FIA confirm Michael Masi replaced as race director following review

(Motorsport) Following a review of last season’s Abu Dhabi GP, the FIA have confirmed that Michael Masi has been replaced as race director with Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas as alternatives for the 2022 season. Masi has come under intense scrutiny following the controversial events at the Yas Marina Circuit last year when the former race director’s safety car decisions eventually led to Max Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of the final race to win the Drivers Championship. 

In the final stages of the Abu Dhabi GP on December 12th, Michael Masi ordered lapped cars behind Hamilton to let Verstappen through under the Safety Car, which resulted in the Dutch racing driver overtaking the seven time World Champion in the final lap after having a significant advantage because of fresher, soft tyres. Masi’s decision was justified by the FIA stewards after the race after Mercedes appealed, however a full review was lodged of the incident with F1 admitting that it had tarnished the sport’s image. Both Toto Wolff and Christian Horner were present at the meeting when Masi was replaced as race director, a day before Mercedes’ unveiling of the 2022 car. 

New FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has confirmed a number of structural changes with Eduardo Freitas, WEC race director and Niels Wittich, former DTM race director acting as alternative F1’s race directors in the 2022 season. The pair will be assisted by Herbie Blash who will be operating in the role of senior advisor while Michael Masi will be offered a new role within the FIA. A Virtual Race Control Room will also be created, similar to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football while direct communication between teams and race director will be removed. The F1 Sporting Advisory Committee will also review the unlapping procedure behind the Safety Car and will be presented to the F1 Commission before the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 18th. 

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