Formula 1 will make a change after Sunday’s race

A controversial talking point after Sunday’s Formula 1 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit has already been addressed for 2022.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the first Formula 1 world championship of his career by leading only the 58th and final lap of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

Verstappen passed championship rival Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in turn five of the 16-turn, 3.281-mile (5.280-kilometer) road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and despite two challenges by Hamilton later in the lap, he went on to win by 2.256 seconds.

The pass was set up by a restart with one lap remaining, a restart which followed a controversial call to allow the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves just before the safety car came in.

Verstappen had just come into the pits for brand new soft tires, while Hamilton was on 43-lap-old hard tires after staying out.

While the two protests that Mercedes launched about the finish were both dismissed, a change about a related talking point has already been planned for 2022.

Before this season, a change was made allowing messages from team bosses to the race director to be played during the broadcast.

Race director Michael Masi said that these messages being played marked “one of the innovations that the FIA has worked together with F1″, and teams were informed that their messages might be shared in such a manner.

But starting next year, these messages from teams to the race director won’t even be allowed.

Throughout the 2021 season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner seemed to constantly be on the radio trying to influence decisions of the race director.

Such was the case again in the season finale. Wolff urged Masi not to bring out a safety car earlier in the race and then urged him not to allow the lapped cars to unlap themselves before the final restart. Horner urged him to allow those cars to do just that.

Here is what Formula 1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn had to say about the matter, according to Auto Motor und Sport.

"“We will stop this contact next year. It’s unacceptable that team bosses put Michael under such pressure during the race. It’s like the coaches negotiating with the referee in football. Toto can’t demand there shouldn’t be a safety car and Christian can’t demand the cars have to un-lap. That’s at the discretion of the race director.”"

Given the confusion surrounding the end of Sunday’s race, it wouldn’t be surprising if this is the first of a number of changes that are made ahead of the 2022 season opener at Bahrain International Circuit. This race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 20.