Lewis Hamilton demands further action from FIA in addition to Michael Masi sacking

F1: Hamilton ‘shouldn’t be complaining’ says Ecclestone

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Lewis Hamilton used his first major appearance in front of reporters since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to call upon the FIA to “make sure this never happens to anybody else in the sport ever again”. The Briton was, of course, referring to how he lost the drivers’ championship to Max Verstappen, who received a huge slice of help from controversial decisions made by race director Michael Masi.

Not only did Masi allow lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to move past the Safety Car, but he fast-tracked the process to allow racing to resume for the final lap.

Mercedes felt this was against the rules, but their immediate appeals were dismissed by the stewards.

Other than a few utterances in the aftermath of the race in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton had not spoken in public about what had happened in the two months that followed.

His social media blackout and silence in the midst of retirement rumours only served to boost speculation over his emotions and F1 future.

But he returned to the public eye two weeks ago and Mercedes have since confirmed that he will continue to race for the team in 2022.

Hamilton was present at the team’s car launch on Friday, as they revealed a return to silver livery for the W13.

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As expected, he was faced with questions about the way he lost last season’s title as he faced reporters at the event.

“I absolutely didn’t rewatch the race,” he said when asked if he had revisited the events which led to him missing out on an eighth world title.

“The experience was something that was very clear in [my] mind and, of course, it replayed in my mind quite a lot in the coming weeks after the race.”

Less clear, though, is the immediate aftermath of the race, as he claimed he could not remember what interaction he had with Verstappen before expressing a desire to avoid talking about what happened.

“I don’t remember what I said to Max. It’s all a bit of a blur after that,” he added.

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“I’ve not revisited it. I don’t particularly want to go backward, I want to look forwards.”

The FIA announced the day before that car reveal that Masi was to be replaced as race director and offered another role within the organisation.

Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will now share the responsibility, with the advice of long-serving former deputy race director Herbie Blash to help guide them.

“Whilst we can’t change the past – nothing will ever really be able to change the way… how it felt at the time and how I feel about the situation – it is good to see that the FIA are taking steps to make improvements,” Hamilton declared as he responded to that move.

“I think accountability is key. We have to use this moment to make sure that this never happens to anybody else in the sport ever again.

“Everything that’s been said by the FIA, I welcome that, but we have to make sure that we keep a close eye on it and make sure that we actually are seeing those changes, and rules are applied fairly and accurately, consistently.”

The Briton went on to say he needed to learn to trust the FIA again, and called on the body to do more to help in the repairing of that relationship.

“I probably put faith and trust alongside each other, and so trust can be lost in a blink of an eye or click of a finger. “To earn trust is something that’s built over a long, long period of time.

“Whilst I didn’t see that coming, this first announcement is perhaps the first step of that, but it doesn’t necessarily change everything just yet. We have to see actual action and I think it’ll take a bit of time.

“But I’m not really focused necessarily on that area at the moment, I’m just putting absolutely every ounce of my energy and time into making sure that I’m the best you’ve ever seen.”

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