
Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen said during the second day of 2022 F1 pre-season testing, regarding the former FIA race director Michael Masi dismissal, said that he was “thrown under a bus” after the Australian was removed following 2021 F1 dramatic final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.
Masi was replaced with respective former World Endurance Championship and DTM race directors Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich.
When asked by the news source Autosport about the decision to remove Masi, Verstappen replied: “I think it’s not correct. Everyone always tries to do the best job, everyone can always use help.
“Like us drivers also – we have the whole team behind us, we prove it ourselves. For me, it’s very unfair what happened to Michael – he was really being thrown under the bus.
“Now, [that they] did sack him like that in the first place for me is unacceptable. And now basically [that they] sacked him is really incredible. I feel really sorry for Michael.
“Because I think he was a very capable and good race director.
“I have nothing against the new race directors – because I think they are also very capable and very good race directors. But, personally, and for Michael, I felt really sad and I sent him a text as well.”
“After Charlie died it’s very hard to take over from someone like him,” said Verstappen. “He had so much experience from the previous years, and also Charlie had help around him.
“And maybe Michael just needed a little bit more. Everyone needs experience.
“[When] I came into this sport, my first year, if I look back at it now, I’m a complete rookie.
“I’m so much better than what I was back then and I think it would’ve been the same for Michael.
“So, to immediately sack him, for me, is not the right decision. But I wish him all the best with whatever comes next and I hope that it is better than being F1 race director.”
The Dutchman also criticised F1’s previous procedure of allowing team bosses to contact the race director directly during live track action – a process that has been removed as part of the reforms for 2022.
“People talk a lot about what was decided in Abu Dhabi, but can you imagine a referee in whatever sport has the coach or equivalent screaming in his ear all the time?,” asked the Max.
“Let’s say: ‘yellow card!’, ‘red card!’, ‘no decision!’, no foul!’ It’s impossible to make a decision.
“So, I think in the first place that F1 already allowed that – that team members could talk to him about making decisions – [was] very wrong.
“It needed to be Michael making the decisions on his own and having people screaming in his ear was difficult.”