F1 boss Toto Wolff brands Michael Masi a 'lunatic' after Abu Dhabi 2021 incident

Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff brands Michael Masi a 'lunatic' after Abu Dhabi 2021 incident

Toto and Susie Wolff had strong words for their nemesis

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 1 November 2025 08:58

Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff reflected on the 2021 title loss in Abu Dhabi and branded former FIA race director Michael Masi a ‘lunatic’.

The 2021 title showdown remains one of the most iconic yet controversial moments in sport, with Lewis Hamilton losing a record breaking eighth world championship on the last lap of the race to Max Verstappen, who claimed his first.

However, the title was decided when then race director Masi incorrectly applied the safety car procedure and an investigation from the FIA concluded that a ‘human error’ was responsible.

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After the safety car fiasco in Abu Dhabi, Masi was removed from the role of race director for the subsequent 2022 season, but the likes of Wolff have not forgotten his decision in a hurry.

Wolff pack attack Masi

Speaking to The Telegraph alongside wife Susie Wolff, who was also promoting her new memoir Driven, the pair reflected on the traumatic championship loss to Red Bull.

“I have not experienced the loss of control of a situation since I was a child,” Wolff said.

“There is one lunatic who can basically destroy the record of the greatest champion of all time.”

Susie Wolff also agreed with the team principal's sentiments, and added: “It was disbelief.”

“That one person’s decision to interpret the rules, in a way that they had never been interpreted before, could have caused such an outcome. It sat so heavily with me, for a long time afterwards.”

Since the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, Verstappen has gone on to win three further titles, and remains in contention for his fifth, while Hamilton is a husk of his dominant self.

The champion is yet to secure a podium with Ferrari, with all hope resting on the 2026 F1 regulation changes to catapult Hamilton back into title contention.

F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Toto Wolff Susie Wolff Michael Masi