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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has explained why he called up former race director Michael Masi after the dramatic 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.
Masi ordered a controversial one-lap shootout after the last race of the 2021 season seemed poised to end behind the safety car. Red Bull's Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to deny the Mercedes man a record eighth world championship. The fallout of that decision was immense, as Masi was sacked as the race director and was heavily criticised.
In an interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Horner said that he has reached out to the Australian on a couple of occasions. The Red Bull boss said that he felt what happened to the former race director was not fair, as Masi was in a difficult position and did the best job possible in that situation. Horner said:
“Yes, on a couple of occasions. I felt that it wasn’t fair, the way he had been treated, because I think that he’d done the best that he could following the principles that have been told."
Horner did admit that Masi should have allowed the last two cars to unlap themselves, adding:
"The only thing he screwed up on was not allowing the final two cars at the back of the field to unlap themselves. But everything (else) that he’d done, you know, it was absolutely by the book and followed the principles of getting them to finish racing on track."
The Red Bull boss also touched on what happened recently at the Italian GP in Monza a few weeks ago when the race ended under the safety car. There was outrage once again, as fans were not happy to see the race end like that.
Horner said that Masi did everything he could to ensure that the season finale didn't end behind a safety car. However, the abuse and death threats Masi had to cope with were unwarranted.
“As we saw recently in Monza, nobody wants to see a race diluted and finished under a Safety Car," said Horner. "So he did everything to get that race going again, which would have been a horrendous finish to the season, see it just diluted and peter out under a Safety Car."
He added:
"And then I think the reaction after the race, there was a huge amount of abuse sent out to him, there was death threats to his family. No individual deserves to go through what he did.”
Verstappen won his first race at Monza - his fifth straight win of the season - behind the safety car.
"Michael did the very best he could throughout the year" - Red Bull boss
Christian Horner pointed out that race directors can get things wrong, like what Michael Masi did at Abu Dhabi under extreme pressure. However, the Red Bull boss doesn't doubt their competence or experience.
“They’re obviously new; they’re obviously very competent; they’ve got experience, but we still see issues obviously happen now and again; they’re continuing to learn and evolve," said Horner. "But you know, it’s a new chapter within the FIA. I think that Michael, in difficult circumstances, did the very best he could throughout the year."
Masi has since moved on from F1. Following the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP, there are now two race directors at races, and communication between teams and race directors is no longer allowed.
