Lewis Hamilton wants to bring huge changes to F1, allegedly. This is remarkable as he’s been for the most part completely silent since the tumultuous end of the 2021 season, but fans believe that Lewis Hamilton is expecting big changes from the FIA for him to return to Formula 1, and it looks like he may get his wish at least in a superficial manner.
Two weeks before the presentation of the new Mercedes for the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton’s future is still uncertain.
The British driver had a very difficult time during the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Max Verstappen overtook him to win the title after Michael Masi’s controversial decisions that were entirely his right to make as FIA race director.
Massi was singled out by many for his handling of the safety car procedure, and his insistence on restarting the race for a final lap of green flag racing. As a result, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, anxious that such a situation should not occur again, are reportedly calling for Michael Masi’s departure and for major changes to the regulations.
Peter Bayer, the new F1 chief at the FIA, mentioned this possibility recently saying:
“We are considering a better division of the race director’s tasks, who is at the same time sporting director, safety officer and race director. This is simply too much for one person. These roles will now be split between several people, which will reduce the workload of the race director.”
A position apparently confirmed by the Guardian, the British media outlet has contacted sources within the FIA, which is continuing its investigation “in an impartial manner, looking in depth at whether the rules were followed” regarding the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
According to the Guardian, the changes coming should not lead to Michael Masi’s departure, but to several major alterations to procedure, notably regarding the safety car rules, to make them clearer.
The ability for team managers to lobby the race director live via radio as events unfold would be removed, following the broadcast of communications between Michael Masi, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, which is perhaps a shame as this provided a fair amount of entertainment to the audiences.
These changes are likely to be the best the FIA is willing to do for Lewis Hamilton, who some think does not want to relive the feeling of injustice. A condition for the British driver to accept to continue his career.
But in all honestly, it is quite clear the FIA is merely paying lip service to Wolff and Hamilton in order for them to save some face after the ridiculous and improper behaviour of not showing to the end of season event. A mandatory requirement of all F1 participants, especially a top team such as Mercedes Benz.
Last season had Ecclestones nasty prints all over it, he may have stepped down but when Whiting went he campaigned for Masi to replace him with no prior F1 experience and pulled his strings. Ecclestone hates Lewis and was still pulling strings last year, now that Masi has done his bidding he is throwing him under the bus. Lewis knows this and wont return until Ecclestones influence is gone for good. He should be gone when he retired and sitting in someone’s front garden with a fishing rod where he belongs. Then maybe F1 can get back to racing fairly once again.
Cult – noun – a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
Moron – someone that has the intelligence of a prawn sandwich
Wappie -noun- (plural:wappies); Dutch word for people believing in wild conspiracy theories without any hard evidence.
So your Dutch and not at all biased 😂but you are also still a moron. I’ve been around racing for over 40 years and know many ex F1 drivers and people that tell me what is going on in F1. Unlike you I’m not an armchair racer and not someone living in SuperMax La La land I know what is going on and facts that don’t fit with your Max won it fairly campaign which Max is peddling himself the poor deluded soul. Lewis had him well beaten in that last race and in fact the last four races Max had no answer and resorted to trying to drive into Lewis instead when he could get near him which was rare. Another fact that Max’s fans can’t live with was he was outmatched since Mexico and had Masi and the FIA deciding they didn’t like the outcome the real champion Lewis would have won his eighth title but gifted it to Max instead. It’s not conspiracy which you would love to believe and I bet you also feel there was no controversy in Abu Dhabi either you Max fans make me laugh by your sheer ignorance of things staring you in the face. I’ll stick with the facts and you carry on in your ‘Max is a worthy champion’ bubble. For the record most drivers in the paddock think the last race was a farce and F1 credibility is in the toilet right now, so way to go Max the new F1 paper champion in name only.
THANK YOU! Why has no one F1 journalist ever bothered to look into this argument. We all want to stay focused on what and how technical rules applied and not the bigger question of why would it be beneficial to sabotage a potential 8 times world champion on the final lap and that is because Bernie Ecclestone can’t stand Lewis Hamilton and I do think that part of the reason for that is Lewis complexion.
