Ferrari boss appeals to FIA and points to first Verstappen title

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has stated that the FIA must provide “more clarity” on certain Formula 1 rules.

The Italian pointed to matters such as Max Verstappen's maiden F1 title in 2021, which was won amid a controversial Safety Car restart.

Race Control allowed only the cars in between race leader Lewis Hamilton and second-placed Verstappen to unlap themselves, with Verstappen then overtaking Hamilton on the final lap to secure his first title.

The topic has been labelled as one of the biggest controversies in modern F1 history, with Elkann highlighting that such situations can't be repeated.

"On one side, there are a lot of changes in how the evolution of technologies happen, the importance of being carbon-neutral," Elkann told BBC Sport. "Within that, being able to define clarity on rules and applications is important.

"You don't want things to happen like the 2021 championship, how that ended up. You don't want to have situations like the ones here in Vegas, where you get penalised 10 places [through no fault of your own, referring to Carlos Sainz's penalty].

"So from the regulatory standpoint in terms of rules and applications and what we have seen with the budget caps, those are areas where you'd like to have more clarity."

Addressing Red Bull's dominance

Since Verstappen took his maiden F1 title in 2021, Red Bull has dominated with Verstappen adding two more championships to his name since.

The Dutchman has enjoyed a highly successful season this year by winning 18 of the 21 races staged so far.

Elkann has hailed Red Bull for its performance this year but hinted that something would be wrong if other teams are unable to catch up.

“If they dominate, it means they are really good and that's positive because the sport aspires to really push to get the best and that's what we thrive on and aspire to,” he said.

“If there is no-one able to catch up, that's not good.

“A lot of different positions could come out of [the final race in] Abu Dhabi and that's good and fun. The more competitive it is, no doubt the better it is".