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Ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes Michael Masi was ‘overwhelmed’ with his job throughout the season. The former F1 boss questioned whether the Australian Race Director deserved his job position, but believes his decisions at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were correct.
Speaking to German publication Bild, Ecclestone said:
“He was in many cases overwhelmed with his job the whole season and maybe shouldn’t have had it at all. But it was the right decision to let them race. These things happen all the time in sports. We shouldn’t blame the race director, he did exactly what was the right thing to do.”
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The 91-year-old Briton believes that although Masi seemed overburdened with his duties, his call to allow a final lap of racing in the Abu Dhabi GP was the right decision. The former F1 boss also felt that blaming the Race Director for the controversial and anti-climactic ending to the season finale was incorrect.
While Masi's inconsistency and race management skills throughout the season have been targeted by the audience, his decisions during the penultimate laps of the Abu Dhabi GP have received scathing reviews and scrutiny.
Ex- F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone slams Lewis Hamilton for complaining
While the former F1 supremo is known to hurl verbal grenades at drivers and teams, his latest is at Lewis Hamilton for complaining about decisions made in the season finale. The 91-year-old Briton believes the Mercedes champion went unpenalised for cutting a corner on the penultimate lap of the Abu Dhabi GP.
Stating Hamilton’s incident on Lap 1, Ecclestone said:
“If you want to think about it carefully, on the first lap of that race he [Hamilton] went off the circuit and came back on again and Verstappen stayed on the circuit and did absolutely nothing wrong. Lewis wasn’t punished at all for that so he shouldn’t be complaining too much.”
The stewards noted the incident but deemed it unnecessary to investigate, which many including Ecclestone believe was worth a penalty. The former chief therefore felt Mercedes and Hamilton’s protests and complaints over the final lap were unnecessary and farcical.
