Lewis Hamilton would be enraged if the FIA allowed Michael Masi to return to Formula One.
Mohammed ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, maintains that he would not think twice about bringing disgraced former race director Michael Masi back to the competition.
After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy in 2021, the Australian was fired from his position. Lewis Hamilton lost to Max Verstappen in the race for his maiden Formula One championship, but only because Masi mishandled a late safety car period.
Later on, the FIA acknowledged that Masi’s “human error” had impacted the winner of the championship race. He then resigned from the governing body in order to go back home, where he has been in control of the V8 Supercars series ever since.
Ben Sulayem was not in charge of the FIA when the blunder was made, taking office a week after the conclusion of that controversial title race. But he insists he’d be happy to bring the ostracised Aussie back into the fold.
He told the Press Association, “I always apologize, but I cannot apologize for something that was done before my time.” “All right, I’ll apologize, but I’ll bring Michael Masi along once again. Do you believe that to be correct?
“The poor guy is a somebody who has experienced abuse and assault. Michael Masi had a terrible time. Assault! And I will bring Michael Masi in if I perceive an opportunity that the FIA needs to take advantage of and he is the ideal person to do so.”
Undoubtedly, a move of that nature would enrage Hamilton and his Mercedes squad. In particular, team principal Toto Wolff has on many occasions expressed his dislike for Masi and, in one interview last year, issued a scathing verdict on the way the axed race director used to go about his work.
In an interview, he stated: “It’s interesting because the Wednesday before the [2021 Abu Dhabi] race, I had lunch with him and I told him, without being condescending, that you need to take criticism seriously and grow from it. Lewis engages in it daily, but you seem to be the man who always has the upper hand.
“It wasn’t my intention to persuade him; rather, it was to honestly inform him that he shouldn’t disregard other people’s opinions as being incorrect. You hear from the drivers about how Masi conducted the drivers’ briefings, and some of the guys thought he treated some of them in a way that was almost rude.
“He simply wasn’t sensitive to criticism, and he hasn’t adequately acknowledged his mistakes even as of right now. He was a liability to the sport because everyone was talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director, and a race director should be someone who does their job and ensures that the race is conducted in compliance with the rules, not someone who is the subject of conversation.”
