Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has accused FIA Formula 1 race director Michael Masi of costing Lewis Hamilton the world championship through his controversial handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The team confirmed on Thursday it will not appeal over the outcome of Sunday’s championship-deciding round. However Wolff remains furious over the conclusion of the race, in which Masi ordered a restart at short notice, having only allowed a portion of the lapped drivers to un-lap themselves, presenting Max Verstappen with an opportunity to attack Hamilton for the lead of the race.Wolff made it clear he blames the race director for Hamilton losing the title to Verstappen, and stated he is “not interested in having a conversation with Michael Masi”.
“The decisions that have been taken in the last four minutes of this race have robbed Lewis Hamilton of a deserved world championship,” said Wolff. “His driving, particularly in the last four races, was faultless.
“He had a commanding lead on Sunday in Abu Dhabi from the get-go. He won the start and he never gave the lead away again. And robbing him in the last lap of the race is unacceptable.
“That’s why from a personal standpoint, from a professional standpoint, my values, my sense of integrity, just isn’t compatible to the decisions that have been made on Sunday. And it is up to the FIA to decide going forward how these decisions, these situations can be avoided.”
The FIA said yesterday it will begin a “detailed analysis and clarification exercise” in response to the controversy. Wolff said Masi’s handling of the restart clearly contradicted how previous races had been run and was the latest in a series of unnecessary rows.
“If you look at most of the controversies that have happened this year it was about sporting decisions on the track, the inconsistency of the execution of the regulations on track,” he said.
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“It’s one thing to drive hard and to have difference of opinion among the drivers and the teams. It is in the nature of the game. But inconsistent decision-making leads to controversies, leads to polarisation and that was the ground for many of the totally unnecessary controversies on the track.”
Masi’s decision to allow the drivers in front of Verstappen to un-lap themselves, but not those behind him, contradicted how he handled a race at the Nurburgring last year, said Wolff.
“How can it be that 14 months ago at the Eifel Grand Prix the explanation that was given was exactly the contrary to what has happened on Sunday?” he said.
“The explanation that was given that the reason why the Safety Car was out there so long is that all cars need to un-lap themselves with the explanation that this is following the sporting regulations. Not only the decision has been taken in a totally opposite way but an explanation is being made 180-degree different to what happened 14 months ago.”
“If you decide to deploy the Safety Car there’s clear regulations in place,” Wolff added. “The regulations are that all cars need to un-lap themselves before the race can be restarted. And only in the following lap, once all cars have un-lapped themselves, the Safety Car may come in.
“None of that happened. None of that happened. Randomly, cars were allowed to overtake and to un-lap themselves.
“Why was Carlos Sainz not given the opportunity to win the race? Why were the cars left in between there. Why was the Safety Car pulled in against what the regulations say? So the ad-hoc decision-making just caused this mayhem.”
Wolff insisted the team’s objections to the handling of the race took nothing away from Verstappen and Red Bull’s triumph.
“I would have been totally okay with Max and Red Bull winning the championship on Sunday,” he said. “And this situation has nothing to do with Max. He is a worthy champion, his driving is exceptional and Red Bull are a fierce competitor and I have the greatest respect for the people working there.
“So this has nothing to do with them. I would have loved to sit here and avoided all these discussions and the damage that has been done to the sport by just unsporting and unfair decision-making on Sunday.
“So the FIA needs to decide how they are going forward. We had a good dialogue with the FIA over the last days. The commission that its set in place I have trust and faith that we will formulate together with all competitors the drivers and the other teams the right decisions and actions to avoid such a scenario in the future.”
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2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- I spoke up for Hamilton because he speaks up for others says fan behind Abu Dhabi petition
- ‘I can’t box?’: Hamilton and Verstappen’s 2021 Abu Dhabi GP radio transcript
- Masi did make mistake with title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP restart, Horner admits
- The omission in the FIA’s Abu Dhabi report which may store up trouble for the future
- How F1’s greenest debutant defied his doubters and left as its most experienced racer
Constantijn Blondel
16th December 2021, 12:18
Toto, I get it … but it’s time to let it go now. Breathe … deeply … and let it go.
drmouse (@drmouse)
16th December 2021, 12:21
He will, and should, only let it go if and when changes are made to stop such a farce from ever being able to happen again.
