Originally Posted by
squibby
I'm back again, I've been pondering this scenario even more. It's just so irritating. I've realized there is probably some other issues that might make a pompous Race Director act like he has in the aftermath, and also receive the support he has received thus far from other officials. We already know he's probably pretty arrogant from the sarcastic responses to Toto's messages, so let's assume the Race Director is a pretty nice chap, but under the pressure of such a race was suffering a bit of a 'God' complex at the time:
So rule '15) - Officials' of the regs specifically section 15.3 when read in context is explaining the hierarchy between two individuals - the 'Clerk of the Course' and the 'Race Director'. Section 15.3 when read in context, gives the Race Director the overriding authority on various matters prefixed with a) b) c) d) and of course the now infamous e) the use of the safety car. So clearly the Race Director outranks the Clerk of the Course on certain topics. The Stewards are saying this gives the Race Director authority to do whatever he wants with a Safety car, but as we know, this isn't accurate because to suggest the Race Director can break the rules at whim is simply illogical, and also because rule 15 is being quoted out of context when it's purpose is to explain who's the Boss on certain matters - Race Director vs Clerk of the Course.
Now if you go read rule 39 and various parts, you find it describing the 'Clerk of the course' (not the race director) issuing the signals to lapped drivers to overtake, calling the safety car back in etc etc. So the Clerk of the course actions things affecting the operation of the course during a race like issuing the signals to Safety car and drivers, but the Race Director has 'overriding authority' of the race giving instructions to the Clerk and considering his opinions regarding the course.
During the last minutes of the Abu Dhabi race, The 'Clerk of the Course' would have been competently implementing rule 39 as per the regs and all previous precedents. Then the Race Director told the Clerk of the course to do something unprecedented, and not described in the regulation 39, to un-lap only 5 cars, and then to bring the safety car in a lap early. Now being a technical professional himself, being very familiar with all of the regulations, and no doubt a stickler for rules, if the Clerk's superior tells him to do something wrong, he will challenge it. So there is no doubt in my mind that the Clerk would have challenged the Race Director under this high pressure situation. He would have at least said - ' sorry, you want me to issue WHAT?!? instructions with the unlapped cars and safety car?!?' It may even have happened twice, once with the irregular message to only 5 cars, and again with the irregular withdrawal of the safety car a lap early. these kind of challenges may have irritated an arrogant Race Director and caused a couple of heated exchanges and some bad blood. Exactly how heated this exchange became? - who knows, Most professionals get pretty stubborn when they know their job and it's rules really well, and then their client, or their superior tells them to do something 'cowboy' and pulls rank on them to make them do it...
When faced with a challenge from the Clerk of the course over a safety car issue, I can imaging that a pompous or arrogant Race Director may proudly stick to his guns and remind the Clerk that under article 15, the Race director has overriding authority (over the Clerk of the Course) regarding the use of the Safety car. The Clerk would probably say something like, 'fine, I'll do it, but this is wrong, doesn't conform to the regs and you are going to cop the heat for this after the race, not me'. These words now ringing in the Race Directors ears, A minute later he has Toto calling into his ear that this is 'so not right', and a championship is decided over it, he would get that sinking feeling that he's stuffed this up, and the Race Director is going to be sweating bullets and mentally preparing his defence already. In the immediate radio response to Toto, a sarcastic comment was the only wit he had in the moment. Also the Clerk of the course may now be like 'I told you so'... Mercedes challenge the decision and there is going to be a strong element of willy waving between Race Direcor and the Clerk of the Course after the race over who was right and who was wrong. I'd like to hear from the Clerk of the Course, but I guess he won't want to annoy a lucrative F1 customer and will keep out of the media. FIA now have to back up the Director and article 15, or they have to back up article 39, and we know which one they picked since they can't permit a Clerk of the Course or anyone except the F1 officials from making the big decisions in decisive moments, even decisions that break their own rules.