Lewis has not said anything about retiring the whole winter (he hasn’t said anything) it is a story that F1 media came up and have chosen as the narrative in vacuum rather than why might he not want to speak. Is it purely to do with soar grapes on the reality that no matter what he does there are elements that do not want him to win 8 championships.,I challenge any journalist to step back and genuinely look into the question, is there a concerted desire for the heads of F1 to ensure that a black man does not eclipse Michael Schumacher’s record?
I thought twice about saying what I did as people in the FIA have their own suspicions but are friends and speak out and I knew people would just dismiss it as a conspiracy theory which it isn’t. The FIA is rotten to the core and as you rightly said they would do almost anything to stop Lewis from being the first black racer to beat Schumacher’s record. Under Bernie, Schumacher got away with murder including shunting off Damon off to take the title. Bernie has always adored Schumacher and doesn’t have any time for Lewis. He may have stepped down but installing his wife and Ben Salayem as his replacement means his influence is still there. The sad thing is Lewis knows this and wont return until some guarantee or cleansing is done to make racing fair again. If he is going to go for his eighth title he needs to know the FIA wont interfere again and I don’t think he will get it which will be a massive loss to F1. I hope if that happens all true F1 fans stop watching as Politics has no place in F1. What also saddens me is max claiming he won the title fair and square, that boy has serious delusion issues. I can’t prove it but I can still shout out about it.
Laughable website, ran by a petulant child.
The radio matter has generally been about TPs specifically contacting Masi rather than broadcasting team-RD comms.
Racing directors could still contact him & that would happen either way, although even they should avoid lobbying on their respective TPs’ behalf.
Sick to death of hearing about Hamilton
Bent f1
Strange how this guy knows all this when Lewis has been silent. Very childish article.
F1 is a Motorsport which is 1000s of times bigger than just Lewis Hamilton, which by the way he is acting, is still nowhere near as big as his ego. If he wants to act like a spoiled brat because he was beaten in the last race and lost the Championship, then I say good riddance!
Whether it was just the first 4 lapped cars or all of them, they should have been let through earlier, which of course means that Verstappen would be right behind Hamilton anyway.
If Hamilton is as good as everyone says, especially on old tyres, he should have been able to hold Verstappen off for 1 lap, just like Perez did to him earlier in the race.
Genius. Wish i thought of that argument. Your right. Perez, on old tires, kept Hamilton, on fresh tires, at bay for … 1 lap? Surely Hamilton, with a superior engine, should be capable of repeating that…
Steve, with all due respect… apart from the continued repeating of your “i heard and i know’-song … your Ecclestone theory is completely over the top conspiracy thinking. Without any verifyable evidence… you’re a wappie in the purest definition of the word.
With all due respect Duckey I’ve had two people in the know close to F1 telling me Bernie is still meddling in F1 and that is a fact. He always hated Hamilton so it isn’t a reach to connect the dots to see a motive behind the most corrupt and diabolical decision in F1 and Masi is the fall guy, otherwise why would any self respecting person break his own rules twice to deliver a result knowing the consequences without being told to do so? Also the FIA have been protecting him ever since and the whole thing stinks, if F1 is going to get any credibility back they need to clean house and remove any legacy of Bernie altogether he may have stepped down but his influence still exists and that is a fact not conspiracy it’s a fact. For someone who could walk under a table without bending down he still wields a lot of influence in F1.
maybe TJ13 might consider publishing your theory Steve
Funny, but you can ignore it if you like but that evil hobbit still has his mucky fingers on F1. You obviously think his wife and subordinate now running F1 is perfectly fine and innocent but that’s why he gets away with it, naïve people like you. Lewis wont return until that influence is gone so I don’t think he will ever come back which will be a massive loss to the sport. I wish Bernie would go back to The Shire and leave F1 alone.
write me a more detailed doc and email it to thejudge@thejudge13.com, im being perfectly serious too
Ok, I’m sorry if I misjudged you but people do need to know what this nasty little bugger is getting away with, his Napoleon syndrome knows no bounds, What worries me is peoples reaction will be like yours at first but the fact is it’s true and stranger things have happened. If I post this through TJ13 all the Max fans will have a heyday but I have a thick skin.
I’m interested, please do send it
Sorry but no need to involve and offend hobbits here. Perfectly friendly creatures. Tolkien will not appreciate this. Better call him a troll.
