The controversial conclusion to last year’s world championship did not damage Formula 1’s reputation or popularity, says the series’ CEO Stefano Domenicali.
An average of 107 million people watched last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi live, according to F1. However the title-deciding race ended in acrimony when the destiny of the championship was changed by a controversial restart, which the series’ governing body later admitted was arranged in violation of its rules.
Four days passed before Mercedes dropped their bid to appeal against the result which cost Lewis Hamilton his eighth world title, which confirmed Max Verstappen as championship. But the fallout from the race continued for months.
The FIA enacted wide-ranging changes to how grands prix are run, the most significant of which was the ousting of F1 race director Michael Masi. It published a report detailing the errors made by Masi, who subsequently left the sport’s governing body. He and Nicholas Latifi – whose crash triggered the Safety Car period which preceded the restart – both received abusive social media messages including death threats.
Despite the controversial end to last year’s season, Domenicali believes F1 has emerged with its reputation intact.
“In terms of image, it’s like when there is a football World Cup [final] and there is a referee that’s making a mistake and there is a penalty given that is not there, but it’s there. So I don’t think that is a damage of the reputation, of the solidity of the championship, because that’s something that can happen.
“What I see, to be honest, is that the FIA has taken seriously that fact and they want to change it and to improve the system. But at the end of the day, the performance of all the people involved in F1 has something related to his personal capability or personal skills or personal good decision or personal mistakes. And this is something that will be always in every sport.”
Domenicali made it clear that, as the FIA’s report found, there was no evidence of foul play in Masi’s decision.
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“What I can, because otherwise I wouldn’t be in this position, I never, ever think that someone is doing something on purpose to be against someone. This is something that I cannot accept because if I would have a little doubt about it, I wouldn’t be here.
“You can have mistakes, yes, 100%. You can say…
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