Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel offers Michael Masi defence over 'shameful' criticism

Sebastian Vettel helped unveil the new Aston Martin AMR22 ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign on Thursday, and also took the opportunity to offer a defence to Michael Masi over the criticism he has received since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Australian Race Director has been inundated with criticism after the way the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended in December, with social media ablaze with comment and, as is unfortunately the case these days, abuse towards him.

Certainly, it seems accepted that he made a mistake over the Safety Car call in the final laps under immense pressure but the personal attacks have been unwarranted.

The FIA investigation into said scenario is ongoing, too, and the hope has to be that what comes from it can be used to avoid such situations again, with less lobbying from teams and an improved Race Director structure two aims that should be targeted in order to help alleviate some of the pressure Masi was undoubtedly under.

And, for Vettel, there are other ways people’s energies should be used rather than simply targeting Masi, with him suggesting a revision of the rules to make them clearer might be a good avenue to head down.

“Absolutely wrong,” Vettel told Sky Sports News‘ Craig Slater when asked about the criticism Masi has received. “It’s [shameful] that it’s all focused on one man.

“He probably had a very, very difficult position on that day and we probably should focus on making the rules better and more clear, so it’s better for everyone.”

A four-time world champion and ultimately a good man, Sebastian Vettel has more authority than most on this subject and has done well to remind that there was a human in the middle of the fiasco.

Certainly, he made a grave error of judgement and could still