Christian Horner says Mercedes ‘bullied’ Michael Masi into F1 exit and condemns social media 'trolling'

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has claimed Mercedes’ actions were “tantamount to bullying” after race director Michael Masi was replaced in the wake of the controversial 2021 season finale. A review into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen overtake Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to clinch the world title, resulted in Masi losing his job. Ad/> Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff was apoplectic in the paddock after a ruling from Masi ultimately denied Hamilton an eighth world title.

Russian Grand Prix'Russia will not have a race' — F1 terminates contract with Russian Grand Prix03/03/2022 AT 11:31 Hamilton said on the team radio the race was “manipulated”, while Wolff recently said it was «very encouraging» to see the FIA take action, adding that he does not want to speak to Masi “ever again”. Speaking to BBC Sport, Horner did not shy away from criticising Red Bull’s rivals ahead of the new season. «Was it right to fire him based on pressure that was placed on him from a rival team? That for me was wrong,» Horner said.

Verstappen: Masi 'thrown under the bus' after losing race director role 'I think it is harsh' — Horner sympathetic after Masi loses job as F1 director 'Very encouraging' — Wolff welcomes move to replace Masi as F1 race director «That's tantamount to bullying. It's passively aggressive. »Yes, Michael did make mistakes and it was frustrating, but you have to look at the role that he was in and the tools that he had at his disposal.