Michael Masi's performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drew a lot of criticism, yet the race director will stay on in 2022. Moreover, his power has only increased.
The new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has made this decision despite all the criticism. It was thought that Masi could be relieved of his duties, but Ben Sulayem clearly thought otherwise. He even believes that the Australian should be given more power, as there should really only be one referee per race.
"It would be much quicker to impose penalties, rather than having to wait until an incident is presented to the stewards and they have to investigate and decide. It can't be the case that hours after a race the result is changed," he said at Soymotor.com.
Less time penalties and giving places back immediately
There are also rumours that the time penalties will change. The five second time penalty that is often given can easily be undone by driving a few fast laps. A mandatory pit stop takes much more time and therefore it is harder for drivers to get back on track.
Also the way in which the position must be given back to another driver will change. The race committee does not want to see a repeat of what happened in Saudi Arabia between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. One possible solution is to only give DRS two laps after giving the position back to the other driver.