FIA speaks of 'human error' in full report on Abu Dhabi GP
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The FIA has made public a summary of the official report of the investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Following the controversy surrounding the final race, where Max Verstappen ran off with the title victory on the final lap, the FIA announced it was launching an investigation into the events.
FIA changes rules
The report revealed that, according to the FIA, Michael Masi acted to the best of his knowledge in Abu Dhabi, especially given the time constraints and enormous pressure exerted by the teams. According to the FIA, radio communication had a negative impact on the smooth running of the final laps by distracting the race director while he had to concentrate on making difficult decisions.
Nevertheless, the race director has been replaced for next season, with Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas taking over his role. The FIA wrote that the rules about the safety car in the regulations could be interpreted in different ways, which contributed to the outcome.
In addition, the FIA admits that not all cars were allowed to unlap themselves behind the safety car due to 'human error'. Only the drivers between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to overtake the safety car. The FIA even adapted the regulations by clarifying that from now on all cars must unlap themselves and confirmed this in the report. Also, a system has been developed whereby all drivers who are allowed to overtake the safety car, automatically get a message.
Results cannot be changed anymore
Finally, the FIA confirmed that the results of the race and the title victory are final and cannot be changed. So it is now really official that Verstappen will keep his first world title.