
Hamilton "a sitting duck" after Masi 'freestyling of the rules'
F1 News
Hamilton "a sitting duck" after Masi 'freestyling of the rules'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed FIA race director Michael Masi rendered Lewis Hamilton "a sitting duck" in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a "freestyle reading of the rules".
Mercedes was furious with the handling of the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the controversial way in which Masi applied the F1 sporting regulations.
After initially announcing no lapped traffic would be cleared to pass the safety car, Masi changed this notification to allow only the five lapped drivers between title rivals Hamilton and Max Verstappen by.
Although the regulations dictate that the safety car will complete one further lap before returning to the pits, in this case, that would have seen the race end behind the safety car, immediately after the traffic had cleared, the restart order was given.
Mercedes quickly launched two protests, one relating to the procedure for a race restart and after these were dismissed, gave notice of intent to appeal.
Mercedes has since backed out of appealing and Wolff confirmed this was a joint decision alongside Hamilton.
“Every step on the way it was joint decisions," said Wolff. "We decided together with Lewis to protest, to launch the appeal and to withdraw the appeal.
“As you can imagine, not only for him but also for us as a team, it was terrible to be confronted with a decision that decided the outcome of the world championship.
“But none of us, neither him nor us, want to win a world championship in the courtroom.
“But on the other side, we were deeply wronged on Sunday and it wasn’t just a case of a bad call, it was freestyle reading of the rules and it left Lewis like a sitting duck."
Despite withdrawing from the appeal process, Wolff reflected it had been difficult to let go after the team had been "wronged".
“So as hard as it was to withdraw the appeal…it was tremendously hard for him and for us as a team to withdraw the appeal because we were wronged," added Wolff.
“So my soul and my heart cries with every bone that this should have been judged in the right way and the legal situation would have given us some right.
“But as I said before, this is the difference between being right and obtaining justice.”
Related news

F1 ANALYSIS: Why Mercedes have made radical changes to the W14

First pictures of Mercedes F1 UPGRADES ‘leaked’ online ahead of Monaco GP

Wolff gives prediction on Mercedes' Monaco upgrades ahead of CRITICAL weekend

Marko insists Hamilton NEEDS Ferrari switch to beat Verstappen
Most read

F1 drivers' penalty points: Who is close to a ban?

Hamilton replacement SIGNED as Horner reveals Red Bull driver REGRETS and Honda return with TOP TEAM - GPFans F1 Recap

Hamilton 'in close Ferrari contact' as Leclerc concerned over future while Alonso makes BIG Verstappen team-mate claim – GPFans F1 Recap

Hamilton replacement SORTED says Mercedes driver development chief

Verstappen and Hamilton run each other OFF as Red Bull star left MOANING and Vettel returns to Aston Martin - GPFans F1 Recap
F1 Standings

Races
-
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2023
-
Grand Prix of China 2023
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
-
Miami Grand Prix 2023
-
Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
-
Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
-
Grand Prix of Spain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Canada 2023
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2023
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
-
Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2023
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2023
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2023
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
-
Grand Prix of Brazil 2023
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media

7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860