28 November 2023 , 17:59
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FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem insists he would not hesitate to bring disgraced former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi back to the sport.
The Australian was removed from his role after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix scandal. Max Verstappen won his first F1 title at the expense of Lewis Hamilton, but only after Masi's botched handling of a late safety car period gave him the chance to do so.
The FIA later admitted Masi's "human error" had affected the outcome of the title race. And he later quit the governing body to return home where he has since been in charge of the V8 Supercars series.
Ben Sulayem was not in charge of the FIA when the blunder was made, taking office a week after the conclusion of that controversial title race. But he insists he'd be happy to bring the ostracised Aussie back into the fold.
"I always apologise, but I cannot apologise for something which was done before my time," he told the Press Association. "Okay, I will do the apology, but I will bring Michael Masi again. Do you think that is right?
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"The poor guy is a person who has been attacked and abused. Michael Masi went through hell. Hell! And if I see there is an opportunity that the FIA needs, and Michael Masi is the right person, I will bring him."
Such a move would no doubt infuriate Hamilton and his Mercedes team. In particular, team principal Toto Wolff has on many occasions expressed his dislike for Masi and, in one interview last year, issued a scathing verdict on the way the axed race director used to go about his work.
He said: "It is quite interesting because I had lunch with him on the Wednesday before the [2021 Abu Dhabi] race, and I said to him that, 'I really want to tell you, without patronising you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there. Lewis does it every day, but you are a guy who always seems to know better'.
"It wasn't about influencing him but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn't block outside opinion as simply being wrong. You hear from the drivers and how the drivers' briefings were conducted [by Masi] and some of the guys said it was almost disrespectful how he treated some of them.
"He was just immune to any feedback and even today he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong. He was a liability for the sport because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director, and the race director should not be somebody that people talk about, but someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations."