In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he hopes the FIA will make its report into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix available for “everyone”
In brief
FIA should make Abu Dhabi report public – Hamilton
Hamilton says that he hopes the FIA’s report of its investigation into the final Safety Car restart in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be made public.Last week, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem announced major changes to race control in Formula 1 in response to an internal investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver says he hopes that the FIA will make it available to “everyone”.
“I’ve not seen it,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t think it was out yet, but I’m excited to see the results from that report and I think hopefully everyone will get to see it and to have, perhaps, a better understanding of everything.
“I think ultimately, like everything, it’s down to understanding where we’ve been so we can move forward in a positive light.”
Mazepin looking forward to return of sprint races
Haas driver Nikita Mazepin says he enjoyed the sprint races introduced last season and is looking forward to the three sprint events on this season’s F1 calendar.
There will be three sprint races at Imola, Red Bull Ring and Interlagos this season. Mazepin says he is a fan of the alternative format introduced last year.
“I enjoyed it,” Mazepin said. “I enjoyed it firstly as a race fan, because it’s great to turn up to a race venue or turn on a TV and know that Friday, Saturday, Sunday there’s something at stake rather than just free practises.
“But also, from a driver’s point of view, I like the challenge. You wake up, short warm-up and you’re straight into qualifying.”
Hadjar ends Formula Regional Asian Championship with a win
Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar finished the Formula Regional Asian Championship with a race win in the final race of the championship in Abu Dhabi.
Hadjar won a race disrupted by multiple Safety Cars at the Yas Marina circuit to claim his second victory of the season ahead of Gabriele Mini and Mercedes junior driver Paul Aron. Fellow Red Bull Jak Crawford finished in fourth place.
With Arthur Leclerc having already clinched the drivers’ title after Saturday’s first race, Hadjar ended the season third in the overall standings behind Pepe Marti.
Driver given suspended fine for urination at Yas Marina
Alfred Renauer copped an unusual fine during last weekend’s Asian Le Mans Series race at Yas Marina. The Herberth Motorsport driver was fined €10,000 (£8,300) and ordered to provide a written apology or pay a further €10,000 after a marshal spotted him urinating at the trackside during a red flag period.
“In certain cultures where acts or deeds vary in levels of acceptance, the panel of stewards recognise that in the United Arab Emirates, such an act is extremely disrespectful and is a criminal offence,” noted the stewards. “Taking the above into consideration, the panel of stewards have decided to impose such a penalty.”
IndyCar is back
The new IndyCar season begins this weekend! Don’t miss RaceFans’ preview of this year’s championship coming up later today.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
2022 helmet, unboxed 📦✔️ @SchumacherMick talks through the changes for his new design 👌#HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/oTjaAfEjsc
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) February 20, 2022
Great racing out there today in @ExtremeELive !! Congrats @AccionaSainz for a great 2nd place after a mega start by @CSainz_oficial and a great drive by @LaiaSanz_ . Great move by @rosbergxracing ! Onto the next one!
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) February 20, 2022
My brother has been with me every step of the way. Few people have believed in me more than Nicolas. I’m so grateful for the blessing he is in my life and so happy to share this moment with him. Our smiles 🤣 pic.twitter.com/r1eP4j8wVn
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 20, 2022
winner gets to drive the car first in pre-season testing ✌️ pic.twitter.com/Vfe8iCiAVc
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 20, 2022
Bummer. Glad Tanner is ok. Strong first weekend. We’ll fix it and go again💪 https://t.co/DsArOvJv8u
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) February 20, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Watch: Onboard with Nicholas Latifi for his first lap in the FW44 (Williams)
"Join Nicholas Latifi onboard the FW44 as our No6 takes the new Williams Racing challenger for its first full lap at Silverstone!"
"I probably raced against George Russell the most. Because we are more or less the same age, we were always at the same level, and were always in the top three. I've probably raced against him around 40-50 times and beaten him about half of those races - and the other half, he beat me!"
