Overview
- Niels Wittich, who led Formula 1 race control from 2022 to 2024, said Michael Masi “didn’t do that much wrong” in Abu Dhabi and acted within the discretion available to a race director.
- He said teams, the FIA, and Formula 1 had agreed they wanted races to end under green flags when possible, and he framed the final‑lap restart as aligning with that preference.
- In the 2021 decider, Masi told only the five lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap and then ended the Safety Car immediately, a sequence that clashed with Article 48.12’s instruction to wait until the following lap.
- The FIA’s inquiry called the restart a case of “human error” and removed Masi from the race director role, a conclusion that left the title settled after a one‑lap shootout.
- Wittich criticized the FIA for failing to back its officials and said Masi was made a scapegoat, a charge that reopens questions about governance, consistency, and support within race control.