“It was an over-reaction of the FIA to get rid of Masi,” Marc Surer opines on Australian’s sack after Abu Dhabi GP drama


“It was an over-reaction of the FIA to get rid of Masi,” Marc Surer opines on Australian’s sack after Abu Dhabi GP drama

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy has led to a lot of changes in not only the rule book but also the structure of FIA. Starting with the race director’s position. Michael Masi is no longer the Race director of FIA after his controversial decision towards the end of the 2021 season.

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The new structure of FIA includes two race directors who will share and rotate their position throughout the season along with the introduction of a virtual race control set up which can be compared to a VAR in football.

Even after all the drama around the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the FIA instead of backing up Masi, threw him into the side-lines, giving in to outside pressure even though the decision made by Masi was not entirely wrong and is debatable and that one decision should not have cost him his job.

Marc Surer reacts on Masi sacking

Michael Masi
Michael Masi

During an interview with Formula One UK, Marc Surer who currently works as a TV commentator and racing school instructor and former racing driver from Switzerland said,

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“I think it was an over-reaction of the FIA to get rid of Masi, because overall, over the whole season and over the last years, he did not do a bad job.

“I think [the FIA] needed a new organization to take pressure from the race director but they didn’t need to replace him, because I think a lot of decisions are made under pressure and you have no time to decide and you have the team managers in your ears trying to influence you. That was just too much. I can imagine why all this happened,” Marc added.

“So why replace Masi? It was because of the pressure from the outside and not because he did a bad job. He made maybe some bad decisions yes, but not a bad job.”

Marc Surer’s comment on the new structure

Michael Masi

The new race director’s duo are Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich, who will be assisted by Herbie Blash, former Charlie Whiting’s deputy.

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Marc was relived and happy to see Blash in the new re-structure and said, “The good thing is they re-organised the management and I am very happy Herbie Blash is back.”

“We should not forget that with Charlie Whiting, he was always praised for his good decisions but a lot of the time there was always Herbie Blash alongside him. So to hear he is back is the best message.”

As of now, Michael Masi is believed to get a different position within FIA.

Also read: “It’s really easy to be a critic on the sidelines,” Personal

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