Sweeping changes to Formula 1’s officiating in the wake of the Abu Dhabi controversy have been welcomed by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
He said F1’s rules had been applied in a “freestyle” manner in recent years, but rejected claims the season finale had been fixed to prevent Lewis Hamilton winning the world championship.
The FIA yesterday announced a series of changes to how F1 races will be run after race director Michael Masi was accused of failing to follow the sport’s rules correctly in the season finale. The replacement of Masi as race director, and appointment of a new, three-strong team which will manage races this year, was among the revisions detailed by the governing body’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“I believe that the right steps have been taken and I am optimistic about the changes that have been implemented,” said Wolff. “Certainly the role of a race director is not easy and now with having two very experienced guys up there, that is…