Key FIA official in Abu Dhabi 2021 fallout DEFENDS 'lunatic' race director Masi

Michael Masi (inset) watches on as Max Verstappen celebrates his F1 title in 2021 — Photo: © IMAGO

Abu Dhabi 2021

Key FIA official in Abu Dhabi 2021 fallout DEFENDS 'lunatic' race director Masi

Michael Masi played an infamous role in the 2021 title showdown

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 16 April 2026 21:10

A former FIA official has said that Michael Masi 'didn't do much wrong' during the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Masi was the race director at the time of the title showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and was involved in one of the most controversial moments in F1 history.

With the title on the line and Hamilton dominating the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, Nicholas Latifi's late crash saw a safety car be deployed, and Verstappen dived into the pits with nothing to lose to make sure he was on fresh tyres in case there was an opportunity to attack Hamilton.

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There were several lapped cars between the leaders, which prevented Verstappen from being right on Hamilton's tail but, towards the end of the safety car period, Masi decided to let those cars through to unlap themselves, but not the rest of the lapped cars further down the field.

It was later revealed that Masi had acted beyond his remit by deciding to allow the lapped cars to overtake, and he was axed from his position in the aftermath.

Masi - who was recently called a 'lunatic' by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff - was replaced by Niels Wittich, who has now had his say on Masi's decision making at the season-ending race.

'Masi a scapegoat' - former FIA official

Wittich was race director between 2022-2024, before being unexpectedly dropped from his duties ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

"From my point of view, Michael didn’t do that much wrong," Wittich told Motorsport’s sister YouTube channel Formel1.de. "The regulations didn’t strictly define everything. What he did was within his authority. He had a certain level of discretion in how to deploy the safety car.

"One key factor was that teams, FIA, and Formula 1 had all agreed - over many meetings - that races should, if possible, finish under green flag conditions. Nobody wanted a race ending behind the safety car.

"In Abu Dhabi, the situation was such that any intervention would have disadvantaged someone. You could have red-flagged the race - but that requires specific conditions like danger to personnel or a blocked track. That wasn’t the case. So red flag wasn’t really an option.

"Then came the lapped cars question. Initially, he said they wouldn’t unlap themselves, then he allowed it - but modified the usual procedure by not waiting an extra lap. That was within his authority under the regulations at the time.

"He essentially did what everyone had agreed upon: create one final racing lap. It produced a spectacular finish, an overtake, a winner and a runner-up. It could have gone the other way just as easily. That’s sport."

Wittich continued: "After the investigation following Abu Dhabi, the conclusion seemed to be that Michael had to go - essentially finding a scapegoat.

"What was really disappointing - for me and many colleagues - was the lack of support from the FIA for Michael. That’s something that needs to be clearly criticised. Everyone knew that in extreme situations, you’d be left on your own.

"In the past, under Charlie Whiting, there was always backing from FIA leadership - Max Mosley stood firmly behind him. That support wasn’t there anymore. It still isn’t. That’s one of the reasons I’m no longer a race director in Formula 1.

"Whatever happened, there was no proper discussion, no backing for employees. And that’s the worst takeaway from that whole situation."

F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Michael Masi Niels Wittich