“It’s a firm reaction, and I think it’s the right thing to do,” ex-F1 driver Stefan Johansson remarks on Michael Masi’s removal

“It’s a firm reaction, and I think it’s the right thing to do,” ex-F1 driver Stefan Johansson remarks on Michael Masi’s removal

FIA, Michael Masi

Ex-driver for Ferrari and McLaren and the 24 hours Le Mans winner for Porche, Stefan Johansson, believes the FIA’s decision to sack the race director Michael Masi, following his controversial call in Abu Dhabi 2021, was ‘right’ and those who have mixed feelings about this are basing it on their personal relations with the ex-director. He believes people should look at the work of Michael Masi objectively since he had taken up the role. Stefan Johansson said, ” It’s a firm reaction and I think it’s the right thing to do. I think it’s a positive sign from the new FIA leadership (FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem) that they’re not afraid to make difficult decisions where they need to be made.”

Last month, after the detailed analysis of the Abu Dhabi GP of 2021, FIA announced some changes in F1. The prominent ones were the removal of Michael Masi as race director and the appointment of Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich as the alternating race directors. And the other was the establishment of a virtual racing room to assist the race directors.

Stefan also criticized the latest addition to the race calendar- Saudi Arabia GP. He reasoned the addition by saying, “It’s one of the fastest tracks on the calendar and it’s basically a street-circuit with a countless number of blind corners. It makes no sense, especially when you start with a clean sheet.”

What does Stefan think of Michael Masi’s replacements?

Stefan Johansson
Stefan Johansson

Stefan has had an extensive racing career and has worked with several people and race directors. The driver has worked with Eduardo Freitas in the past, as Freitas himself is a veteran director in World Endurance Championship(Le Mans).

Stefan holds a positive outlook of the new hiring, and said, “I’ve done countless races with Freitas and he’s very good. I can’t really recall any controversy over any of his decisions. He’s very clear in the driver’s briefings, as a driver you have a very clear understanding what you can and can’t do before the races start. He gets the job done and I think he’s a very good choice. Hopefully that will change a lot of things in how the race direction works.”

Stefan is also impressed by the new FIA leadership, i.e., Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as the latter has taken several quick and important steps to improve the FIA and motorsports in general. It remains to be seen how the new directors perform as there is a hill of expectations over their shoulders.

ALSO READ:“We are finding more performance every week,” Christian Horner highly optimistic of RB18’s performance