Former Haas F1 team principal Gunther Steiner says the late Formula 1 racing director Charlie Whiting, who died in 2019, would have prevented the controversial end of the 2021 world championship and a drift by the FIA since .
Steiner, who was punished for criticizing FIA commissioners on multiple occasions during his tenure as head of the American team, claims that after Whiting’s death on the eve of the 2019 season, “the FIA has ceased to be guilty of its mistakes and has lost its humility.”
“And that’s not a good situation,” Steiner added in his new book, “Unfiltered.”
He cited as an example the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where race director Michael Masi broke F1 rules by staging a late restart after the safety car, during which Lewis Hamilton lost the championship. world against Max Verstappen.
“Whatever your opinion on this situation – and yes, I agree, it was incredible entertainment – from a regulatory perspective, it was a shitshow of biblical proportions, and regardless of Charlie Whiting could have made a decision instead of Michael Masi, there would have been much less controversy and embarrassment.”
“We all know what Charlie would have done. If he had been at the helm, Lewis would now be an eight-time world champion.”
