Michael Masi’s ‘human error’: FIA reveal investigation findings following 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

FIA have released their long awaited report over Michael Masi’s decisions in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race director has since been sacked, and replaced by a team consisting of Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. 

But, while his actions have been deemed as ‘human error’, the authorities will let Verstappen’s maiden F1 title stand. They also confirmed in an official statement that the former race director acted in good faith, considering the pressure that the other teams put him under as well. 

FIA reveal Abu Dhabi Grand Prix investigation findings which led to Michael Masi’s dismissal

Here is what was revealed in the official statement released by FIA: ‘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. 

‘Due to the fact that manual interventions generally carry a higher risk of human error, software has been developed that will, from now on, automate the communication of the list of cars that must un-lap themselves. 

‘In addition, the 2022 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations have been recently updated to clarify that “all” and not “any” cars must be permitted to un-lap themselves.’

‘In combination with the objective to finish under green flag racing conditions applied throughout the 2021 season, the report finds that the 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.’ 

The seven-page report that was published reveals that Mercedes applied pressure on the Australian. The team suggested that Lewis Hamilton would quit racing if the race director was allowed to continue following his actions in the final race of the last season. 

As a result, FIA have defended Michael Masi to a great extent, and have also replaced and automated the system in place which allowed cars to unlap themselves.