F1’s showdown shambles “shouldn’t happen”, admits Domenicali

2023 F1 season

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Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the sport must avoid a repeat of the confusing and controversial conclusions to the last two drivers’ championship fights.

Errors by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, overshadowed the two races in which Max Verstappen won his two titles. The sport was first plunged into controversy at the end of 2021 when FIA F1 race director Michael Masi broke its rules in arranging a final-lap restart at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which swung the outcome of the world championship.

While the outcome of the 2022 title fight was not as finely poised, the championship was nonetheless clouded in confusion again over the application of the sport’s rules. “These things shouldn’t happen” Domenicali admitted in an interview with Sky.

The FIA commenced an overhaul of its governing apparatus for F1 in the wake of the Abu Dhabi row. The changes arising from this were completed last month, and involved Steve Nielsen moving over from F1 to join the FIA in the role of sporting director.

Nielsen’s arrival showed the sport’s governing body and commercial rights holder are “working very close together”, said Domenicali, “because it’s important that we have people that are understanding the needs for all of us to work for a great sport. And we know that there has been a lot of discussion in that respect and that it is a very important to do a step forward.”

Domenicali is keen to avoid further controversies in the future. “We can understand what is the FIA what is FOM. We have Formula 1. Formula 1 as one brand and the credibility of this brand is really related to the one that has to do the perfect job in the role that they have.”

The FIA and F1 have found themselves increasingly at odds on a number of issues since Mohamed Ben Sulayem took over as president at the end of 2021.

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Liberty Media, the owner of F1, was particularly aggrieved by comments Ben Sulayem made on social media calling into question reports it was considering an offer from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to buy the series for $20 billion (£16.16bn). F1’s representatives described Ben Sulayem’s remarks as “unacceptable”.

The letter was “important to clarify the role of each of us,” said Domenicali. “I think that there’s no other things to comment because I think that as I said we need to stay focused on what we believe is right for the growth of the sport.

“We believe that even if it was just a news that was not news, if I may say, the value of our sport is growing, we should be all happy because that means that we all are doing a great job.”

Domenicali played down the suggestion of friction between the two bodies but made it clear he expects to see improvements in its operation in its second year since Ben Sulayem won election to the presidency.

“With Mohamed Ben Sulayem coming as a new president last year, it was clear that as normal when there is a new president coming into the place that there is a manifesto that he has to respect,” he said.

“That was his proposition in front of the members that have voted him and there is the need and the time to adjust to have the right team to assess the right role within the FIA with regard to what is the role in the F1 championship. And there’s no secret to say that the key of success of sport is to have everyone doing his own job and making sure that we do it in the right way for the benefit of the growth of the sport. Any kind of ‘personalism’ any kind of thing that is not helpful for that it doesn’t make any need to comment because we have all the interest to make sure that our sport is growing.

“We have to do a better job as a commercial rights holder, the team and the driver has to do their own job to make that in the right way. And the same is for the FIA that has [had] one year to develop to grow, to work on a new team and they have to deliver the job because everyone put his credibility on the hands of the other. We are all united on that. If someone is not doing the right job it will be a problem.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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17 comments on “F1’s showdown shambles “shouldn’t happen”, admits Domenicali”

  1. Well Abu Dhabi 2021 was a deliberate fraud foisted on Masi and MBS has been part of the cover-up. He’s still on a power trip. That is most of the problem.

  2. I still think The FIA could have done better but it wasn’t a robbed event like any of the races in ‘21

  3. Last 2 drivers championships? Sorry but you don’t explain- what was the 2022 controversy?

    1. A bunch of people didn’t read the rules properly at Suzuka.
      The FIA did.

      Not really a controversy.

    2. No matter how VER wins a championship, the British lobbying and media will always say there is controversy. The poor guys cannot get over 2021 …

      1. Not true. He richly deserved the 2022 championship by the standard of his driving. I don’t care about Suzuka, but I do care about the budget cap breach giving Red Bull a clear advantage.
        I also very much care about the 2021 farce, that championship should never have been allowed to stand, and it only did because the FIA managed to talk (pay?) Mercedes out of taking it further. Biggest sporting mismanagement I’ve ever seen.

      2. Indeed. Give it one more year. Maybe they’ll calm down. F1 history is filled with these kinds of things. Just another one on the pile.

      3. Ankita, that is not the case. Plenty of non-British victories, including against British drivers, have not been deemed controversial.

