Seidl favours a ban on broadcasting teams to Race Control

Michelle Foster
Andreas Seidl on the McLaren pit wall. Qatar, November 2021.

McLaren principal Andreas Seidl looking back from the pit wall in Qatar. November 2021.

Andreas Seidl would support Formula 1 if the sport decided to block the broadcasting of communication between the teams and Race Control.

Last season, nearing the end of a tense title fight between Red Bull and Mercedes for the championship titles, radio communications between the title-chasing teams and FIA race director Michael Masi created some of the highlights in the midst of what was already a thrilling battle.

However, in Abu Dhabi the pleading coming from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff did not cover the two of them, or the sport, in glory.

Both were heard begging Masi for a scenario that would play out in their favour.

Wolff initially wanted Masi to use just the Virtual Safety Car to clear Antonio Giovinazzi’s crashed Alfa Romeo, and then, once again the Australian deployed the full Safety Car, wanted him not to restart the race.

Horner meanwhile urged Masi to restart with one lap, asking the Race Director “why aren’t we getting these lapped cars out of the way?” and “you only need one racing lap”.

When Masi went the route that suited Red Bull best, Wolff cried: “No Mikey, no no Mikey, that was so not right!”

Unhappy with the radio communications, F1 managing director Ross Brawn told Auto Motor und Sport that F1 was considering preventing the teams from being able to contact the Race Director.

“It is not acceptable that the team bosses put Michael under such pressure during the race,” he said.

“Toto Wolff cannot demand that a Safety Car should not come, and Christian Horner cannot demand that the cars have to lap back.

“That is at the discretion of the Race Director. We will stop this contact next year [2022].”

Seidl, however, feels at the very least FOM should not broadcast the messages.

“I think the only reason why it is a debate now is because it gets transmitted,” the McLaren team boss told Speedcafe.com. “Before you didn’t hear that stuff. And I think that’s the big difference.

“To be honest from my point of view I was never a fan to broadcast this communication, because there’s also things going back and forward regarding safety, which I don’t think necessarily should always be broadcast.

“That is my opinion on it.”

 

He says the teams have always been as vocal to the Race Director as they were in Abu Dhabi, it was perhaps even worse in the past although now they know it could be heard by the rest of the world.

“I don’t think that the communication principle has changed,” he said, “I would say in terms of what’s going backwards and forwards it’s even more control than in the past because everyone knows it gets broke.”

 

PlanetF1 Verdict

 

Seidl wants FOM to stop broadcasting comms between teams and Masi

Andreas Seidl wants FOM to stop broadcasting the communication between teams and Michael Masi.