Toto Wolff, Mercedes F1 team boss, claims that ex-Formula 1 race director became a “liability” for the authorities. He criticizes Michael Masi’s inability to take criticism.
Masi was stripped from his position of race director following his controversial handling of safety car at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
His decision to restart the race with only few cars allowed to un-lap between the race leader and runner up. He then pushed for immediate restart providing Max Verstappen an undue advantage of new tyres over Lewis Hamilton. It provided the Dutchman an opportunity to win his first ever F1 world championship title.
Wolff on Masi
Wolff remains adamant of his views of Masi and his decisions on that day. He revealed that he had no plans to speak with ex-director.
Wolff shared his opinion on the Masi’s character. He said, “It is quite interesting. Because I had lunch with him [Masi] on the Wednesday before the race. And I said to him that ‘I really want to tell you, without patronising you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there.
“Lewis does it every day, but you are the guy who always seems to know better’,” explained Wolff.
“It wasn’t about influencing him but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn’t block outside opinion as simply being wrong.”
Wolff revealed that many drivers were unhappy and uneasy with how ex-director behaved with them. Additionally, he revealed that other stakeholders in the sport were happy with his departure.
“You hear from the drivers and how the drivers’ briefings were conducted [by Masi] and some of the guys said it was almost disrespectful how he treated some of them,” added Wolff.
Read More: Masi and FIA in talks for a new position
“There is a promoter of one of the races in the Middle East who said he was so relieved he had gone. Because he got so much abuse from him.
“He was just immune to any feedback and even today he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong.
“He was a liability for the sport. Because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director. The race director should not be somebody that people talk about. But someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations.”
