“We can’t forget he had to fill Charlie Whiting’s shoes”: Sergio Perez and Red Bull don’t want the FIA to sack Michael Masi based on just the call he made in Abu Dhabi

Sergio Perez and Red Bull call for the FIA to not remove Michael Masi from his position as Formula 1 Race Director. 

Masi’s position in F1 has been under fire ever since the infamous 2021 season finale. Lewis Hamilton looked set to win his eighth Title before a late safety car followed by Masi’s controversial decision making took it away from him.

He asked all the lapped cars in front of Max Verstappen to pass the safety car, leaving Hamilton defenseless against the Red Bull driver’s faster and fresher tyres. Then, right before the final lap, Masi restarted the race and Verstappen comfortably passed the Brit to win his first Championship.

Mercedes and Hamilton were furious with how things unfolded in Abu Dhabi that evening. Plenty of other drivers and figures in the sport, called for more clarity in terms of rule making. Above everything, it seemed that Masi’s days in F1 as Race Director were numbered after the amount of backlash he received.

Earlier this week, F1 teams and the officials of FIA met up to discuss a plan of action in terms of rules for the 2022 season.

Also read: Max Verstappen suggests Lewis Hamilton to move on from Abu Dhabi heartbreak

Red Bull feel that Michael Masi did a good job considering the bigger picture

While we don’t know about Masi’s departure for sure, it has been widely speculated that the Aussie will be sent packing. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and advisor Helmut Marko don’t want this to happen.

Perez and Marko feel that the 44-year old did a good job throughout the season. They don’t think he should be sacked based on just one ‘questionable’ call that didn’t favor the Mercedes team.

“People are very serious about it. But I think we should continue to support Michael. He’s done a great job. We can’t forget he had to fill Charlie Whiting’s shoes,” Perez said. Marko meanwhile, took a different approach to explain his point of view.

“The primary purpose of the investigation is to clarify that Masi was simply overwhelmed in that situation. And that the team bosses cannot continue to interfere with race management over the radio,” the 78-year old said.

“Everything should be clearer. I think the FIA will try to relieve the race management a little more,” he added.

Also read: Christian Horner claims this F1 change will not allow Red Bull to set new pitstop records