Masi was in the hot seat for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the championship decider at the end of an especially bitter title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Verstappen emerged victorious in the race following a late Safety Car, under which he stopped for tyres.
The handling of the Safety Car process stuck in the craw for Wolff as not all lapped cars were waved through, and green flag conditions were returned too quickly. That allowed a final final racing lap, during with Verstappen passed race leader Hamilton.
With the pair tied on points heading into the race (Verstappen technically ahead with the most wins), whoever finished ahead won the title. Hence, Verstappen claimed his first at the expense of Hamilton’s eighth.
It prompted a furious response from Mercedes following the race with it announcing its intent to appeal the result, a move that was later withdrawn.
The event prompted an FIA investigation which ultimately led to Masi being removed from the role of race director, the FIA effectively conceding it had put too much on his plate without adequate systems in place to support him.
Nonetheless, Wolff remains aggrieved and pulled no punches when offering his opinion of the event and Masi in a recently released book, The Formula, by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg.
“When I think about it again, it’s so unfair what happened to Lewis and the team that day,” Wolff said.
“And that one individual didn’t follow the rules and just let it happen.
“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.”
However, the Austrian goes on to acknowledge that such flashpoints are what engage fans.
“It is drama and glory. This is what makes the sport so irresistible,” he reasoned..
“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.”
Since leaving the FIA, Masi has returned to Australia, where he was appointed to the Supercars Commission in mid-2022.
He’s also a member of the South Australian Motorsport Board and the Karting Australia board.
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