'Bring Masi back!' - F1 pundits want axed race director back after Italian GP fiasco

Formula 1 should consider reinstating its axed race director Michael Masi.

That is the view of well-known Russian F1 commentator Alexey Popov, as the Italian media slammed the way Masi's successors handled the end of the race at Monza last Sunday.

"The centenary Grand Prix should not have ended like this," La Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed. "It has done serious damage to the reputation of F1."

The Corriere della Sera editorial added: "100 years of racing, and we see F1 cars queued up at the fastest circuit - how sad! People who waited hours to see the Grand Prix of the century were faced with this embarrassment."

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Bring Masi back

Popov, who works for Russian broadcaster Match TV, said: "For all those who criticised Masi, red-flagging a race as he did in Baku was his initiative. We saw a restart and a two-lap fight.

"The famous restart in Abu Dhabi, yes, it turned the championship around, but still, he wanted the people to see a race. Sometimes, you can neglect the formalities for a race.

"I say it again - we should bring Masi back."

READ: Ferrari throws another win, Race Control butchers it again - Talking points from Italian GP

In reality, Masi has now returned to his native Australia to be chairman of the Supercars Commission - the country's top category of domestic motor racing.

He was replaced in F1 this year by new joint race directors Eduardo Freitas and Neils Wittich, who are now under fire for allowing the end of the Italian GP to fizzle behind a protracted safety car period.

"I think it's especially sad for the tens of thousands of people who bought very expensive tickets," 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told the