Horner gives verdict on ‘harsh’ Masi dismissal

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner feels Michael Masi’s removal as Formula 1 race director was a “harsh” call, given the pressure he faced.

The FIA announced Masi will be given a new role in the FIA after confirming his departure from his former role, after massive controversy surrounding his decision-making during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in which Max Verstappen became World Champion after his call to remove lapped cars between him and Lewis Hamilton, and restart the race with one lap to go.

Conversations surrounding Masi’s future had been rumbling on until the FIA announced their structural changes in the aftermath of the race, with a full internal investigation having taken place into the events of Abu Dhabi.

Defenders of the Australian spoke of the pressure he was under all season long, and the FIA will now split the race directorship between World Endurance Championship race director Eduardo Freitas and former DTM race director Niels Wittich in 2022.

Long-time Formula 1 deputy race director Herbie Blash has returned to the sport to become a permanent senior advisor to Freitas and Wittich, with a Virtual Race Control Room set to be created to aid the race directors in their decision making – similar to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in football.

Horner welcomed the changes in structure that have been made to the sport, but still feels the public pressure to dismiss Masi of his duties was “not right”.

“It’s a difficult one,” Horner told talkSPORT Breakfast. “It’s the FIA’s business. I think it is harsh, I think he was in a very difficult position last year.

“We felt a lot of the decisions went against us last year.

“When you look at what he has at his disposal in terms of resource, compared to what