Haas team boss Gunther Steiner says he has “full confidence” in the FIA’s investigation to resolve the fallout from last year’s controversial Formula 1 season finale.
Following the outcry over race director Michael Masi’s handling of the final laps in Abu Dhabi, the FIA is conducting a full investigation into the final round of the 2021 season.
Masi’s failure to follow the sporting regulations in relation to safety car restarts allowed Max Verstappen to pull off a last-lap pass on Lewis Hamilton to win the race and the world championship.
It has led to speculation Masi could be replaced ahead of the 2022 season, with a potential restructuring of the FIA’s race control team also a possibility.
The investigation is not expected to be completed until early February, while any changes won’t be approved until just prior to next month’s season opener in Bahrain.
Having held talks with newly-elected FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over the matter, Steiner, while coy on what had been discussed, felt the FIA was “working diligently” to make improvements going forward.
“I didn’t give a lot of recommendations to President Mohammed,” Steiner said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“We talked about it, and I think there are private talks, and I don’t want to go there.
“I know they are diligently working on it, to make it – I wouldn’t say better, which is the wrong word – to make it mainly better for whoever is race director.
“It’s a very difficult job, and I’m not here to protect Michael or anything. It is very difficult. I think the sport has grown so much, and some of the things have stayed behind.
“I’m sure they will come up with some ideas when we are presented them, and then we’ll see what they are doing. I didn’t give them any recommendation what to do, a specific one.
“We talked about the issues a little bit, and we all know them. I think the FIA is working diligently that we move in to better future.”
Leading the investigation is the FIA’s secretary general for sport Peter Bayer, who recently admitted Masi’s job could be under threat.
Masi has been in the role of F1 race director since the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, when he replaced Charlie Whiting after his sudden passing.
Asked if he believed Masi was the right person to hold the position, Steiner replied: “Again, I’ve got enough on my plate with my company to be honest.
“I wouldn’t like to go into the FIA to tell them what they should be doing, because I know that they are doing things, but I do know not the details, contracts and stuff like this.
“I’m not trying to avoid the question. I honestly don’t know their structure in there completely. And we all know Michael Masi as the race director, but I don’t know what is underlying and how to make it better.
“As I said I’m pretty busy with with what I’m doing for Haas F1. So I’m not getting involved. I’ve got the full confidence in the FIA, that they will fix it because everybody speaks about it.
“You guys ask questions, but these will be questions more for the FIA than for me.”
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