😂😂 I appreciate that and have always loved Hobbits but Bernie is far too short to be a Troll so lets just say he is a nasty Hobbit.
an angry gnome
I’m not sure if you’re serious but if you are… Please do! Can’t wait to see the comment section explode then. Won’t hurt your click’s neither 🙂
Surely he is more akin to Smeagol/Gollum than a hobbit – festering, raging away in the darkness, lusting after the loss of his “precious” and scheming to get it back
In addition, I just spoke with a friend of mine this morning who works for the FIA and since Ben Salayem was appointed just before Abu Dhabi GP one of his first actions was to install Fabiana, Bernie’s wife in a senior director role which sent ripples through the FIA. Bernie maybe 91 and retired but his influence is still there and it has been subtle but the decisions made in Abu Dhabi have his prints all over them as anyone that knows anything in F1 knows Bernie was desperate for Lewis not to achieve that eighth title as he has no fondness for Lewis but a massive respect for Schumacher. You carry on thinking it’s a conspiracy theory but you asked for facts and if Bernie was stepping away from F1 why appoint his wife as a director who knows nothing about F1 and Ben Salayem who has a long history of contact with Bernie?
It’s a fact that his wife works for FIA now. But that’s no way prove that Ecclestone is thwarting (correct word?) Hamilton or fiddling with FIA’s internal workings. Thats all speculation from your side, fueled by hear-say. Sorry Steve, it’s not good enough.
And now we’re on it… you claimed Masi had no F1 experience? It’s a bit more nuanced i think. He had plenty experience in other classes and was already the designated successor for Whiting. So at least the experienced guys thought he was ready for it. Then he had a jumpstart in 2019 because of Charlies sudden death. They evaluated him half a year and again… he was deemed fit for the job… At the moment of the disputed Abu Dhabi race in december ’21 he had almost 3 years experience. So pretending he was a total rookie then… not true. In fact, up to Abu Dhai everyone, including the teams, were pretty happy with him. The decisions of the stewards were the talk of the day all those years. Not Masi.
Yes thwarting is the right word and we aren’t dealing with idiots here but as I said why would Bernie have his wife installed as FIA director when she has as much experience in F1 as my wife who hates F1, answer me that? When I retired, I didn’t have my wife appointed as Director because I retired and walked away, he never intended to walk away. Also, Ben Salayem has a long history of working under Bernie but proving he is a puppet just isn’t possible but common sense says it is wrong. He is still pulling the strings as he has a controlling Napoleon complex and will never step away completely. Also, it is widely known his dislike of Hamilton and hero worship of Schumacher who got away with murder under Bernie’s rule. He would never knowingly allow Lewis to break his record but he isn’t stupid enough to make it obvious.
As for Masi, yes he had experience in F2 and other lower formulae’s but it’s like taking a championship referee and sticking him in the world cup final he wasn’t ready and it’s clear he can’t cope with the pressure. He made some poor decisions last seasons but nothing controversial until Jeddah where instead of disqualifying Max after being found guilty of dangerous driving chose to give him a time penalty instead which was outrageous as all was interested him was making a great final race and not rules or justice. The final race was the same they didn’t like the outcome so they broke the rules, twice. F1 has lost all credibility since and will take a long time to recover where even the drivers consider the whole thing a farce with Max parading around like nothing happened.
You are right I have no evidence but as I said any proof is well hidden but my friends tell me that there has been a major change in the FIA with decisions being made with no explanation and on a need to know basis. It has all the honest people who work there uncomfortable as they seem more concerned with damage limitation that doing what is right. Lewis knows this too which is why I don’t think he will return unless changes are made, he isn’t bigger than the sport and knows it but why race when the FIA can always change the outcome again.
First of all, as an experienced racing driver you should know that Masi does not hand out (time)penalties. The stewards do that.
Than Ecclestone’s wife… you might say that it is remarkable and i would agree. You might say it raises questions and eyebrows… and i would also agree. But downright claiming it IS as you say, is just a bridge too far. (sidestep: please dó write the article with TJ13. I’d love it). Facebook and other social media are full with claims and statements based on either nothing or hear-say and the algorithms ensure that those claims find a huge audience. Corona-vaccins, world elites controlling people, 911 was an inside job… it goes on and on and on. They all share one common property… no evidence. Only people saying that it is the way they say it is. Your Ecclestone theory, juicy as it can be, fits right in. Come with evidence Steve and the whole wide world will be at your feet.
