Silence isn’t golden with Lewis’ future in balance

FORMULA ONE’S reputation was further dented last night when the meeting between Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was shrouded in contrived secrecy, with Lewis Hamilton’s future participation in the sport unresolved. The two big beasts met in private to deliberate the controversial end to the season in Abu Dhabi that saw Hamilton dramatically lose the title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap. But last night both sides retreated into silence over the nature, extent and result of the discussions. The pact of secrecy blows apart the FIA’s stated ambition to introduce a fresh breath of transparency. It is understood that no firm agreement was reached, with both sides reluctantly agreeing to abide by the ludicrously long timescale the FIA has put in place to investigate the matter — mid-March.

Race director Michael Masi hopes to cling on to his job after the controversies of December 12, when he contentiously brought in the safety car and so allowed Verstappen, on newly changed fresh tyres, to pass Hamilton and win a race the Briton had dominated. Sources close to the scene are split on Masi’s prospects of remaining in his current post. While Wolff wants the Australian official to be sacked, with suggestions his departure is a prerequisite to Hamilton seeing out the last two years of his annual £30million contract, others believe that Mercedes are bullying the FIA and that they should not be allowed to dictate how Formula One is run. The investigation will be finalised at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on March 18, two days before the opening race in Bahrain. An update on the direction of travel is expected earlier than that, with the smart money on Hamilton continuing.