How Mercedes' Esports Facility Gives Them An Edge (Formula 1 via YouTube)
"We went behind the scenes at their Esports facility in Brackley to see how the hard work in the real world pays off in Esports."
cLaren Unboxed | Backstage Pass (Mclaren via YouTube)
"Become a fly-on-the-wall at the McLaren Racing Team Launch, where Lando and Daniel revealed our contender for the 2022 Formula 1 season: the MCL36."
2022 Back Home Again Indy500 Commercial Extended Cut (IMS via YouTube)
A special TV ad produced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to promote this year's Indy 500.
"We sat down with Mahindra Racing's latest addition Oliver Rowland to take a look through his action-packed motorsport career."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is @robbie!:
“Thought the cars were getting heavier, not lighter.
Robbie
Thanks to everyone who came up with caption idea this week and a special mention to Matt, @dot_com and Sonny Crockett who all came up with particularly good captions.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Lou, Nirupam, Phiwe, Saiesh, Keamo and Phiwe Maserumule!
RandomMallard
21st February 2022, 0:11
So does that make it two reports were eagerly awaiting a full release of now? /s
(People on the UK may possibly understand more than others)
In all seriousness though, I do agree with Lewis. I hope we do get the full report published and available to all (isn’t that currently planned for some point during the first race weekend in Bahrain or is that something else?).
Interesting comments from Mazepin.
Very much looking forward to Indycar’s return as well. Will keep an eye out for the preview article!
RandomMallard
21st February 2022, 0:12
Oh yh congrats to Robbie as well
Robbie (@robbie)
21st February 2022, 11:17
RandomMallard Thank you and thanks to Racefans as well:)
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
21st February 2022, 0:15
They were going to release it in full but apparently the person at the FIA responsible for its public release got ambushed by a cake by the copy machine.
As soon as the party ends I’m sure we’ll get to see it.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st February 2022, 7:44
@stefmeister ”ambushed by a cake by the copy machine.”
– Interesting if indeed true & literally like you describe.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st February 2022, 5:57
Think this is a thing everyone can agree on, no matter which side they’re on, that it should be made public.
erikje
21st February 2022, 9:49
All fia reports should be public. Including the ferrari one.its a pity this reports focuses to much on ad and not the stewarding in total.
pastaman
21st February 2022, 0:40
Indycar season is starting, which means I don’t visit this site 3-4 days per week anymore. Unless 2022 brings the addition of spoiler tags? Not holding my breath.
Yes
21st February 2022, 2:06
True, thanks for the heads up. I had a good few Indycar race results spoiled last year.
Pretty excited though I almost don’t feel ready as I didn’t realise the season was starting so soon so I haven’t been following very much y
Henri
21st February 2022, 7:34
When I miss a race, i usually avoid racing websites until I’ve watched it.
Or is it just me?
Yes
21st February 2022, 9:25
Think it’s just you going by this thread ngl
Ant
21st February 2022, 4:12
Yes! This! Please try and make the IndyCar posts/results less obvious in the thumbnail/headline! It’s not always as easy to watch these live. Thank you in advance!
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
21st February 2022, 7:44
+1
nandy
21st February 2022, 5:58
And Formula E (aka the future of racing)!
Dex
21st February 2022, 10:45
Amen! I mean, it is our fault somehow, but I always forget because I don’t expect to see non-F1 stuff here. I’m sure a vast majority of readership here doesn’t watch Indy races live. This is how I destroyed an entire season last year lol… There’s (or there was) some plugin for Firefox at least (possibly other browsers too) that blocks set spoilers by masking the articles and images related to a set criteria.
Ruben
21st February 2022, 2:23
To anyone with better knowledge of the English language than me: ‘hoping that they will make it available to everyone’ is something else than ‘they should make it available to everyone’ – right?
