It’s Official, Michael Masi Has Been Sacked As F1 Race Director

After a controversial judgement call in Abu Dhabi last year, Michael Masi has been sacked after an FIA restructuring. ...
Michael Masi

After a controversial judgement call in Abu Dhabi last year, Michael Masi has been sacked after an FIA restructuring.

While Michael Masi will no longer hold the position of race director, he will be offered a new spot within the FIA. In fact, Masi has been part of the reason the FIA has had to reconsider his former role as race director entirely.

The role of race director will now be split amongst two people starting in 2022. The two men this year are Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. This comes as part of a massive restructuring unveiled by the FIA’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The new race control team will be in place by the first pre-season test in Barcelona on February 23. FIA veteran, Herbie Blash, will be assisting the new team as a permanent senior advisor.

Other changes unveiled included a virtual race control room that will operate similarly to football’s VAR. unlapping procedures will also be reassessed thanks to Masi and presented to the next F1 Comission before the start of the season.

As we reported previously, direct radio communications during the race will no longer be broadcast on live TV. Ben Sularem said they were removed from broadcast as they placed undue pressure on the race director. Mercedes’ team principal, Toto Wolff, has agrees with this despite having been an early supporter of the broadcast’s adoption.

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