Masi's F1 future still in balance

Australian Michael Masi's future as Formula One's race director remains in the balance following a crunch meeting of the sport's major players in London.

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner arrived at F1's headquarters at St James's Market awaiting the outcome of the FIA's inquiry into last year's controversial finale where Max Verstappen claimed the world championship.

But two months and two days after the contentious Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - a race Hamilton said was "manipulated" following Masi's handling of a late safety car period - the Australian official's fate is seemingly still to be determined.

FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem chaired the four-hour summit and is expected to address the continued fallout from Abu Dhabi later this week.

One source told the PA news agency: "The meeting was inconclusive.

"Not a lot of progress has been made."

It is also understood that Masi was present for the talks.

Hamilton, described by Wolff as "disillusioned" after missing out on his eighth world title, will make his first public appearance since the debacle in the desert on Friday when Mercedes launch their new car at Silverstone.

In a statement, the FIA said: "The FIA President led detailed discussions of the 2021 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"Feedback from the Commission on matters raised will be incorporated into the president's analysis and he will publicly present news of structural changes and action plan in the coming days."

One school of thought is that Masi could be forced to take up a lesser role, with Portuguese Eduardo Freitas moving across from the World Endurance Championship to replace him.

But the under-fire Masi has found the support of a number of