SadF1fan
16th December 2021, 12:29
So he will never let it go…
elchinero (@elchinero)
16th December 2021, 13:39
“Breathe … deeply … and let it go.” Too true. Herr Wolff does not come off as a “Professional”.
grat
16th December 2021, 18:50
Actually, he’s been very professional. His actions have been reasonable, his tone, while angry, has not once referenced Masi’s heritage, his paternity, or suggested that he deliberately threw the race to Verstappen.
Wolff is acting on behalf of his entire team, and while people want to nitpick and set up straw-man arguments, the truth is, the protest was justified, the appeal would have been justified, but he’s right that it would harm the sport, Mercedes, and Verstappen– because the chances of the appeal not going Mercedes’s way is roughly zero.
Dropping the appeal once the FIA agrees to review house is probably the best outcome for all.
At least he hasn’t accused Max of trying to kill Hamilton (in contrast to another team principal a few months ago).
Gregory Feustel
16th December 2021, 21:58
I’m not a Hamilton fan nor a Mercedes fan, but I like Toto Wolff and think he’s a class act. I feel he handled this as well as he could have and did so with diplomacy while putting forth just how displeased he was. That said….great finish and congrats Mad Max
erikje
16th December 2021, 22:08
Its a nice attempt to avoid responsibility for the bad strategy the team used in this last race.
They had 6 corners before the pitlane when the SC was called out.
6 corners to decide what to gamble… they did the wrong gamble.
Of course in hindsight easy to say. But correct.
Hamilton knew it the moment a SC was called and asked for pitstop.
They decided to stay on track, as they did some laps earlier with the VSC.
They kept a car with 40 laps worn tires on track… the result is known.
Masi created the circumstances but not the result.. that was pure Mercedes work.
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
17th December 2021, 4:36
erikje
Thanks, you saved me a whole bunch of typing.
The strategy was there for all to see and there was ample time to do-it. They didn’t and that was that.
Hamilton knew where it was going.
SN
17th December 2021, 7:40
Completely agreed @erikje. Mercedes botched up the strategy and they are making Masi to cover-up their blunder. The lead driver and the team a proving they are sore losers.
Mayrton
17th December 2021, 9:15
Absolutely Erikje. But some chose to conveniently not see. James Allison at least held up some dignity at the awards. Toto needs to go. He totally undermined the 8th title in a row PR/Marketing message. That represents millions of dollars. I would say he can no longer be held in this position and needs to be replaced. Saw Dieter Rencken contemplate about the same in an article. Chances are that Mercedes is a torn team as a result of Toto’s behavior as well.
drmouse (@drmouse)
17th December 2021, 10:36
WRT the strategy, this has been explained over and over: It was the sensible call given the information at the time, both for the VSC and the full SC. I’m not going to go into it again because, at this point, the only conclusion I can see is that you are wilfully ignoring the responses.
Hoosier
16th December 2021, 18:10
A championship is not won in a race. I’ve said it before, if every race in the season ended exactly like it did but Abu Dhabi had been the first race, it would have had the same exact effect on the championship but neither Wolff nor anyone else, would have been demanding Masi’s immediate replacement for the rest of the entire season. And there would be no angst over if Lewis would hang up his helmet all season. Various officials have made bad calls since there were officials. There were other bad calls and stupid rules this season that had a bigger effect on the championship. People rightfully complained and moved on. Whoever decides if Masi stays will make that call. I’m not going to worry about it either way.
grat
16th December 2021, 18:50
But it was the last race. It was the championship deciding race. Pretending it’s just like any other race is fatuous.
sara
16th December 2021, 22:21
Sorry, in this case it was LAST RACE that was determining the win as both came with equal points.
NeverElectric
17th December 2021, 7:55
In this case it was.
When the top two contenders arrive at the final race tied on points, then the Championship IS won at the last race. Ergo, in a race!
puneeth
17th December 2021, 11:08
I dont think the last race should be given more importance than any of the other races… The championship is one as a result of the points earned in all of the races not just the last one…@Hoosier makes a great point here…
Laz
16th December 2021, 12:36
He has let it go, they won’t appeal the championship. But what Masi did and how he has handled this entire championship season has to be investigated and changed. There has been contradictions in the application of rules throughout the season with that final race having rules completely ignored.
