Michael Masi

Michael Masi (born 8 June 1978) is an Australian motorsports official. Masi served as Formula One race director from 2019 to 2021. In this role, Masi oversaw the logistics of a Formula One racing weekend, ensuring all cars, tracks, and drivers conform to FIA regulations before, during, and after a race.[1] Masi was removed from his position following an FIA analysis into his failure to correctly follow the safety car restart procedure at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Michael Masi
Born (1978-06-08) 8 June 1978
Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Years active2019–2022
Known forFIA race director

Early life

Masi was born in Sydney in 1978 and is of Italian descent. Growing up in the suburbs of Fairfield and Canada Bay, Masi initially studied marketing at TAFE before his roles in motorsport.[2]

Career

Early career

Masi began his career in motor racing volunteering for Super Touring teams while still at school. He worked as deputy race director in the Supercars touring car racing series[3] and at Rally Australia.[4] In 2018, he was appointed by the FIA as the Formula 2 and Formula 3 deputy race director, and was appointed deputy to F1 race director Charlie Whiting.[5][2] Masi alternated in this role between Grands Prix with Scot Elkins, who would become the race director for Formula E and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.[6]

Formula One

Following Whiting's death before the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Masi took on the role of Formula One race director.[7]

Several of Masi's decisions as race director were subject to scrutiny from drivers, teams, and press. During the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix qualifying session, cars were sent out on track while a crane was still on the track.[8] During the 2021 season, Masi was required to defend the red flag procedures used during the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.[9][10] In the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, Masi was criticised for running qualifying in dangerous conditions, and then running the race behind the safety car for three laps, allegedly to ensure points were awarded.[11][12] He was criticized for negotiating with teams to change positions during the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.[13] The following week, Masi's procedural error in the resumption of the race following a safety car period during the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was criticised for potentially altering championship results. Mercedes protested the result; the protest was not upheld.[14]

On 17 February 2022, Masi was removed from his role as Race Director following an FIA analysis into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[15][16] He was replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas as race directors on an alternating basis for the 2022 Formula One season, and Herbie Blash as Permanent Senior Advisor to them.[17] A new position within the FIA was offered to Masi.[18]

On 19 March 2022, the FIA published their official report into the Abu Dhabi controversy, concluding that Masi had incorrectly applied regulations, in that not all lapped cars had unlapped themselves, and the safety car had not completed one additional lap before coming back into the pitlane. The report attributed these matters to human error.[19]

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff subsequently referred to Masi as having been a "liability" to Formula One and stated that Masi did not take well to receiving feedback or criticism from anybody, as well as suggesting that he had acted disrespectfully at times towards some drivers in briefings.[20]

Post-Formula One

In July 2022, Masi left the FIA in order to relocate to Australia and spend more time with his family.[21][22] In September, Masi was appointed the independent Chairman of the Supercars Commission in Australia.[23] He was appointed to the board of directors of Karting Australia in December.[24] Due to the abuse he received after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the exhaustion of travelling to different countries as race director, Masi sought help with his mental health.[25]

References
  1. "F1 Stewards: Who are they, what do they do & how are they chosen?". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. Bilton, Ross (27 June 2020). "Q&A: Michael Masi, Formula 1 Race Director, 41". The Australian. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  3. Chokhani, Darshan (27 March 2019). "Michael Masi keeps F1 race director and safety delegate role for Bahrain GP". DriveTribe. W. Chump & Sons. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  4. "Masi is revved for rally". Sunshine Coast Daily. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. Parkes, Ian (19 September 2019). "Michael Masi Dives In as Race Director". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. Benson, Andrew (15 January 2022). "FIA president meets Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as part of F1 inquiry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  7. Coch, Mat; Howard, Tom. "Australian Michael Masi appointed F1 race director". GPToday.com. Digital Motorsport Media. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  8. "Raikkonen says Turkey Q2 crane incident was "far from ideal" · RaceFans". RaceFans. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. Wilde, Jon (7 June 2021). "Masi defends decision to restart Baku race". PlanetF1. Planet Sport Network. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. Collantine, Keith; Rencken, Dieter (6 June 2021). "Why the Azerbaijan GP was stopped for Verstappen's crash but not Stroll's". RaceFans. Collantine Media. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  11. Cleeren, Filip (31 August 2021). "Masi admits starting Q3 at Spa was a mistake". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  12. "'We did the best we could but the weather got the better of us' says Masi after red-flagged Belgian GP". Formula 1. Formula One Group. Retrieved 12 January 2022. Interview archived at Wayback Machine: "F1 race director Michael Masi explains decision to run two lap race at Spa". Sky Sports F1. YouTube. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. Braidwood, James (7 December 2021). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix shows F1 'misses Charlie Whiting', Christian Horner claims". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  14. Amako, Uche (13 December 2021). "Who is Michael Masi? The man at the centre of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen F1 title row". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  15. "FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem opens the way for a new step forward in Formula 1 refereeing". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  16. "Michael Masi replaced as F1 race director after FIA review of 2021 Abu Dhabi GP finale". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  17. "Michael Masi replaced as race director amid FIA structural changes | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  18. Benson, Andrew (17 February 2022). "Michael Masi removed as F1 race director as part of FIA restructure in wake of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix". BBC News. p. 1. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  19. "'Human error' to blame at Abu Dhabi GP". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  20. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (11 April 2022). "'Immune to feedback' and a 'liability' to F1-Wolff on Masi". The Race. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  21. "The FIA confirms Michael Masi's departure". fia.com. FIA. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  22. Cooper, Adam. "Former F1 race director Michael Masi leaves FIA". www.motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  23. Williams, Bruce. "Masi Appointed to Role as Supercars Commission Chairman". autoaction.com. Auto Action. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  24. Herrero, Daniel (15 December 2022). "Michael Masi joins Karting Australia board". Speedcafe. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  25. Mitchell, Rory (1 April 2023). "Masi opens up on mental health after 'toxic' Abu Dhabi 2021 fallout". RacingNews365.com. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
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