FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the sport’s governing body replaced Michael Masi as race director due to the pressure he was under in the role.
However he confirmed the FIA and Masi are in discussions about a possible future role for him within the organisation.
Masi was replaced as a result of his handling of last year’s championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The FIA published the findings of its report into the controversial race yesterday.
It stated Masi did not follow its rules correctly in two respects when he restarted the race on the final lap: By bringing the Safety Car in too early and by not letting all lapped cars unlap themselves. As a result, Max Verstappen was handed an opportunity to overtake Lewis Hamilton to win the race, and the world championship.
The report said Masi was under considerable pressure at the time, including from the team principals representing the two drivers. The FIA decided “to take the pressure and the stress from him because…