Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has harshly criticized former FIA Formula 1 race director Michael Masi, calling him a ‘pathological egomaniac’ for the controversial decisions that cost Lewis Hamilton the 2021 title.
That year, Hamilton led the final race in Abu Dhabi, heading towards winning his eighth title, with an advantage of around ten seconds over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. However, Masi broke the rules in the restart after a Safety Car at the end of the race, when there was only one lap remaining, allowing some cars to make up laps behind and reposition themselves at the end of the grid, but Masi decided to allow the restart, when not everyone had started. repositioned, which left Verstappen immediately behind Hamilton.
Instead of following the regulations and waiting one more lap to restart the race until everyone had repositioned themselves correctly, but which would force the race to end with the Safety Car on the track, Masi forced the restart anyway, with one lap to go with Verstappen using new tires, which made it possible to overtake Hamilton at turn 5, and gave the Dutchman the title.
Recalling what happened in the book ‘The Formula’, by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, Wolff harshly criticized Masi for the controversy, which culminated in his dismissal from his position as racing director and from the FIA.
“When I think back, it is so unfair what happened to Lewis and the team that day,” Wolff said, as quoted by RacingNews365. “That individual simply did not follow the rules and allowed this to happen. He is a completely unimportant person. He lives on the other side of the world and no one is interested in him. He really was a complete pathological egomaniac,” added the Mercedes boss.
While Hamilton told GQ magazine that he felt ‘robbed’ of that title, the driver also said he was ‘at peace’ with the result.
Although Wolff shows no intention of forgiving Masi for his actions at the Yas Marina circuit in 2021, he recognizes that the dramatic ending was marked in Formula 1 history.
“It’s drama and glory. That’s what makes the sport so irresistible. Everyone saw the drama of a seven-time champion being robbed of his title. I would have preferred to see a different ending, but the race undoubtedly left its mark on history”, concluded the 52-year-old Austrian.
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