'Possibility' Michael Masi could be replaced as F1 race director

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Michael Masi, the race director at the center of the controversy surrounding the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, could be replaced in the year 2022, according to an official investigating the matter.

The result of last year's championship has cast doubt over Lewis Hamilton's future in F1 and has caused controversy in the sport.

According to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, Hamilton was "disillusioned" by the events in Abu Dhabi and the outcome of the investigation could determine whether the seven-time champion returns to the grid this year.

Peter Bayer, the singer-seater director of the F1 governing body, told the Austrian newspaper that he could not rule out the possibility of Masi being replaced as race.

He said that Michael has done a great job.

We told him that, but also that there is a chance that there is a new race director.

I can only make proposals to the World Council, and they will definitely include Michael.

If the regulations had been followed, Max Verstappen would not have had a chance to beat Hamilton to the title in 2021.

After the race, Mercedes protested Masi's decisions to the stewards, who rejected the team's complaints and upheld the result.

Mercedes decided to withdraw its appeal after the FIA agreed to investigate the matter.

Recommendations from the investigation will not be approved by the World Motor Sport Council until two days before the opening race of the new season.

Changes to the teams will be presented by Bayer prior to that date.

The most likely outcome would have been for Mercedes to appeal the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, which would have resulted in a new race result, meaning that Verstappen would have been crowned champion based on the points scores before.

Masi had several options when he had to make a decision, all according to regulations. He could have done what he did and gotten out of there.

What would have happened if the Mercedes protest had gone to the Court of Appeal? I believe that the judges would have said that the regulations were different to what he decided, so we could only declare the result invalid.

In the event of cancellation, Max Verstappen would have been world champion. It is also about respecting the race director.

The race director needs more support in his role and that his responsibilities should be split between different individuals according to one of the conclusions made by Bayer.

There will be a division of the diverse tasks of the race director, who is also a safety and track delegate. That was too much.

The teams had previously requested that races not be ended under the safety car. Work arounds can be included in the rules to avoid a race ending behind a safety car.

The teams were asked if their demand not to end a race under Safety Car was still relevant.

He also said that the FIA would look into creating additional support via a mission control based in Switzerland, which would act as a back-up team similar to the remote engineering groups in F1 teams.

According to the reports, team principals will no longer be able to speak directly to the race director, and new forms of communication will be set up to alleviate pressure on the race director.