Michael Masi has been making a lot of headlines lately. But who is Michael Masi and what has he achieved that makes him so noticeable?
Michael Masi is a former FIA Race Director for Formula One. He served as race director for 3 seasons, from the start of the 2019 season until the end of the 2021 season.
Michael Masi is very famous for what he did during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.
What happened at Abu Dhabi 2021?
Going into the final race of the season, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were neck and neck at the top of the WDC. It was a winner take all situation. The battle had been close all season. Things were very heated between the two drivers and the two teams as well. It could have been anyone’s race.
We saw Max Verstappen take pole during Qualifying on Saturday. But as the race started, we saw Lewis Hamilton take the lead from Max in the opening lap and both the drivers started to pull away from the rest of the grid.
After a few laps, Lewis Hamilton started to pull apart from Verstappen and build a comfortable lead. During lap 51/58, Hamilton had an 11-second gap to Max Verstappen behind him. Then on lap 53/58, everything changed.
The safety car comes out
On lap 53, we saw Nicholas Latifi Crash his Williams into the wall, bringing out the Safety Car. This was a very awkward time for the safety car. The end of the Grand Prix was just 5 laps away. Most teams did not know wether to pit as it was unsure if the Grand Prix would start again. Hamilton did not have enough gap to Max behind him to pit come out retaining his position. Both Red bulls on the other hand, had a lot of gap behind them to pit and come out in the same positions as they were in. So they did so while Hamilton stayed out.
This put Max Verstappen with fresh tires and behind his rival with old tires. This gave a huge opportunity for Max if the race restarted. With 2 laps to go, the incident had been cleared, but there were still overlapped cars in between.
Usually, during a safety car period, all overlapped cars are asked to overtake the safety car and un-lap themselves before the race continues. But in this scenario, there was no time to let all the overlapped cars pass. So Michael Masi decided to let only the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen un-lap themselves. This did not follow protocol.
This decision gave Max Verstappen the chance to overtake Hamilton with just one lap remaining. Since Verstappen had the faster tire, he was able to make the move to 1st position into turn 4 of the Grand Prix. Although Hamilton tried to fight with Verstappen and take the position back, he was unable to do so due to the tire disadvantage. This led to a huge controversy as Michael Masi did not follow the rules during the safety car period.
What Happened to Michael Masi after the 2021 season?
After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, a formal investigation was launched by the FIA regarding the event during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The FIA concluded that the Safety Car protocols were not followed during the last few laps of the Grand Prix. As a result, Michael Masi was removed from his position.
There was a lot of public criticism towards Michael Masi. The public wanted the FIA to overturn the result and give the championship trophy to Lewis Hamilton. But for obvious reasons, that would not have been possible.
Michael Masi did not attend an F1 Grand Prix since, until the Australian Grand Prix in 2023. He did not attend as a race official but as an FIA executive. Michael Masi is now in charge of the v8 supercars of the Australian touring cars. As the cars were part of the Grand Prix, the former race director made an appearance.
Who was the Race director before Michael Masi?
Michael Masi became the race director for Formula One after the passing of his predecessor before the Australian Grand Prix in 2019. Charlie Whiting was the Formula One Race Director from 1997 until he died in 2019.
Charlie Whiting has been praised for a number of things he did to the sport including the introduction of the Halo. The Halo is the round part above the cockpit, to protect the drivers from flying debris and cars. The Halo has saved a number of drivers including Charles Leclerc, Romain Grosjean, and Lewis Hamilton.
He was respected by everyone on the grid and everyone at the FIA. They help a moment of silence before the Australian Grand Prix in 2019. Valtteri Bottas dedicated his 2019 Australian Grand Prix win to Charlie Whiting. He played a vital role in the success and safety of the sport.