Toto Wolff aims fresh dig at Michael Masi ahead of Abu Dhabi F1 finale: ‘We have a proper race director’

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff couldn’t resist taking another swipe at former race director Michael Masi ahead of this weekend’s F1 finale in Abu Dhabi.

Masi oversaw the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi title decider between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Verstappen passed Hamilton on the final lap of the race after the Australian applied the Safety Car regulations incorrectly. After that, Verstappen won his first championship, and Hamilton was not allowed to win a record-tying eighth world title.

After an FIA investigation determined that “human error” was to blame, Masi lost his job and was replaced as race director for the 2022 season by current Niels Wittich.

Wolff made a cutting reference to the controversy following the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he assessed Mercedes’ battle with Ferrari over second place in the constructors’ championship.

“I think we’re going there pretty much equal on points and we have a proper race director, so that should be fine,” the Mercedes team principal said.

“Now let’s go racing. Everything hinges on the final weekend. They completed the task quickly and well. We could have been competitive [in Las Vegas], in my opinion. However, the outcome reveals a different picture.

To be honest, having P2 at the end of the season is a good thing, but P2, P3 aren’t really that great for me. In any case, it doesn’t particularly cheer me up.

Wolff disclosed last week that his drive to give Hamilton a record-breaking eighth world title comes from “personal anger.”

Wolff stated to PA Sport, “I have a personal anger and drive to make him win the eighth title because he should have had it.”

This is the most recent of the Austrian’s jabs at Masi.

In an interview with The Times at the beginning of the year, Wolff stated, “That is a moment when you fall out of love with the sport.” There was a violation of the fairness principle.

The individual was fired by the FIA due to a human error. But that’s all over now. I still think about it a lot, but not in a hostile way—I just find it hard to understand how it happened.