'There was nothing wrong with it, but Hamilton didn't deserve it'

Masi has been under fire since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as the decisions he made during the race would have prevented Lewis Hamilton from winning his eighth world title. There is a lot of discontent, but that doesn't mean Masi will just disappear according to the journalist. Indeed, if they were to fire him, the FIA would leave the impression that they can be influenced.

What the changes are is still unclear, but Saward thinks that most of the conversations will be about the safety car and the rules surrounding it. Ultimately, the lack of clarity about those rules was also the reason Mercedes wanted to appeal.

'Was nothing wrong with it'

Since the season finale, there have been a lot of conversations about the future of the Australian race director, but according to the 60-year-old journalist, he did nothing wrong in that situation. He understands the dissatisfaction and anger, but it is mainly about the unclear rules around the safety car and its use.

"Everyone feels for Lewis and what happened but some of the crusaders who are trying to mount witch-hunts against Masi need to understand – as the FIA Stewards in Abu Dhabi obviously did – that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with what the Race Director did, even if the result was patently unfair and Hamilton did not deserve to lose the race and thus the title," he says on his blog.