Ps: I’m still not biassed towards Max or against Ham 🙂
Although you are correct in saying a panel of stewards decide whether a penalty is necessary or not, as Race Director and claiming he wanted a fighting climax to the end of the season, it is naïve to think that given disqualifying Max, as the offence dictates, would blow a large hole in that idea and that influence wasn’t at play here. This isn’t another conspiracy theory as this has happened at other times before with Schumacher who got away with murder under Bernie’s rule, like taking out Damon to win the championship. Also, going in to the last race on level points couldn’t have been scripted better.
Although I can pass on what people tell me and they have their suspicions too, it is very hard to provide concrete proof. Bernie didn’t get where he is by being careless and given his possessive controlling nature he would never step away, so installing his wife and getting someone he knows well to replace him gives him what he needs to still influence F1. I feel sorry for Masi as he had great intentions but I feel he just isn’t being allowed to do things his way and he has been made the scapegoat. Removing Masi does nothing the FIA need to clean house completely which wont happen and they will just make token gestures which is why I can’t see Lewis returning.
No evidence… Bernie said as much himself on Skynews! https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXhSrA3o867/?utm_medium=copy_link
Do you think Bernie got where he is by being careless. He may be a controlling, Narcistic dwarf with a massive Napoleon syndrome but he is no idiot. Yet people that work at the FIA have found decisions being made on a need to know basis and since Abu Dhabi they are in turmoil. They wont admit they did anything wrong yet are desperate to get on the right side of Lewis as they dread him quitting citing lack of faith in the FIA. There is no evidence but it only needs a slight leap of faith to see there is something really wrong with the FIA that has caused the largest public backlash in F1 history just to stop Lewis getting that elusive eighth title which Bernie would have given anything to avoid.
When the village hero does not win, it is painful to look at the facts . The primary reason Lewis did not stand on the top step is because Toto made a poor decision and did not bring him in for a set of “reds” at the same time that Max came in. Sergio held of Lewis for most of a lap with worn tires, but the village hero could not hold off Max. Officials often make decisions that the losing team don’t like. I am not a fan of Bernie, but the idea that he “rigged” the outcome is preposterous.. Max is the World Champion and no amount of whining or foot stamping will change that. Do you have the testicular fortitude to face reality??
It makes me laugh out loud that you talk about reality and facts, something that all Max fans have a real problem with living in La La SuperMax land where there was no controversy and Max won fair and square. The changing tyres myth perpetuated by the loony Max set is a fallacy that only armchair racers would believe. Like any experienced driver Lewis stayed out to preserve his position with 2 laps to go, Max played the desperate ‘do the opposite of Lewis’ card with Horner saying ‘We need a miracle’. then Masi decided to help Max breaking his own rules not once but twice leaving Lewis a sitting duck. This wasn’t racing it was politics and if you didn’t have your head so firmly up Max’s arse you would know what we all know that Politics in other words Bernie were behind the worst decisions ever made in F1 history giving the largest ever public backlash (mostly racing fans not Lewis fans including drivers) which has not only shamed F1 but made it a laughing stock. The FIA are in turmoil and trying to be seen to do the right thing without admitting they did anything wrong and terrified that Lewis will quit citing lack of faith in the FIA. As a typical Max fan you can carry on in the ‘Max is a worthy champion’ bubble while the adults get on with trying to save F1 from itself. Max is no more a worthy champion than you are and will always be regarded as the guy that was gifted the title from the FIA as they didn’t like the idea of Lewis winning his eighth title making him immortal. Max wont ever be regarded as a true champion until he wins it honestly without help from the FIA, sorry to burst your reality bubble but that is a fact and you can whine and whinge as much as you like but facts are facts.
If Lewis had defended on the last lap, Max would have been quite prepared to take him out, since he (Max), would still have taken the title.
& in that case, Max would’ve got points deducted as per pre-event warning or even got an entire championship exclusion.