Wolff lashes out at 'utter pathological egomaniac'

In the recently published book 'The Formula', Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has lashed out at former race director Michael Masi, who he describes as a "pathological egomaniac".

Wolff's comments are, of course, in reference to Masi's actions during the closing stages of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where a 'human error' by the former race director saw Lewis Hamilton lose what was set to be an unprecedented eighth title.

Max Verstappen was the benefactor from Masi's mistake, which regarded the late safety car that was required for Nicholas Latifi's crashed Williams to be recovered.

As is very well documented, Masi opted to only allow the lapped drivers between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves on the penultimate lap, before almost immediately restarting the race.

It meant the final lap was conducted under green flag conditions, with Verstappen having made his move on Hamilton for the victory and the championship at Turn 5. Mercedes were left furious by Masi's actions, which resulted in an investigation into the individual by the FIA.

Hamilton continues to feel "robbed" of the 2021 title to this day, although he is finally at "peace" with what happened. As for Wolff, he continues to criticise the ex-race director.

'Pathological egomaniac'

"When I think about it again, it's so unfair what happened to Lewis and the team that day," Wolff said in Joshua Robinson's and Jonathan Clegg's book 'The Formula'.

"And that one individual didn't follow the rules and just let it happen.

Wolff continued to vent his frustration towards Masi: "He is a totally unimportant person: he lives on the other side of the world and nobody is interested in him. He really was an utter pathological egomaniac."

Whilst the Austrian will never forget the consequences Masi's error had on his team, he does recognise that the race will forever be remembered as one of the most dramatic in F1 history.

"It is drama and glory. This is what makes the sport so irresistible," Wolff explained. "Everyone saw the drama of an eight-time world champion being robbed of his title. I would have preferred to see it end differently, but the race undeniably left its mark on history."