Formula One‘s governing body FIA on Saturday released its full report about the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last season, saying that “human error” was a factor that led to the title controversy. However, the FIA also said that race director Michael Masi had acted in “good faith,” and that the final result of the race was “valid.”
The FIA went on to acknowledge that Masi, who has since been replaced as race director, contravened F1 rules with regard to his handling of the late Safety Car, as well as for allowing an extra racing lap between title aspirants Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
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“The process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error led to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves,” said the FIA in the report that was released after an inquiry that spanned months.
However, the FIA also said that “race director [Michael Masi] was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams.”
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“The results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed,” the report concluded. The full report can be accessed below.
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The FIA report is likely to upset Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on an eighth title that would have seen him surpass the record of F1 great Michael Schumacher, who holds seven.