F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali 'reveals' why the sport's owners have remained silent ever since the controversial season finale.

Almost two weeks after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ross Brawn has yet to grace fans with his post-race debrief.

Normally the F1 technical boss, is only too eager to share his thought on the previous weekend's "thrilling" race and what lessons can be learned, especially if said lessons fit the narrative of introducing ever more gimmicks in a bid to make the racing even more "thrilling" - after all, thanks to 'Mikey' wasn't that the ultimate in Sprints?

Then again, the official F1 website on which Brawn's musing's appear doesn't do controversy, going out of its way not to post any news items that might appear 'negative'.

With the Abu Dhabi event being one of the most controversial in living memory, one can understand the desire to avoid the negatives however it seems odd that Brawn hasn't taken the opportunity to 'calm the waters', especially when he was only too quick to assure fans that in-race lobbying by team bosses will be banned next season, even though that is a decision surely down to the sport's rule makers, the FIA.

While Brawn and Liberty Media have chosen to remain silent in the wake of the Yas Marina controversy, the mainstream media hasn't.

Indeed, the sorry situation is probably best summed up by The Guardian, which ran a feature titled: 'Big egos, power struggles, stunning betrayals': how Netflix's Drive to Survive turned Americans into F1 fans.

"The show's brilliance is in its ability to express the sport in terms a Real Housewives fan can process," it began.

Asked the reason for the deafening silence from those who will gain most from the controversy - assuming we accept that all publicity is good publicity - Stefano Domenicali explained: "We have already spoken with the FIA president. We talked about the priorities he will have to face, and there are many.

"But, at this stage, it is right to remain silent so as not to create further controversy in an area that was very overheated," he added, according to F1i. "But I would like to say that we come from an extraordinary season, followed by more than two billion people.

"The last Abu Dhabi GP was the most followed sporting event in 2021. These are stratospheric numbers that we must be proud of."

Other than the on-track antics of Messrs Hamilton and Verstappen, those 'Real Housewives fans' have been entertained by the back-biting and name calling of team principals, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff.

However, despite those "stratospheric numbers" that F1 "must be proud of", and those anxious radio calls that helped make Abu Dhabi "the most followed sporting event in 2021", Domenicali claims the exchanges between the pair must be tempered as they are detrimental to the sport's image.

"Those who live with certainties mean that they sleep well," he said. "But we have many doubts, and we have to face them. We have issues that will eventually have to be managed.

"We will have to evaluate day-by-day the relationship that must be recovered between Red Bull and Mercedes, to avoid the personal clashes that we have seen that serve no benefit."

Which takes us back to those 'Real Housewives fans', for with F1 enjoying "stratospheric numbers" and Abu Dhabi being "the most followed sporting event in 2021" why on earth would you want to 'kill off' one of the main attractions?

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Cobra Driver, 24/12/2021 9:39

"When Domenicali decides that the Formula 1 debacle has damaged his reputation enough, I suggest he retire and take his "mealy-mouthed" explanations and apply them in the political arenas in Britain, the US or Canada. "

Rating: Negative (-1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Steve W, 24/12/2021 2:25

"Ross Brawn is still waiting to be briefed on what Liberty wants him to say. Sorry, but Brawn was a genius at what he did back in the day, but in his current role he's useless."

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by kenji, 24/12/2021 0:20

"DTS is one media viewpoint amongst many and is there purely to exploit the sheer drama of F1. It should be viewed as an entertainment package based [ mainly ] on facts. Yes, there are nuances that don't always stack up but so what? Why are people getting so fussed about it? Just don't watch and all your problems are gone ...poof, just like that. The truth is some people watch so that they can then go online, complain, and then claim that they are a victim of Netflix deception....I watch it and enjoy it simply for what it is....fun."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by BillH, 23/12/2021 18:13

"I enjoyed the first two seasons of Drive to Survive as I watched them some time after the seasons that were filmed.
I think that was because I'd forgotten a lot of what happened.
The third season of DTS I watched I did not like as much as I could see what they were up to, Sainz vs. Ricciardo and trying to crank up a rivalry yet the drivers admit they get along fine.
Verstappen himself did not participate in this season's filming as he did not like what Netflix were up to either.
It will be interesting to see how the next season comes across."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by estoril85, 23/12/2021 16:54

"The point is that 'Drive to survive' is no longer a spin off from the on track action, the on track action is a spin off from 'Drive to survive' for a new and significant number of North American fans."

Rating: Positive (4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Liberty not wanting to create further controversy, says Domenicali

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page