Was the FIA right to stand Formula 1 race director Michael Masi aside as part of reforms they’ve made to the refereeing of the sport?
That’s the question we’re asking you in this week’s Pirtek Poll now the dust has settled on last week’s announcement by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The decision to replace Masi comes in the wake of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and more specifically the handling of a late-race Safety Car.
It proved a decisive point in the championship, with Max Verstappen able to pass Lewis Hamilton and with it claim the world crown.
To the letter of the regulations, the Aussie did nothing wrong.
There is a facility which allows the race director to officiate proceedings in line with their discretion. That is what Masi did.
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However, the question is whether his judgement in using his discretion was correct and, on balance, it’s easy now to say it probably wasn’t.
And while that is fundamentally the crux of the issue there is a laundry list of contributing factors at play.
Alongside his role as F1 race director, Masi has a number of other responsibilities that afford him little time off.
He was working under the pressures of a sport operating in a pandemic, at the end of the longest season on record, and one of the most intense championship battles F1 has ever seen.
Add into the mix the eyes of the world zeroed in on the affair, and that radio exchanges between race control and the teams were broadcast.
That point has been addressed and will no happen going forward, with a number of other reforms also being introduced.
Replacing Masi is not one, but two race directors, plus the experienced deputy in Herbie Blash, who for many years worked alongside Charlie Whiting.
A virtual race control room will be set up to offer further support.
It’s tacit acknowledgement that the FIA had left the F1 race director hopelessly exposed and yet rather than support their man there are many who feel he’s been the victim of a political game.
Of course, there are commercial interests too, and while theoretically they should have no bearing on who is race director or not, no doubt they had a bearing in any decision-making process.
On that front, Masi had lost the trust of the public and, arguably, some of the competitors too.
At the very heart of any sport is trust and faith from participants that the rules will be applied fairly and correctly.
While Masi arguably did that in Abu Dhabi according to the letter of the regulations, many did not feel that to be the case regardless of what the rulebook said.
So in many respects the FIA had no choice but to replace the F1 race director in order to win back public – and therefore commercial – confidence.
In the United Kingdom, home to Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes team, news of Masi’s replacement has been well received.
Speaking with Hamilton at the launch of his 2022 car one journalist openly asked: “I want to just get your reaction as well to Michael Masi’s departure. It must be something positive to see that he’s now out of the situation?”
The seven-time world champion never directly answered the question, instead speaking of the improvements the FIA has had in accountability going forward.
“I think accountability is key,” he said.
“We have to use this moment to make sure that this never happens to anybody else in the sport ever again.”
There is no doubt that the changes made by the FIA will go a long way to ensure there is a better structure in place to referee F1, but was it right to cast Masi aside as part of that, or did he warrant an opportunity to show his worth in a situation where he had the support the role clearly needs?
Cast your vote below in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
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