The entire F1 paddock has to sit down and sort this out to minimise the number of controverises because this season it well and truly got completely out if hand largely because of how Masi conducted himself as race director. Things need to change in how the race director conducts himself, the support team he has around him, who is allowed to contact him during the race, and how the stewards apply the rules. We can not have another season of controversies created by the officials themselves.
heistheone
16th December 2021, 12:59
I have seen a hell of a WDC and Masi played a part in this. Let them race for example. The only one who was constantly whining was TW. Because these two drivers were fighting on the edge you got a lot of controversy. If you had LH or MV in a car 1 sec faster then any other car you don’t get such fisious fight. You need a referee who let them race.
A lot of LH fans now declare this WDC as stolen because of the last race in which LH lost so dramatically the championship. Which i admit is harsh. But you can’t say over a whole season this WDC is stolen. LH was very lucky he was still in the WDC fight. Without a safety car during the Imola GP, tire failure from MV (Baku), Silverstone and Hungary MV was crowed to WDC after Qatar GP. In the last race round of the last round lady luck swung to MV to win a deserved WDC looking at the whole season
OlaRay
16th December 2021, 13:42
You suddenly suffered from amnesia and forgot about Monza, Spa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia…
Silverstone, in as much as the penalty went Lewis way, it was Max who turned into a car that clearly
Imola… lewis had his car repaired during the red flag just like how Max’s car was repaired under the red flag in Hungary
Baku – Well Redbull did tampered with the tyre pressure
drmouse (@drmouse)
16th December 2021, 13:57
The difference is that what happened in the other situations were generally an application of the written rules in one form or another. Sometimes rulings go your way, sometimes they go against. I could list incidents which went in Max’s favour. That’s the luck of the draw.
This wasn’t. This was throwing the rulebook out of the window to manufacture an exciting finish to the season. There is little to no chance that such a decision would be made outside a title-deciding finale: We have seen the safety car procedure played out dozens of times, and Masi has even said that he had no choice but to follow that procedure. That is surely a very different matter.
tielemst
16th December 2021, 18:29
I would agree if not for the very first race of the season, where Masi was totally all right ignoring track limit violations in turn 4 by Lewis for 29 times (the team was Warner a few times but no action was taken at all when Mercedes ignored the warning), only to suddenly change his stance completely when Red Bull told Max it was apparently OK to do so. Maybe not as spectacular as AD and already some time ago, but this too was ignoring the race rules. Impossible to prove, but seeing that race I think it would have been very improbable that Lewis would have beaten Max had Masi not ignored the rules for one driver but enforce them at the end of the race.
I’m not saying two wrongs make a right, but it really has gone two ways.
Michael
17th December 2021, 0:19
@ tielemst You just made his point. Masi should not be allowed to do what he want and ignore the rules, it doesn’t mater who benefits from his decisions. Is not the first time he is inconsistent… This time Hamilton was denied a victory because Masi chose to ignore the regulation, also Sainz, Leclerc and others were denied the chance to fight at the end. Next year who is going to be affected? Maybe Max, maybe somebody else. This is not about which driver won, FIA should just make sure the rules are implemented and one person can not change the championship result by ignoring the regulations.
Dan G (@dang)
17th December 2021, 10:03
Horner never stopped moaning all season. Hence Wolff’s light-hearted and thoroughly justified “windbag” comment.
B (@squashnut)
19th December 2021, 10:14
Not only Horner, but also Verstappen. He complains out of reflex. He even complained that they were letting cars unlap themselves…
He’s quick, so he preemptively whines and accuse others of the borderline tactics he regularly employs.
Gamesmanship is one thing- you can root for Nadal over Federer if Nadal has to serve within the time shown on a clock (before a few years ago it was umpire discretion- so Nadal abused the soft rule).
