THE FIA have SACKED Michael Masi from his role as race director following his bungling of last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Masi was under investigation for his decision to allow a number of lapped cars between Sir Lewis Hamilton and rival Max Verstappen to overtake the safety car following Nicholas Latifi’s crash.
The decision resulted in Hamilton being pipped to a record-breaking eighth Drivers’ championship by Red Bull’s Verstappen and enraged Mercedes.
F1 chiefs vowed to launch an immediate inquest into Masi’s decision-making in the UAE race.
And following and thorough investigation into the incident, which spanned nearly three months, the FIA decided to relieve Masi of his duties.
The role of director will now be shared between Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich, with the pair being assisted by Herbie Blash.
FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem announced the changes for the 2022 season on Thursday.
He said: “I would like to inform you that a new race management team will be put in place starting in Barcelona for the test session next week.
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“Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will act alternatively as race director, assisted by Herbie Blash as permanent senior advisor.
“Michael Masi, who accomplished a very challenging job for three years as Formula 1 race director following Charlie Whiting, will be offered a new position within the FIA.”
The announcement of Masi leaving his role as race director was proceeded by the revealing of plans to introduce a Virtual Race Control Room to assist the decision-making process.
And Ben Sulayem also revealed teams’ radio communications will be removed from television broadcasts to ensure no additional pressure is placed on the race director.
He said: “To assist the race director in the decision-making process, a Virtual Race Control Room will be created.
“Alike the Video Assistance Referee (VAR) in football, it will be positioned in one of the FIA Offices as a backup outside the circuit.
“In real-time connection with the FIA F1 race director, it will help to apply the sporting regulations using the most modern technological tools.
“Secondly, direct radio communications during the race, currently broadcast live by all TVs, will be removed in order to protect the race director from any pressure and allow him to take decisions peacefully. It will still be possible to ask questions to the race director, according to a well-defined and non-intrusive process.
“Thirdly, unlapping procedures behind safety car will be reassessed by the F1 Sporting Advisory Committee and presented to the next F1 Commission prior to the start of the season.”
Masi’s position as race director was seen by many to be ‘untenable’ after his shocking call not to end the race under yellow flags.
The removal of Masi as race director came shortly after Hamilton confirmed he would be returning for the 2022 season.
On Thursday morning, he tweeted: “I’ve been gone. Now I’m back!”
Mercedes followed suit by tweeting a picture of Hamilton’s silhouette in front of a black and white Union Jack with the accompanying caption: “Year 16.”
The 2022 F1 season will get underway on March 20 with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
