctly surmised the FiA would protect their own interests [Masi and his faulty decisions] instead of taking action against Masi and suspending the race at the point of the crash [before Masi had made his faulty decisions] and agreed to wait until the FiA made an official inquiry into the race.
But the FiA has inexplicably prolonged that inquiry for almost two months after the event’s completion and Bayer – who was previously the longtime FIA secretary general for motorsport – now [reportedly] indicates that Mercedes’ fears were confirmed as had Mercedes gone through with their initial appeal, the FiA would continue to support Masi’s faulty decisions by voiding the entire race – as if it never happened – instead of at the point of the crash when Masi’s egregious errors occurred, effectively negating Hamilton’s [as well as that of every driver] race to that point and, of course, preventing Hamilton from clinching his eighth world title.
Hamilton and Mercedes have yet to officially comment on the FiA’s continuing 2021 Abu Dhabi inquiry fiasco as they await an official statement from the organization.