But Verstappen is a dangerous driver. His wheel literally landed within a foot of Hamilton’s face. The one time Lewis refused to back off from Max’s dangerous move Red Bull couldn’s stop whining about it. Every other time Max got almost no penalty. Wolff should have been screaming in Masi’s face after Saudi Arabia, when they won anyway. Now it looks like sour grapes…
Mr Squiggle
17th December 2021, 6:02
Yes, Mercedes have let it go by not proceeding with the appeal. he now needs to moderate his public comments to match Mercedes actions.
if he keeps commenting like this, he will be accused of trying to achieve through social media what he was unwilling to do via the Court of Appeal
Dan G (@dang)
17th December 2021, 10:04
Wolff doesn’t need an anonymous armchair expert on the internet telling him what to do.
erikje
16th December 2021, 13:55
They will let him go.
He already wrote his resignation with his recent statement and his appalin behaviour.
For a brand like Mercedes someone without normal social behaviour can never be an ambassador of the team.
Bye bye toto.
drmouse (@drmouse)
16th December 2021, 13:58
And you don’t think this applies equally to Horner?
erikje
16th December 2021, 14:13
Both are to blame for the conclicts.
But Toto is by far the worst of the two.
But next year this will be solved.
DeanR
16th December 2021, 15:43
dont bite
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
16th December 2021, 16:40
It’s hard:)
Will Jones
16th December 2021, 20:19
I think we need to start reporting comments en masse that don’t adhere to the community we used to have in the old old old f1 fanatic days to be honest. Red Bulls pr tampering with the comments section has done real damage to it, attracting other trolls who see it as a playground.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
16th December 2021, 14:34
Utter rubbish as are most of your comments. So biased.
Mike
17th December 2021, 1:08
And your comments aren’t? All comment have a bias in them. Racefans is very pro Hamilton/ Mercedes in their point of view compared to other racing websites.
OOliver
17th December 2021, 10:07
You must be new to racefans, perhaps not here when it was fanatics.
John H (@john-h)
16th December 2021, 15:18
Another one of your comments that is neither funny nor does it contribute anything to the racefans community, just solely to again attack Mercedes. Some of us on here have congratulated Max on his championship win and it is fully deserved but still see that Mercedes have a case. You on the other hand seem committed to comment on anything Mercedes or Hamilton does in a negative light.
The only reason I bother writing anything is to call you out for what is now getting completely boring and difficult to read in amongst all the very well considered comments. Then I read this garbage. It’s time to stop.
erikje
16th December 2021, 17:26
again one of your completely false observatons.
I always said Hamilton is a great driver and deserved to win. But that’s not how it happened.
Toto on the other hand is a very unreliable person and i will keep repeating that narrative.
And about being biassed… come on really..
Must be a bad joke in this forum.
grat
16th December 2021, 18:52
No you haven’t. You’ve been slagging Hamilton for years.
John H (@john-h)
16th December 2021, 19:57
“I always said Hamilton is a great driver and deserved to win.”
Where? Come on let’s have a link to a comment then… You’re an insult to the decent people on this site that tell the truth.
Steve (@scbriml)
16th December 2021, 15:24
That’s a dream between you and your sock.
grat
16th December 2021, 18:52
Wow. Still delusional as ever, eh?
regs (@regs)
16th December 2021, 21:14
Toto own 1/3 in the team, so as INEOS and Mercedes-AMG. They can only fire him if they agree together.
paulipedia (@paulipedia)
16th December 2021, 18:03
Judging by those video, he already has
UnitedKingdomRacing (@unitedkingdomracing)
16th December 2021, 18:51
It’s not over before Masi is either dead or banned from any FIA job for the rest of his life.
regs (@regs)
16th December 2021, 21:16
Non of this will either happen. Can can recieve some high rank job in FIA instead, very most likely he will stay. Almost entire world supports his decision.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
17th December 2021, 11:21
@regs Which world would that be Mars? 🙄
Don
16th December 2021, 22:22
Hamilton was robbed. I’d say to Toto give F1 and FIA the finger and become an engine mfg in IndyCar for their new engine formula coming 2023.
Nofanboysplease (@)
17th December 2021, 9:12
Looking at the last race? Yes you are right. The whole season? You could say Max was robbed a lot of points before the last race. It all started at race 1 when Lewis passed 29 times a track limit. Max did it ones and got s penalty. And this list of unluck, FIA penalties goes on and on.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
16th December 2021, 23:46
He mean’t to say Mikey robbed Lewis Hamilton of the title.
