Why the FIA "can’t please everyone" with on-track rulings

Verstappen, Hamilton, Abu Dhabi — Photo: © LAT Images

Formula 1

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Why the FIA "can’t please everyone" with on-track rulings

Numerous decisions left fans and teams baffled across the 2021 season

Sam Hall

Sunday 9 January 2022 09:00

Esteban Ocon has conceded the difficulty for FIA race director Michael Masi to make the "right call at the right time" given the "huge" F1 rule book.

Masi and the FIA stewards came under fire at a number of races last season with drivers and teams commenting across the year of a lack of consistency in the application of the sporting regulations.

After the controversial way in which the drivers' title was secured by Max Verstappen, the Dutchman passing Lewis Hamilton in a last-lap shootout following a questionable application of the safety car procedures, the spotlight fixed itself to Masi.

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Speaking in a post-season media briefing including GPFans, Ocon explained: “There are so many rules. The book of FIA is huge. I didn't even read it completely, obviously.

“It's difficult to judge, it's difficult to have the right call at the right time.

“There are so many things happening in the races so I don't know.

“Obviously, I know where you're coming from. You're talking about that last incident as well and things that happen in the year overall.

“It's how it is. It's a sport in the end and it will always fall from one side or another. You can't please everyone, unfortunately.”

One source of frustration for fans across the year has been the application of track limits, with the restrictions often varying from one corner to the next even on the same track.

At certain places, the white line has been stuck to as is defined in the FIA sporting code, but at other corners, the furthest edge of the kerb has been used.

Comparing it to football, where the white lines clearly denote the edge of the field of play, Ocon added: “I think it's a bit more complicated than football, unfortunately.

"There have to be more rules. There are a lot more things to come into play."