Seems to be a product of the Spanish April Fools Day in December.
It seems Masi has officially been confirmed by Ben Sulayem and has also been given extra powers
Dated yesterday:
Masi stays and gets more power
Michael Masi's performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drew a lot of criticism, yet the race director will stay on in 2022. Moreover, his power has only increased.
The new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has made this decision despite all the criticism. It was thought that Masi could be relieved of his duties, but Ben Sulayem clearly thought otherwise. He even believes that the Australian should be given more power, as there should really only be one referee per race.
"It would be much quicker to impose penalties, rather than having to wait until an incident is presented to the stewards and they have to investigate and decide. It can't be the case that hours after a race the result is changed," he said at Soymotor.com.
Less time penalties and giving places back immediately There are also rumours that the time penalties will change. The five second time penalty that is often given can easily be undone by driving a few fast laps. A mandatory pit stop takes much more time and therefore it is harder for drivers to get back on track.
Also the way in which the position must be given back to another driver will change. The race committee does not want to see a repeat of what happened in Saudi Arabia between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. One possible solution is to only give DRS two laps after giving the position back to the other driver.
EDIT: Wanting something more official than a website for confirmation I went looking on the FIA website....no news of any announcement for or against Michael Masi,
......so I dont believe any official confirmation has been made at this stage one way or the other, as @erwin greven hinted earlier. A decision regarding the F1 Race Director would be something announced with an official FIA Statement. Until that happens I reckon its "Fake News"
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
I hope they take away team to race director communications as well. Half of the 'joke' of Abu Dhabi was listening to the team bosses whinging at Masi over the telephone.
PTRACER wrote: ↑2 years ago
I hope they take away team to race director communications as well. Half of the 'joke' of Abu Dhabi was listening to the team bosses whinging at Masi over the telephone.
Already have, only one way comms now
Masi wins
The board equivalent of the Jody scheckter chicane. Fast but pointless
PTRACER wrote: ↑2 years ago
I hope they take away team to race director communications as well. Half of the 'joke' of Abu Dhabi was listening to the team bosses whinging at Masi over the telephone.
Already have, only one way comms now
Masi wins
Is that official?
If so, let's see if Masi can come to a decision without using 50/50 or phone a friend.
Just when you think you've seen it all. My friend pointed me in the direction of this! It's not even April 1st, read it and enjoy
New ‘twist’ in Verstappen’s title controversy December 31, 2021
Verstappen’s victory at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is still being talked about and the matter is far from over, with a new, rather laughable, petition launched to protest the Dutchman’s controversial win and hand the title to Hamilton.
At just 24 years of age, Max Verstappen became Formula One World Champion for the first time in his young career with a thrilling but controversial victory. The Red Bull driver overtook his rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, thanks to race director Michael Masi’s decision to allow lapped drivers to pass the safety car on the final lap.
This manoeuvre allowed the Dutch driver to get closer to his nemesis Lewis Hamilton on the last lap, with new tyres. This historic scenario has caused a lot of ink to flow to the point of petitions.
Indeed, a staunch Hamilton fan, Patel Gordon-Bennett has created and launched a petition on change.org to denounce the FIA’s decision and change the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in favour of Lewis Hamilton.
“I believe that justice was not done on Sunday 12 December 2021 when the FIA Stewards denied Lewis Hamilton his victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With less than a lap remaining, some lapped cars were allowed to overtake the safety car, which is not in accordance with the rules of F1 sport.
“This gave rival Max Verstappen the opportunity to overtake Lewis Hamilton and win the Grand Prix. If you are an advocate of justice, honesty and fairness, please sign this petition. Leaving this decision as it is will send a very bad message to young people and future racers,” he said in his petition, which will reach the 50,000 signatories mark shortly.
Clearly, this particular fan was born on another planet, perhaps one where wishes really do come true and we all live in a world of cotton candy and eternal happiness. One who perhaps doesn’t share such delusions is Red Bull boss Helmut Marko who said FIA race director Micheal Masi had every right to restart the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the final lap.
“One must also credit Michael Masi who wanted to finish the race under racing conditions,” said Marko.
“With IndyCar or NASCAR, for example, there is a rule that they even add a lap so that the race can be finished under racing conditions. There were five cars in between and he just sent them away, so that you could drive this last lap. It’s like the referee, he has the right and if he decides like that, then that’s valid.”
What is next? A petition to DQ Ayrton Senna from the 1990 season, just like the FIA did in 1997 with Schumacher? So that justice is done to Alain Prost?
Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
Lewis fans online are exactly that - fans of Lewis. They don't understand F1 history, they don't understand the nuances of the sport, and they don't even realise it. They think they know all because they only see Lewis win, and his teammate doesn't.
The sooner he goes, the better F1 will be.
Gavle Yule Goat Predictor 2018, 2019 and 2021 Champion
MonteCristo wrote: ↑2 years agoVettel: Not a fan at all on track. But off track, good guy.
DoubleFart wrote: ↑2 years ago
Lewis fans online are exactly that - fans of Lewis. They don't understand F1 history, they don't understand the nuances of the sport, and they don't even realise it. They think they know all because they only see Lewis win, and his teammate doesn't.
The sooner he goes, the better F1 will be.
Reminds me of a certain vintage of Ferrari fans.
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.
DoubleFart wrote: ↑2 years ago
Lewis fans online are exactly that - fans of Lewis. They don't understand F1 history, they don't understand the nuances of the sport, and they don't even realise it. They think they know all because they only see Lewis win, and his teammate doesn't.
The sooner he goes, the better F1 will be.
Reminds me of a certain vintage of Ferrari fans.
I remember those being at The Fastlane back in the day. Schumacher could never do anything wrong and every Schumacher victory was a 10/10 race.
I've always supported the underdog, so I have a hard time supporting anyone with 100 fairly easy race victories. I don't understand the appeal.
DoubleFart wrote: ↑2 years ago
Lewis fans online are exactly that - fans of Lewis. They don't understand F1 history, they don't understand the nuances of the sport, and they don't even realise it. They think they know all because they only see Lewis win, and his teammate doesn't.
The sooner he goes, the better F1 will be.
Reminds me of a certain vintage of Ferrari fans.
I remember those being at The Fastlane back in the day. Schumacher could never do anything wrong and every Schumacher victory was a 10/10 race.
I've always supported the underdog, so I have a hard time supporting anyone with 100 fairly easy race victories. I don't understand the appeal.
That's the thing about motorsport... the masses think it's like football or cricket, where the equipment is not a factor.