Michael Masi labelled 'scapegoat' as former FIA colleague issues Abu Dhabi 2021 defence

Michael Masi has received a strong defence from a former FIA colleague over his handling of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - and branded a "scapegoat" for being fired.

With just five laps remaining in the titanic championship fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, Nicholas Latifi crashed, bringing out the safety car - with Verstappen taking the opportunity to pit for fresh soft tyres.

Hamilton meanwhile, did not pit and so was on worn hard tyres, with five lapped cars between the two, with the signal originally being given that the quintet would not be allowed to unlap themselves, before Masi reversed that decision with only the five lapped cars between the two rivals unlapping themselves.

This came at the end of Lap 57, and under normal safety car rules, the race would have resumed at the end of the next lap, Lap 58 - but this was the final lap where overtaking is not permitted on a safety car restart.

Ultimately, Verstappen overtook Hamilton to win the race and the 2021 title, with Mercedes immediately lodging protests with the stewards over the handling of the end of the race, which were ultimately withdrawn.

An FIA investigation found "human error" was at fault for Masi's handling of the race, and he was removed from his position as race director ahead of the 2022 season, with Verstappen's title standing. 

However, Niels Wittich, who served as deputy to Masi and then replaced him after the investigation, in a two-man structure with Eduardo Freitas before becoming sole director ahead of the 2022 United States GP, believes his former boss "didn't do that much wrong" and was made a "scapegoat."

"From my point of view, Michael didn’t do that much wrong," Wittich, who himself was removed as race director ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas GP, told Formel1.De in Germany.

"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, a 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.

"A late safety car is always controversial. Fans don’t like it if it decides the race, but that applies everywhere. Whether it’s lap one or the final laps, someone gains, someone loses. That’s part of the sport.

"The Abu Dhabi race itself had been quite uneventful until Latifi’s crash. Without that, it would have been a straightforward, perhaps even dull finale. But because of the incident and the intervention, it suddenly became decisive, and that upset one group of fans or the other.

"People later said: 'You could have red-flagged it, you could have done this or that.' Yes, you could, but those would have been inconsistent decisions compared to earlier races. And consistency is key.

"In meetings with the teams in early 2022, I asked them directly: 'Do you want us to red-flag every minor incident?'  They said no. 'Do you want different rules for the final race?' Again, no.

"A championship isn’t decided in one race alone. Points lost earlier in the season matter just as much. Both Hamilton and Verstappen had chances to secure the title earlier.

"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 many colleagues and me – 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."