Ex-F1 race director Masi says he received death threats

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Formula One's former race director Michael Masi has described the abuse he received on social media following last season's controversial call at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won his first world title after overtaking Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on the last lap following a heavily disputed restart procedure.

Hamilton led comfortably until a crash by Nicholas Latifi brought out the safety car with five laps remaining. Verstappen stopped under yellow flags for fresher tires, and Masi flipped his decision and let the five lapped drivers separating Verstappen from Hamilton pass the safety car under yellow. But not all eight, which would have taken longer.

Governing body FIA concluded Masi had made a “human error ” but acted in good faith. Masi was replaced in his role and then left the FIA entirely three weeks ago to relocate back to Australia.

In an interview with Australia's NewsCorp, the 44-year-old Australian recalled feeling like “the most hated man in the world” as he revealed the level of hostility he endured online via hundreds of toxic messages.

“They were shocking. Racist, abusive, vile, they called me every name under the sun. And there were death threats. People saying they were going to come after me and my family,” Masi said in the interview. “And they kept on coming. Not just on my Facebook but also on my LinkedIn, which is supposed to be a professional platform for business. It was the same type of abuse.”

The interview Masi gave to the Sunday Telegraph carried screenshots of some of the messages, with Masi saying he was relieved not to have more social media platforms where people could attack him.

“Thankfully, I don't have an Instagram account.