FIA Race Director Michael Masi has faced a barrage of criticism for his decisions at the Abu Dhabi GP. In the ultimate moments of the F1 season finale, there were some unprecedented calls from the Race Director. But now the former Mercedes boss Norbert Haug has defended himself in Masi’s defense on this matter.
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There’s a lot of bad blood going on between the Australian and the Mercedes F1 team right now. Team boss Toto expressed his disappointment over the radio to Masi on the last lap in Abu Dhabi. Recently, he has eschewed any opportunity to converse with the Aussie.
For context reasons, Masi instructed the five lapped cars between the two front runners behind the safety car to round themselves off, but did not allow other returnees to do so to ensure the race did not end behind the safety car. This gave Verstappen a chance to get past Hamilton, who was unable to defend his floor on worn hard rubber.
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Formula 1 F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 12, 2021, Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes after second place in the race and in the world championship with the racing and world championship title Max Verstappen von Red Bull and third place in the race Ferrari Carlos Sainz Jr. REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed
Former Formula 1 team boss Haug praised Masi’s decision as “brilliant”
Amid a chain of criticism against Masi after the race, he got the much needed support from Norbert Haug. While many accused him of making the race exciting instead of fair, the German championed the race management. Haug believes that his decision-making in this crisis situation was ingenious and brilliant.
“I think Masi was awesome and brilliant at finding a solution.”
“In general, I found several decisions by the race director in a convulsive season finale to be appropriate,” said Haug, as reported by GrandPrix247.
He also thinks Masi’s negotiations with Red Bull in Jeddah are extremely clever.
Charlie Whiting left a difficult legacy
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After the Jeddah GP, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said that the FIA lacks the steady hand of former race director Charlie Whiting. Haug also gave his input.
“Whiting grew up at Ecclestone, he was a mechanic, then a chief mechanic, and he was always a person who always moved with great determination,” says the German.
“His legacy would be difficult for anyone to manage,” he concluded.
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But now that the season is over, the teams are looking forward to the upcoming F1 season in 2022. With new regulations, it will be an absolute thriller. Let us know your forecast for the coming season.
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