We are approaching February 14, the day when the F1 Commission will meet: in addition to making important decisions for the 2022 world championship, the FIA will present the results of the investigation into the events in Abu Dhabi that brought the title to Max Verstappen to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton.
The waters are stirred up by an audio broadcast on Wednesday between Michael Masi and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. “Those dubbed single-seaters – Wheatley feels – it is not necessary to let them pass and make them go to the back of the group”. “I understand” – replies the race director “. Wheatley again: “Now you have to let them go so then we will have a car race on our hands.” “Got it” – Masi replied.
We would like to say that the audio is not unreleased, it was part of those that had been released by F1 in the week following the Abu Dhabi race, that is to say on December 16, a few hours after Mercedes had decided to withdraw the appeal, whereby Brackley’s team had made the decision without being aware of these recordings.
Listening to the file reignited the controversy, putting Michael Masi back in the meat grinder. The race director, extrapolating the disputed words, seems to have been conditioned in the choices by the Red Bull ds, even if in a meeting between the teams it was previously decided not to end the race under the safety car regime.
Martin Brundle, commenting on Sky, said: “I don’t see any news, and then he told him nothing else that Masi didn’t already know. Obviously these are words that hurt Lewis and Mercedes fans.”
“You don’t have to be a Lewis Hamilton fan to believe that he should be an eight-time world champion, because the regulations were not applied to the return of the safety car, but we know that there was a desire not to finish the race in the safety car” .
Brundle believes it was wrong to leave teams the opportunity to exert pressure directly on race direction …
“We know things will change, but I don’t think this audio changes the narrative of what happened.”
Masi’s position is somewhat staggering, even if there are no great alternatives to the Australian referee on the horizon.
“Changing Michael Masi will not solve the problem – concluded Brundle – the referee is called to a job that is too big for one person. And with this I do not say that I am in favor of Masi, because I think he will have a hard time keeping his role. “.
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