The phrasing of the title makes it seem as if someone desperately tries to keep it under cover, but from the snippet in the article I get a different vibe.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st February 2022, 5:56
That’s true, I got a different impression from the headline before clicking.
Alec Glen (@alec-glen)
21st February 2022, 9:46
Same thing really. Headline at this time says that he ‘wants’ FIA to make it public, which if he’s said he ‘hopes’ they make public is correct.
Lewis couldn’t say ‘want’ as that would be perceived as ‘demands’ and have further connotations. He’s doing the right thing here in saying that he hopes/would like to see it published as it keeps it in the news (he also puts it across in a reasonable way saying it’s good for the future of everyone) without putting himself in a position which could be viewed as confrontational.
erikje
21st February 2022, 10:21
All for some extra clicks..
Baiting is the norm here.
paulguitar (@paulguitar)
21st February 2022, 22:26
@erikje
Why are you here?
Ruben
21st February 2022, 13:27
Good that you mention the ‘perceiving’ part, I feel that within ‘British politeness’ it’s also not common (or: not done) to say you ‘want’ something. But that’s exactly the reading-between-the-lines part I might be missing out on, I’m afraid.
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
21st February 2022, 3:28
Expected that they will release it (to everyone) at the same time as the updated report on the Ferrari fuel flow and power output mystery from 2 years ago.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
21st February 2022, 6:09
2099 is going to be a great year for FIA’s Truth and Reconciliation process.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
21st February 2022, 13:03
You beat me to it! ;)
Jere (@jerejj)
21st February 2022, 7:43
I don’t feel like any info necessarily got kept secret.
A suspended fine for urination, LOL.
Yes, Middle East culture thing, but still, weird things happen sometimes.
AT tweet: I know how the Rock-Paper-Scissors game works, but I’m unfamiliar with this one.
Williams kept the display physically separate from the steering wheel after all, even though render images suggested otherwise.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st February 2022, 8:20
I think they should have just given him a fine for urinating somewhere next to the track @jerejj. Surely they have enough sanitation around to accommodate everyone during a red flag, he was just too lazy to bother to walk a few steps further and do it in a booth.
DrG (@drgraham)
21st February 2022, 13:19
Funny thing though.
In the UK I recall it is still legal to urinate (roadside – I had the misfortune to test it out on the M25 in 1999 during a usual 8 hour jam) as long as it’s at the front wheel of a vehicle. I believe it stems back to horse drawn carriage days.
Obviously ladies need not apply!
I am sure others more knowledgable than myself on such matters can clarify if that’s still the case?
BasCB (@bascb)
21st February 2022, 8:18
Hands up for anyone else who is fully in favour of Mazepin watching the F1 weekends on TV too.
Qeki (@qeki)
21st February 2022, 9:59
So overall the least favorite driver is supporting the least favorite thing in F1..
UAE seems to have a very money orientatied culture.
That Ponteland news is just another example of how many talents (or possible future stars) there are who are just don’t have the money to take the next step.
nandy
21st February 2022, 10:08
Can we have hams tax returns made public too?…
Hes better just shutting up and driving. If we want to pick apart every controversial moment from last year he’ll find himself looking even worse!
Emma
21st February 2022, 12:41
“Shut up and drive” isn’t nice to read. What’s wrong with some of you?
Roman
21st February 2022, 12:57
Ridiculous comment.
Why shouldnt the report be made public? And what does this have to do with anybodys tax?
DrG (@drgraham)
21st February 2022, 13:22
What is wrong with you Nancy (ah possibly the clue is in the name)?
I mean, given the screw up, now made quite obvious, why would you equate it to tax returns?
You know, the ones that show he is one of the highest tax payers in the UK?
sam
21st February 2022, 17:13
no class as usual.
anon
22nd February 2022, 6:37
So, you are getting extremely angry and abusive because Hamilton has suggested that the FIA should stick to their original promise that, as part of their reforms into more transparent governance of the sport, they would release the report to the public? Are we now in a situation where you are so fixated on abusing a rival that you will criticise anything they do, to the point where an act that normally would be considered a positive thing is now to be demonised?
