Breaking News - FIA - F1 - Masi is no longer Race Director!!!!

[LookItsMeAgain]

www.fia.com/news/fia-president-mohammed-ben-sulayem-opens-way-new-step-forward-formula-1-refereeing

Just after hearing this news that Michael Masi who was F1 race director during the final F1 race in Abu Dhabi over which there is SOOOOO much frustration and anger is no longer going to be F1 Race Director.
Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will act alternatively as Race Director, assisted by Herbie Blash as permanent senior advisor.

This is a step that the new FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has introduced.

What are your thoughts on this???

If you followed DTM last year, you’ll know how much of a scandal the last round of that championship was. Niels Wittich was the DTM race director at the time. It was blatantly clear what they did during that weekend (manipulate a championship), and none of it came as the consequence of an unfortunate car stopping by the road, safety car coming out and rules being applied loosely, like it was the case in F1… which was already bad enough. DTM was even worse.

So, I’m not very confident that this man is going to be any better than Masi. I hope he will at least take safety seriously. I haven’t read up much on Freitas so can’t comment on him.

Consistent inconsistency has been the trademark of the FIA over the last few years. I personally fail to see how having two alternating race directors will make the application of the rules more consistent, which is what literally everybody in the paddock is asking for.

I’d be happy to be proved wrong. I was no fan of Masi but I also don’t see how the new team will be any better, at least on paper. Let’s not forget the majority of decisions are taken by stewards. I look forward to see what they do throughout the year.

It's such a shame that since the passing of Charlie Whiting, the way that F1 has been marshalled is shockingly poor. It shows you what a grip he had on the rules and regulations and he seemed to apply the rules and regulations very fairly.
It also shows how since Liberty Media took over and Ecclestone sold his soul to the devil that it's all being done for ratings (I do wonder how DTS S4 will play out with that race) and not for the love of the sport.

At least that's how it seems to me.

Another thing that really annoyed me is how so many F1 fans piled on when objections to the race result were raised and when they were trying to be reasonable in posting their thoughts to social media and it was "Oh, it's because you are a Lewis fan and you're whinging that he didn't win the championship", when it turns out that they are complaining because even if it was LeClerc vs Norris for the driver's championship, I would hope that the rules would be applied fairly to both and to the teams and the rules would be followed (which I still don't think they were in Abu Dhabi.....and I'm not specifically a Lewis fan, I'm a Formula 1 fan).

How to admit you were wrong without actually admitting you are wrong.

He fucked up, made the wrong call. They can’t actually say that because then they would be saying that Verstappen shouldn’t have won and Hamilton deserved the title and they don’t want to open that can of worms.

And I say that as a Red Bull fan who desperately wanted Max to win the title

Well thank fuck for that- he should have resigned.

And Max has zero class whatsoever in the way he has spoken and behaved since. Hope Lewis wipes the floor with him this season.

@BellatrixOnABadDay

Well thank fuck for that- he should have resigned.

And Max has zero class whatsoever in the way he has spoken and behaved since. Hope Lewis wipes the floor with him this season.

Lewis or anyone else on the grid really....except Mazepin....but any one else really....I'd go for that!

I don't like Max. I don't like his personality. I honestly think he's a product of his upbringing and the RBR stable and they are not great environments to be in.

I mean look at how Seb has developed in Aston Martin having spent his time in RBR. I think his personality has blossomed since he left RBR.

I swore at the end of last season that I wouldn't be watching this season but it sucks you in....the car launches....the merch...the drivers on social media....I can't leave.....

@LookItsMeAgain I agree completely!

Whinger Spice is a total muppet- and it rubs off on the drivers. Agree Seb is so much nicer since leaving there.

Max is really unpleasant- absolutely no humility or grace, or acknowledgement of the circumstances in how he won, even had the bare faced cheek to compare it to Lewis passing Glock to win his first title.

Lewis and his family have such class- Max and his father on the other hand... his father is truly horrible.

@BHX3000

If you followed DTM last year, you’ll know how much of a scandal the last round of that championship was. Niels Wittich was the DTM race director at the time. It was blatantly clear what they did during that weekend (manipulate a championship), and none of it came as the consequence of an unfortunate car stopping by the road, safety car coming out and rules being applied loosely, like it was the case in F1… which was already bad enough. DTM was even worse.

So, I’m not very confident that this man is going to be any better than Masi. I hope he will at least take safety seriously. I haven’t read up much on Freitas so can’t comment on him.

Consistent inconsistency has been the trademark of the FIA over the last few years. I personally fail to see how having two alternating race directors will make the application of the rules more consistent, which is what literally everybody in the paddock is asking for.

I’d be happy to be proved wrong. I was no fan of Masi but I also don’t see how the new team will be any better, at least on paper. Let’s not forget the majority of decisions are taken by stewards. I look forward to see what they do throughout the year.

As far as I can see, the controversy at the last round of DTM was about a crash on lap 1, with an Audi driver attempting a move which didn't come off, resulting in him crashing with the pre-race championship leader, and team orders, with Mercedes ordering two of their drivers to slow down to allow Maximilian Gotz to pass them and win the championship. The Audi driver also made contact with Gotz later in the race. Whilst team orders are controversial, they aren't banned in DTM. I therefore struggle to see how Niels Wittich was in any way responsible for what happened. Mercedes manipulated the result of the championship. They didn't break any rules so there was nothing Wittich could do about it. That is very different from what happened in Abu Dhabi, where Verstappen only won because Masi broke the rules.