How disingenuous, race direction robbed Hamilton because he should have not robbed the other drivers from having a go at the restart…
stefano (@alfa145)
17th December 2021, 0:18
I’m sure you are able to let go of very important work related inconveniencies in a matter of three days or less. The guy going as long as 4 is so mych subpar, I guess.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
17th December 2021, 0:19
It’s too much man pain to let go so quickly. If you play a sport you would understand.
As toto said, we will not forget December 12, 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. The night Lewis’ 8th WDC was snatched from him on the penultimate lap by the FIA breaking their won rules.
He is still the rightful 2021 champion in the eyes of anyone who stands for integrity, fairness and justice.
Pirla
17th December 2021, 8:03
Yes, F1 as a sport has gone !
Bye Bye !
B (@squashnut)
19th December 2021, 10:01
Actually, I thought his comments were quite well-reasoned and to the point- especially considering he is not a lawyer and English is not his first language.
He should be raging mad. Masi is incompetent at best- a cheater at worst. Actually I thought Wolff should have spoken up more vehemently earlier in the season.
Red Bull cry “wolf” even when they are clearly in the wrong- out of habit.
RJ7
16th December 2021, 12:18
The guy does not know when to stop!
ian dearing
16th December 2021, 12:29
True. Eight and counting.
Constantijn Blondel
16th December 2021, 13:14
@ian dearing – you won this thread, as far as I’m concerned :D
F1 is fixed
16th December 2021, 13:35
Lol, unless Masi is one of the Mods on this site then he’ll reorder the comments and pronounce RJ7 the winner.
Retired (@jeff1s)
16th December 2021, 12:18
Please stop giving credits to either Wolff of Horner. I’m French but was in Amsterdam last Sunday in anticipation, we went car racing, point. I don’t like Masi decisions, but I even more hate Team Principal influencing the decisions.
England, get over it
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
16th December 2021, 12:24
@jeff1s
I don’t get why some people keep claiming that this a British thing only. I’m a Finn and I can tell you that every Finnish media covering Formula One agrees that the ending of Abu Dhabi was a complete s%&# show.
ian dearing
16th December 2021, 12:32
Same in the US. But it suits those who know it was wrong from having to admit it to make it about nationality instead.
heistheone
16th December 2021, 12:42
That’s strange; i have reading the Italian, Spanish, German, Belgium and Dutch newspapers and they all say; it was harsh for LH to lose in this kind of fashion but lady luck swung MV this time. Safety car and a last round shoot out. Nothing Masi, MV or LH could influence. Why Merc didn’t pitch btw (twice)
greathayemaker
16th December 2021, 13:17
That is incorrect. You have not been reading the Italian or Spanish newspapers. Otherwise you would tell a different story.
My German is very poor, so I can’t speak with authority on that front, but I would be utterly shocked if they were not pointing out that the regulations were broken.
Mr Fabulous (@mrfabulous)
16th December 2021, 12:28
Errr…. Toto is Austrian and Mercedes is German
JCost (@jcost)
16th December 2021, 13:13
I’m not English either. Masi was wrong, stop making it a England vs FIA thing. This is teh first time Toto speaks so openly after the race, let the man speak his mind, what’s worng wit it?
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
16th December 2021, 13:13
I am Swiss and I am still flabbergasted at the disgrace F1 did to itself. Pointing to rational arguments as being motivated by nationality isn’t exactly exempt from myside bias either.
F1ed (@rinodina)
16th December 2021, 20:11
I am Chinese and I am glad Zhou will be in F1 next year!
Carsten Nielsen (@carstenb)
16th December 2021, 18:19
Let me – as a Dane – chime in and say that this SC issue was handled in the most fu…. way I have ever seen and spoiled it all. Don’t believe it was a consciously biased towards Max, but taken due to being completely stressed out. He did hand the trophy directly to Max on a silver platter. The second the lapped car decision was taken (against the regulation) it was obvious what the end result would be.
F1ed (@rinodina)
16th December 2021, 20:14
I bet someone like Bottas would not have been able to pass Saint Lewis on the last lap, even on softs.
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
17th December 2021, 10:53
I’m not sure what the delta was, but I’d guess the (essentially) new softs were worth 4-5 seconds a lap. You cannot defend against that.
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
17th December 2021, 10:48
Exactly.