Wayne
21st February 2022, 10:29
Why? whats his tax returns got to do with f1? Lewis is right fia should publish the findings etc in full. So we all can understand what was investigated. Who was questioned. What was the outcome. And why was the outcome put forward. Its not some top secret government black Ops. But it is important that we as fans know the full story.
davidhunter13 (@davidhunter13)
21st February 2022, 12:38
Agree. A sport isn’t really a sport if the adjudication is done in secret.
David BR (@david-br)
21st February 2022, 21:28
@davidhunter13 Well, it’s not as though FIA (and Ferrari) lack the practice.
Fab
21st February 2022, 14:15
I can understand the need to have the report public, but i find it a little hypocrit.
I’ve not seen him complain when there were not penalty when he did cut the chicane at the first lap of Abu Dhabi.
And other FIA décision that have turned into his advantage over the year, when it was not so clear.
So about fair et public rules, i’m supporting it.
A long as there was a lot of controversial decision from Masi and stewards, something needs to be clarified, to get more constance, more sharpness.
But complaining only when rules are not going his own way, i’m sorry, but i annoyes me.
Rules are the same for everyone.
You are included in them, Lewis.
No matter how many championnship you did win.
It’s not a matter of class, of who you are, but a matter of fairness.
Especially when he claims that he wants to be the purest driver of F1.
Purest for me means :
No pushing someone out of track if he tries to overtake you by the outside.
So words, ok, but like for FIA, Mr Hamilton words are better when followed by acts.
And it’s the same for everyone in F1.
Don’t claim.
Do. And be honest.
I don’t care about image, i care about acts.
No matter wich driver it is.
No matter wich team it is.
No matter wich one in FIA.
Rules are about the spirit of fairness.
You can’t claim fairness and trying not play the game of fairness yourself.
And as long as Hamilton will use the method to push someone out of track when someone try to overtake on the outside, i won’t believe the « being the purest » driver.
Don’t tell. Do .
Or it’s just wind.
Perez and other have shown last year that you can overtake while letting space to the opponent and not pushing him out of track.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
21st February 2022, 14:24
I think Ben Sulayem has already stressed that the integrity of the FIA will remain intact through the investigation which itself suggests that certain things happened that would damage the FIA’s integrity in the same manner that Ferrari’s integrity was kept undamaged recently.
I doubt we’ll see the full report, if any. The way they’re changing the role of race director suggests that they don’t believe that this power can be in the hands of 1 person which in turn suggests that Masi – the 1 person after Whiting who has had all this power and created the mess – exercised it in a very biased manner.
johnandtonic
21st February 2022, 15:52
I would be happy to see the FIA report published. The FIA is a political organization and I expect that the report would been written as such to avoid controversy and litigation. To have proper context and full transparency the feedback from the teams and drivers should also be published in full. Perhaps a journalist, could ask the TPs/Drivers if their feedback could be publicly released (I suspect I know the answer).
drmouse (@drmouse)
21st February 2022, 19:42
Watched XE for the first time, and that accident was quite something. Talk about low visibility!
That’s one weird racing format, though. Enjoyable, but very strange!
F180 (@f180)
21st February 2022, 22:08
I’ve read that Masi actions were under his attributions. Fair or not, It’s like a penalty kick. Once it happens there won’t much to do. FIA, in the same fashion as FIFA, it’s blameless. They shut any critics with tons of silence or tons of money (if the voice has some weight). That makes think that Lewis has a voice but it is not powerful enough to assure the findings will be public. Lewis is somehow alone. Mercedes won’t say a thing. They can’t bite the hand who feeds them. One bad call vs dozens of “lucky” calls. You can’t go against the boss.
melanos
21st February 2022, 23:01
Bien dit, monsieur Gasly