One of the main faces in Formula 1 broadcasting, Martin Brundle, has launched a damming review of the FIA, calling for the governing body to step up its game.
In 2014, the F1 world tragically lost Jules Bianchi, a promising young driver, when he collided with a recovery tractor at Suzuka, which had come on to the track to recover a stricken car.
Following the incident the sporting world swore to never make the same mistake again, however stunningly, just weeks ago at the exact same track, a recovery tractor was seen on track in extreme wet conditions.
AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly passed this tractor and was understandably outraged, arguably being a snap of oversteer or aquaplaning away from what could have been another tragic F1 incident.
READ: Fake news: Nicholas Latifi hits out at ‘poor journalism’ after rumour
To add to this fiasco, Max Verstappen was crowed a two-time world champion, which he found out in the cool down room, despite most in the sport believing that because the race never reached 75% distance, he had not earned enough points.
Speaking on this, Brundle told Sky Sports F1 that such a simple thing should not be allowed to become so complex.
“Cost cap, safety cars on track and whether we have had a world champion cross the line…
“There was even some confusion as to whether or not it was the end of the race for goodness sake,” he exclaimed.
“Was there a world champion or not? These are fundamentals,” he continued.
Brundle carries on to say that the way the rules are interpreted leads to more confusion, there should have been a straightforward conclusion of the race.
“It is a fast-moving, complex sport but just the interpretation of the wording… and even all the team managers who put their hands up on getting points at certain parts, 25 per cent, 50 per cent race distance and what have you, which was already too complicated – the worlding wasn’t put into place correctly and nobody noticed it,” he complained.
Following the controversial race, the FIA have stopped the two race director rotation, which Brundle thinks could be the start of positive change.
“We have been working along with two race directors which cannot function properly, that has just been changed,
“Eduardo Freitas will no longer be race director.”
READ: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez react to Cashgate claims, fire own accusations
While understanding that rules change over time, the F1 broadcaster has called for a rulebook reboot.
“The rules grow and get changed here and there over the course of time and I think they are due for a line through them and starting again, something that was mooted a year or two back,
“It is just basic housekeeping and common sense we need here, it doesn’t need anything more clever than that.”