People seem to play the ‘English’ card only because it’s an easy way to apply a catch all disingenuous motive behind the view that the FIA manipulated the result in Max’s favour. I don’t think many neutrals would feel race or championship were won fairly.
AlexTR (@petrucci)
16th December 2021, 12:22
Masi denied from F1 the expectation that it could all go down to the very last race and be able to have a straight and clean fight
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
17th December 2021, 10:50
I think the ‘it went down to the wire’ aspect to the championship is also overplayed. It felt throughout the final stretch that strange decisions were being made in order to keep Max and Lewis level, so the probability they’d be level is greatly increased – it’s not the fluke of nature some think it was.
uzsjgb (@uzsjgb)
16th December 2021, 12:23
“not interested in having a conversation with Michael Masi”
Is this the “constructive dialogue” Mercedes referred to in their letter?
Seriously, the letter Mercedes wrote was very good, why ruin that with all this whining?
BasCB (@bascb)
16th December 2021, 12:31
I guess it won’t be Wolff taking part in the dialogue for the team
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
16th December 2021, 12:49
Maybe that means Wolff is walking away from F1?
Otherwise there’s a disciplinary coming his way!
Pat Pepper
16th December 2021, 14:00
Or maybe it means Masi is walking away/will be asked to walk away from F1?
Looks very possible that *that* conversation *has* taken place between Mercedes and the FIA and Wolff feels free to speak as he has about Masi.
oweng (@oweng)
16th December 2021, 13:04
Well the dialogue would be with the FIA regarding the rules, not Masi.
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
16th December 2021, 13:15
I think he is anticipating a constructive dialog with Masi’s successor. Seriously, what credit does the guy have left ?
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
16th December 2021, 13:25
Is that similar to the whining Horner was doing when all of a sudden he couldn’t work out how MB got their car to go faster?
Or the time the FIA agreed with MB that flexible areo surfaces were not allowed and designed a test to catch out the transgressors.
There has been plenty of whining from both sides.
erikje
16th December 2021, 14:15
not sure.. you mean before or after they were DSQ for an illegal wing?
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
16th December 2021, 15:28
That was the DRS opening size and not the wing as you fully know.
erikje
16th December 2021, 17:48
Thats part of the wing.. so whats your problem.
They used an illegal wing.
and got penalized for it.. fact!
Get Off My Lawn
17th December 2021, 17:45
Red Bull used a wing on both cars which was found to be illegal due to its flexing at speed, which broke the rules around fixed rigidity. They were not only not disqualified, but given a further 4 races to change the wing before facing a penalty. Mercedes on the other hand, didn’t use an illegal wing. The rear wing of Hamilton’s car was found to have been damaged during racing and was found to be 0.1mm too wide on one side when fully opened. This not only isn’t cheating, but provided no meaningful advantage whatsoever, leaving Red Bull rather red faced after their accusations of cheating and excessive speed benefits. Nevertheless, Hamilton was disqualified on the spot. Verstappen fans followed this news with a torrent of comments saying “Rules are rules!”, which they have since decided isn’t a good mantra anymore.
Ninjenius
16th December 2021, 13:27
@uzsjgb What good would come of a conversation between Wolff and Masi anyway? Masi has proven repeatedly that he doesn’t take accountability or admit fault when he or the stewards have made an error in judgement or taken too long to react to a dangerous situation. Until Masi shows any kind of humility, Wolff might as well be talking to a brick wall.
drmouse (@drmouse)
16th December 2021, 14:03
This.
Also, there is a good chance Masi will not be race director next year. What is the point talking to him in that case?
Toto and Mercedes will take part in whatever “discussions” or “reviews” take place over this (although I expect it to be nothing more than a whitewash), and they will discuss things with whoever is race director next year, but talking to someone who may not have any bearing on the sport next year and who refuses to acknowledge even the smallest part of wrongdoing or unfairness would be pointless at this time.
erikje
16th December 2021, 14:17
Looking at the very unprofessinal reaction by toto not much.
But he will not be the one to do the talking so no real problem there.
Are there already names from the rumour mill who will replace toto?
F1ed (@rinodina)
16th December 2021, 20:18
Well, at least you can not blame for Hamilton being on 40 laps old hard tyres at the lap 58 shootout.
