How F1’s political battles raged on through the winter

The fallout from Abu Dhabi kept Formula 1 in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the off-season. But wider global events have also brought their own challenges as F1 prepares for its new era to begin

Luke Smith Mar 16, 2022, 1:01 PM

Upd: Mar 16, 2022, 2:39 PM

At the end of the longest season in Formula 1 history, which finished less than two weeks before Christmas, the paddock felt in need of a real break. December 2021 was always going to bring a big shift for F1’s political landscape, with the end of Jean Todt’s tenure as FIA president and the start of a new regulations cycle. But few could have predicted how much would change between the last race of 2021 and the first of 2022 as controversy on track, political tension off it, and the outbreak of war resulted in some seismic shifts.

F1’s news cycle never really stopped through the winter. Fans eagerly – sometimes too eagerly – wanted updates from the FIA regarding race director Michael Masi’s future amid the fallout from the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale. Lewis Hamilton’s future even seemed in doubt after the fashion of his title defeat left him “disillusioned” with F1, according to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff. Uncertainty loomed.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.