    3. @sato113 Between the revelation that Red Bull overspent spectacularly (along with the questionable form of the investigation – criticised by defenders and critics of Red Bull’s 2021 title alike for different reasons – and that so far every figure published indicates the amount the FIA claimed Red Bull had overspent by was more than the FIA was claiming), the races (of which there were at least four) where Red Bull got away with behaviour that other drivers/teams were penalised for doing, and the debacle of Japan 2022 (full details are with the lawyers, but suffice to say that on multiple occasions, trying to count laps that should never have happened and were forbidden from being counted in the regulations were involved), and there’s plenty of people out there who think the 2022 title has no more basis to stand than the 2021 one (i.e. none).

  4. The FIA and F1 have found themselves increasingly at odds on a number of issues since Mohamed Ben Sulayem took over as president at the end of 2021.

    Would these same issues have come up if only one, or neither, party had changed leadership recently?
    Or have Liberty merely taken that opportunity to try increase their power over F1?

    Liberty Media, the owner of F1

    Wrong. The owner of F1 is the FIA – Liberty Media is the Commercial Rights Holder.
    To say that Liberty owns F1 would be like saying that a courier or postman owns whatever is in your parcel.
    The commercial rights can be bought and sold by virtually any corporation with deep enough pockets – but F1 itself will never be made available for sale. No matter who holds the rights, they will always work in partnership with the FIA.

    “With Mohamed Ben Sulayem coming as a new president last year, it was clear that as normal when there is a new president coming into the place that there is a manifesto that he has to respect,” he said.

    Says the new head of Liberty’s F1 project, with his own manifesto.

    Any kind of ‘personalism’ any kind of thing that is not helpful

    Like denying new teams? Like putting profits over sport? They are quite personal values….

    Domenicali is starting to sound more like Bernie than Bernie ever did.

    1. S,
      Domenicali has always been the “yes man” manager with no personality whatsoever parroting whatever narrative fed by his bosses. He forgot that the main reason for the 2021 championship decider controversy was the pressure made by F1 over the FIA and the race director in particular and this was for more drama for the “show”. MBS has given them the reality check they were desperately looking for. Now they are looking to appoint David Richards as their straw man.

    2. S, both the FIA and Liberty are always trying to increase their control, and would be regardless of who was in power. That’s the nature of having a compulsorily bifurcated centre of governance.

  5. Haha it keeps on coming, hilareous. There is a need for increased creativity (the struggle is visible by now) to keep coming up with stories referring to 2021 but kudos so far!

  6. It’s already too late to fix the damage of 2021 where as 2022 was just ridiculous, feeling more like someone arbitrarily decided “you’re champion now” (those saying “oh, you just didn’t understand the rules” seem to quickly forget that not only did the teams not know this, who spend millions finding every interpretation of the rules, but neither did they before it was randomly announced). To say the sporting body needs to sort it’s act out would be an understatement.

    1. (those saying “oh, you just didn’t understand the rules” seem to quickly forget that not only did the teams not know this, who spend millions finding every interpretation of the rules, but neither did they before it was randomly announced).

      Not exactly money well spent then, was it… The FIA knew what was going on.
      Teams ‘miss’ (or dismiss) things all the time.

      Once the FIA explained it, everyone had no choice but to say “Ah yeah, I guess you’re right” – simply because the FIA were right, and there was no legitimate argument against it.

      1. Yes, the teams have little excuse to not have understood the rules, since (as you’ve previously pointed out, I recall) they were heavily involved in the drafting of that particular regulation itself; Alan Permane and Andreas Seidl admitted as much in the aftermath.

        But ultimately, the FIA is the sporting body. It is their duty to regulate the teams — not the other way round — and protect the sport’s integrity and reputation. While I think they are doing so in some areas, in this regard, I find Liberty’s frustration completely reasonable. I agree with Craig. It does not reflect well on the FIA that their rulebook does not clearly say what it means (a failing that was at the root of the 2021 outcome as well).

        It just shows that the FIA needs a team of people with lawyers’ eyes to consult on the wording of the actual regulations and give the entire rulebook an overhaul. There’s a reason why legislation around the world is drafted not by members of parliaments themselves but attorneys in that body’s office of legislative counsel. Drafting precise and comprehensive regulations is a skill, and it’s not one that team sporting directors or even a race director is necessarily equipped with.

        1. @markzastrow Perhaps it would be easier for the teams to understand the regulations if the FIA opted to consistently follow the them and refrain from partiality in enforcing them – something that has spectacularly not been the case for the last 18 months.

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