F1ed (@rinodina)
16th December 2021, 20:19
Well, at least you can not blame Masi for Hamilton being on 40 laps old hard tyres at the lap 58 shootout.
DonSalsa
16th December 2021, 14:52
It means Masi is a goner; he will ‘resign’ or he will be sacked, take your pick! I believe it’s a key demand for the Mercs dropping the appeal!
fab
16th December 2021, 22:37
mwahahaaha excellent point dude, love it :p
Dougracing (@dougracing)
16th December 2021, 12:23
Oh my god, stop it already!
The same Toto who said “please Masi, no safety car” ……….
Initially
17th December 2021, 8:36
Verstappen was ”robbed” so many times during the season but none of that matters huh? Getting sickening this whining from Toto. If Verstappen weren’t robbed Hamilton wouldn’t have won the title even if he finished under SC.
Also, WHY DOES NO ONE RECOGNISE THE FACT THAT HAMILTON COULD’VE PITTED FOR NEW TYRES JUST LIKE VERSTAPPEN. Whenever there’s a SC there’s risk/reward decisions. Mercedes got it wrong because they got hung up trying to advocating just like the entire season. And all hybdrig-era for all we know.
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
17th December 2021, 10:55
This has all been done to death, you’re incorrect.
Initially
17th December 2021, 13:42
Except I’m not. Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right, buddy.
hyoko
17th December 2021, 16:45
This was not just a case of Masi’s dodgy decission “for the show”
This was not just a case of shoot-themselves-in-the-foot strategy by Merc
This was mostly a case of p:ss-poor driving by the Knighted One, who couldn’t be bothered to defend the interior line and left the door wide open. Not susrprisingly, Max came in.
Later at the backstraight the Merc was clearly faster, it came alongside the RBR, even a bit ahead. But Max was defending the interior line and the Knighted One could not pass
That is the difference between a pretty decent racer (not awesome, simply competent. For awesome, watch Checo’s defense earlier in the race) and a vastly overrated, low-average chauffeur.
Cobray (@)
16th December 2021, 12:27
Oh man, they were probably forced to write the letter from up the chain of command in Mercedes. Hamilton announced he won’t participate in the gala and Susie Wolff called it a robbery also.
erikje
16th December 2021, 14:18
susie too?
Then it must be true.
RomTrain (@romtrain)
16th December 2021, 17:36
late insight
hyoko
17th December 2021, 16:46
I believe you, sister
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
16th December 2021, 12:28
I think this pretty much confirms that Masi’s replacement is a done deal. I don’t think Toto would personally attack Masi if there was any chance that FIA would take Masi’s side and keep him as a race director for next season.
drmouse (@drmouse)
16th December 2021, 12:33
I’ve defended him all season, but up until that last decision he at least followed the rules in one form or another. However, a race director who throws out the rulebook and makes something up on the spot, completely against his own previous statements on the rules, deserves no place in any sporting competition. Also, a sporting regulator who doesn’t admit that such actions are, putting the very best possible light on it, unsporting doesn’t deserve any respect.
Mr Fabulous (@mrfabulous)
16th December 2021, 12:34
@hotbottoms Masi is almost certainly on his way out. Fortunately a bright future lies ahead of him at either FIFA or the IOC…..
Pirla
17th December 2021, 8:13
There are a lot more cash movements in FIFA, The Italian judicial system is trying to find out where 100s of millions went from the country’s top teams.
Shakey (@shakey66)
16th December 2021, 12:42
In most organisations Masi’s job would be untenable given the size of the clusterf#@ck he’s created. If he and the FIA decide he can ride this thing out, he’ll have to be completely unambiguous on every decision next season to avoid claims of prejudice.
DonSalsa
16th December 2021, 14:57
His position is untenable! If he stays on, it’d be almost impossible for him to do the job because everything he will do, say or decide will be under intense scrutiny!
For his own sanity and peace, he must go!
oweng (@oweng)
16th December 2021, 13:05
Horner has been personally attacking Masi and the stewards all season, but didn’t do him any harm in the end!
Ninjenius
16th December 2021, 13:12
@oweng Yeah, funny how he’s now come out saying that he sympathises with the job that Masi has to do and the situations he’s put in, when just the previous race he takes an enormous dig at Masi by saying he misses Charlie.