"Cannot be changed retrospectively" - Nico Hulkenberg claims F1 decisions are unlike those in other sports

Former F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg feels F1 cannot retrospectively change past decisions and outcomes unlike other sports. The German feels that race director Michael Masi’s controversial decisions in Abu Dhabi had an enormous influence on last season’s world championship. However, he added there would be no rollback in the championship order despite the unrest.

In his blog “Hulk Report” posted on social media, the former Le Mans winner wrote:

“The race director’s actions were debated and questioned. In the end, it was a decision that simply cannot be changed retrospectively and that also occurs in other sports, such as football."

He added:

“The peculiarity in this case was that there perhaps has never been a rule interpretation by race control in F1 that had such an enormous influence on the outcome of the drivers’ world championship.”

Lewis Hamilton lost his bid for a record-breaking eighth world championship last season after losing to Max Verstappen on the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Despite dominating the majority of the race, Hamilton was unable to stop a charging Verstappen on fresh soft tires from passing for the lead. However, the situation for Hamilton to get overtaken rose after a controversial decision by race control handed Verstappen a dubious advantage.

In the immediate aftermath of the race, Mercedes lodged a protest with the stewards. They demanded that the grid order from the lap previous to the final lap be reflected in the final classifications, thereby handing Lewis Hamilton the world championship. The stewards, however, rejected Mercedes protests and reaffirmed Michael Masi’s decisions.

In the following weeks, more and more information regarding the final few laps started to resurface. It became apparent that Masi’s judgment did not correctly reflect the F1 regulations.

As the pressure started to increase, the FIA announced an inquiry into the events. They promised to take actions based the inquiry’s findings to prevent a future repeat of the events.

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FIA yet to unveil changes to F1 race direction and stewarding in response to Abu Dhabi inquiry

Yesterday, during a meeting in London, the findings from the Abu Dhabi inquiry were made available to the concerned parties, including representatives from Red Bull and Mercedes. Following the conclusion of the inquiry, the FIA reportedly wanted to get the opinion of the teams during the F1 commission. They want to do so before making the report available to the public early next month.

However, the governing body is yet to announce any structural changes it intends to make following the inquiry. They might choose to remove Michael Masi as race director following increased calls for his sacking in recent weeks. But it is likely that a more robust race directing team with clear roles will be implemented from the upcoming season, with Masi retaining his role in some form.