The paddock divided over Michael Masi’s departure

Michael Masi has been ousted from his position as race director for 2022. He will be replaced by Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich on a rotating basis. The departure of the Australian has sparked strong reactions in the paddock. Toto Wolf, who believed that Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton were unfairly treated by the decisions made during the final round of the World Championship in Abu Dhabi, welcomed the news. « I believe the most important thing is that we move forward. There have been a lot of discussions about the events in Abu Dhabi because that’s not how a championship should end. The FIA has implemented new good structures, and we are happy about that. »

Lewis Hamilton pointed out the lack of objectivity in the race direction, without explicitly mentioning Michael Masi. (He) We need to have objective stewards. Some drivers have very, very close friendships with certain individuals. They travel together and tend to appreciate each other more. I just think that we need people who make decisions with objectivity, (asserted) the seven-time world champion.

Red Bull shocked by Masi’s eviction.

Contrary to Mercedes, Red Bull has been much more critical of the departure of the race director. « I think it’s tough. He was in a very difficult position last year. We had a lot of decisions go against us last year, but when you look at what [Michael Masi] had at his disposal in terms of resources compared to what the teams have, the difference is huge. » Christian Horner argued. The head of the Austrian team also made a thinly veiled attack on Mercedes. « I think there was a lot of pressure to get rid of Michael, and it’s not fair. »

World champion Max Verstappen, on the other hand, did not mince his words in defending the Australian. “I find it to be not right. It’s very unfair what is happening to Michael because he has been thrown under the bus. People talk a lot about what was decided in Abu Dhabi, but can you imagine in any sport a coach shouting in the referee’s ear ‘yellow card, red card, no foul’? It’s impossible to make a decision,” argued the Dutch driver. “For Formula 1 to allow teams to talk to him while he is making decisions, it’s not right. It was up to Michael to make the decisions on his own without someone shouting in his ears. The people who fired him allowed that, which is unacceptable in my opinion, and now they fire him. I find it incredible. I am sorry for Michael, I think he was a good race director. […] It was not the right decision,” Verstappen continued.

Mixed reactions in the rest of the paddock

The paddock is divided on the fate of Michael Masi. World champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have defended Charlie Whiting’s successor. The Spaniard argued that Michael Masi always tries to protect the drivers, which is what you expect from a race director. We didn’t race in Spa because the conditions were not suitable, and in Baku, he displayed the red flag for safety, even though there were only one or two laps left. He was protecting us. Sebastian Vettel expressed his shame for the treatment of Michael. Two interests clashed, one being the sport and the other being the show. The four-time world champion also praised the overall excellent work of Michael Masi.

On the side of the drivers, others were rather pleased with the change in the organization of race direction. The McLaren Australian, Daniel Ricciardo, acknowledged a certain lack of consistency in the decisions and hopes for improvements in 2022. « I think that the drivers all agree on what the race should be like, but there are differing viewpoints on what constitutes forcing a competitor to exit. Even among us, it’s not clear. It’s not easy to reach an agreement, but if we have the coherence that we demand in the decisions, then we will know what is allowed and what is not. »

Same tune for Nicholas Latifi (Williams), who is calling for more consistency from the new race directors. Last year, there were race situations where the decisions were not always coherent. With the changes made by the FIA regarding race directors and video assistance, it seems that there is an effort to improve consistency.

Finally, Mattia Binotto, the team principal of Ferrari, criticized Red Bull and Mercedes for their communications with Michael Masi during the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I believe that when you make such decisions, you always face a lot of pressure in the heat of the moment. I think this applies to the FIA, the teams, and everyone working in this challenging environment because the pressure is very, very high. The teams’ communication with the race director certainly did not help.