Toto Wolff has laid into former Formula One race director Michael Masi and labeled him a “liability” in a scathing interview.
Masi was replaced as race director during the winter and did not return to the role for the 2022 season following the controversial end to last season. The Drivers’ Championship was settled in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi but only after Masi had controversially ordered the cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves.
This allowed Verstappen to close the gap to leader Hamilton before overtaking him on the final lap to win the race and the title.
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With Masi no longer in the role as race director, Mercedes chief Wolff has now reflected on his time in the role and December’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Speaking to the Press Association, Wolff explained: “I had lunch with him on the Wednesday before the [the 2021 Abu Dhabi] race.
“I said to [Masi] that ‘I really want to tell you, without patronizing you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there. Lewis does it every day, but you are a guy who always seems to know better’.
“It wasn’t about influencing him, but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn’t block outside opinion as simply being wrong.”
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Michael Masi was replaced as Formula One race director prior to the 2022 season
(Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Wolff was not done there either, adding: “He was just immune to any feedback, and even today, he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong.
“He was a liability for the sport because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the Race Director, and the Race Director should not be somebody that people talk about, but someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations .”
Toto Wolff has labeled Michael Masi a “liability”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to the start of the 2022 season and following an investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Masi was replaced as race director, with the FIA said to be offering him a new role.
He has been replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas in a dual role, with the former acting as race director at each of this season’s first three races.
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