The last season may have ended in a dramatic fashion but the controversy isn’t over yet. A video containing previously unheard audio recently emerged. The audio involved F1 director Michael Masi and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
Masi was accused of doing exactly what Red Bull wanted even if it meant breaking FIA rules. This resulted in Max Verstappen winning against Lewis Hamilton who initially had a significant lead against the Red Bull driver.
During the conversation, Wheatley said, “Those lapped cars; you don’t need to let them go right the way around and catch up with the back of the pack. You only need to let them go, we’ve got a motor race on our hands”. That’s when Masi instructed five lapped cars to unlap.
Former F1 driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle slammed the leaked audio messages. He calls it “really uncomfortable” as the outcome of the last Abu Dhabi race is being questioned.
Brundle calls this incident “hugely unacceptable”.
When Mercedes boss Toto Wolff criticized what happened after the race, Masi’s justification followed the tone of Wheatley’s final comment. Masi said as a reply to Wolff, “Toto, it’s called a motor race okay?”.
#IStandWithLewisHamilton and #F1xedTrend
The audio was only made public on December 16 just hours after Mercedes chose to drop its appeal over the last race’s result in Abu Dhabi.
As expected, F1 fans are outraged by this latest development. Both #F1xed and #IStandWithLewisHamilton are trending online.
Fans insist that Hamilton was “robbed” of his chance to win a historic eighth World Championship. A fan on Twitter said “This is so upsetting to listen. Masi literally made a decision under instructions from RB sporting director knowingly breaking FIA rules with much bias”.
Another fan wrote, “Imagine a football team losing 5-0, asking to have 5 goals added to their score in the final minute to make it an interesting end, and the referee just saying ‘understood'”.
An inquiry was launched by the FIA to investigate the controversial end to the last season’s finale. The findings are expected to be released next Monday at an F1 Commission meeting.
Brundle commented that “It’s not new news, and also I think you have to understand that it’s not necessarily telling Michael Masi something he didn’t already know”. Brundle added, “Let’s not assume it’s giving Masi information he didn’t already know in terms of what he could and couldn’t do in terms of the lapped pack”.
When Brundle was asked whether Masi should continue as a race director for the 2022 season, he described Masi to be in an “untenable situation”. He added that “I think he’ll struggle to keep that position. The trouble is that the spotlight will be on him, and every single decision will be analyzed”.
Brundle continued, “What happens if Lewis is up for a penalty? Will he be lenient on that? I think he is in an untenable situation”.
As for the FIA, it released a statement saying that “We are aware of this and it is part of the investigation”.
