The formal investigation phase of the investigation began on Monday, with the inquiry team aiming to question everyone involved.
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By early February, the FIA hopes to have completed its investigation into F1‘s contentious title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. According to Sky Sports, the formal investigation phase of the investigation began on Monday, with the inquiry team aiming to question everyone involved in the event, including race director Michael Masi, stewards, drivers, and team representatives.
In the week following the race, the stewards submitted their report. The procedure is being led by Peter Bayer, the FIA’s secretary general of motor sport. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who was elected FIA president on December 17, is personally involved in the study and is handling it urgently from the regulatory body’s headquarters in Geneva.
The governing body of Formula One has been in flux, with Jean Todt’s time as president coming to an end just five days after the Abu Dhabi finale. The probe will be “thorough, objective, and transparent,” according to an FIA official. The governing body hopes to finish the process by the World Motor Sport Council’s next meeting on February 3 at the latest.
The destiny of seven-time champion Hamilton is still up in the air ahead of the 2022 season. The outcome of the FIA’s investigation is thought to be crucial to the case’s conclusion. Pre-season testing begins on February 23 in Spain, with the season’s inaugural race on March 20 in Bahrain.
Hamilton has not commented publicly since the race’s immediate aftermath, when he gave a brief pre-podium interview in which he complimented Verstappen. His sole known statement on the final laps was when he notified his race engineer over team radio that the situation had been managed into the race’s final corners. Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, said four days after the race that Hamilton was disillusioned with the outcome, and claimed he couldn’t give any guarantees that Hamilton would return to Formula One.
“It’s going to take a long time for us to digest what has happened on Sunday. I don’t think we will ever overcome it, that’s not possible,” said Wolff. “And certainly not him [Hamilton] as a driver. I would very much hope the two of us and the rest of the team we can work through the events… But he will never overcome the pain and the distress that was caused on Sunday.”
