The 2021 race for the drivers' championship took a dramatic turnaround in the final lap of the main race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, giving five of the cars behind before FIA Race Director Michael Massey withdrew from the safety car at the end of the race, and after restarting the race on the final lap, Lewis Hamilton, who did not enter the race during the safety car, lost the world championship title to Max Verstappen, who was replaced by a soft tire.
The Mercedes team disputed the outcome after the race on the grounds that Massy's actions did not fully comply with the rules of the safety car. It was only after the FIA promised to analyse and clarify the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Mercedes made the decision to withdraw the appeal against the dispute.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and driver Lewis Hamilton both missed the FIA 2021 year-end awards ceremony.
At midnight on January 14, 2022 Beijing time, the FIA FIA officially said that it would launch the investigation procedure of the "safety car incident" at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the final battle of the 2021 season, and said that it would submit a preliminary report to the World Motorsports Parliament on February 3, and officially released the investigation report before the opening battle of the 2022 season.
In addition to the investigation of the incident, the FIA will also convene an event advisory committee meeting on January 19, which will discuss the controversial deployment of safe cars, with riders and teams involved. In addition, the new FIA President, Mohammed bin Surayem, also asked FIA Motorsport Secretary-General Peter Beyer to review and optimize the 2022 FIA's organizational structure.
Also, according to a BBC report on Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton's future in the F1 campaign may depend on the FIA's final findings.