Formula One: New footage reveals Australian race director WAS influenced by Red Bull officials

Shocking new footage from the final race of the 2021 Formula One season appears to show Australian race director Michael Masi being pushed by Red Bull officials prior to the hugely controversial final lap.

Max Verstappen snatched the Formula One world championship from arch-rival Lewis Hamilton in dramatic fashion two months ago after Masi allowed the lapped cars sitting between the pair to overlap the British race leader.

The decision sparked widespread international fury, with questions raised whether the Aussie’s decision was within the rulebook or if it was engineered for drama, particularly for the sport’s popular Netflix program.

New audio has now emerged showing Red Bull Team Manager Johnathan Wheatley deep in conversation with Masi, pushing him towards skewing the race in his team’s favour, with the 42-year-old from Sydney’s west appearing to relent.

‘Obviously those lapped cars, you don’t need to let them go right away around and catch up with the back of the pack,’ Wheatley says and Masi repeatedly replies ‘understood’. 

New audio has now emerged showing Red Bull Team Manager Johnathan Wheatley deep in conversation with Masi pushing him towards letting the overlapped cars pass Lewis Hamilton

A radio message shows Masi using the same wording used by Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley (left) – ‘motor racing’ – to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff 

A shocked Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff watches as Masi allows Verstappen to attack Hamilton on fresh tyres in the final lap of the season

‘You need to let them go and then we’ve got a motor race on our hands,’ Wheatley says.

‘Understood,’ the Australian responds before making his decision. 

When Wolff demands a reason for that controversial call, Masi replies with a similar line to the Red Bull official.

‘You need to reinstate the lap before. That’s not right,’ Wolff bellowed to Masi, who dismissed his pleas.

‘It’s called a motor race, OK? We went car racing,’ he said.  

The decision resulted in Verstappen, who had recently pitted onto fresh soft tyres, a full lap to attack Hamilton and his 44-lap-old mediums, subsequently deciding the world championship.  

Masi, a TAFE graduate from Fairfield in western Sydney, has been accused of giving into pressure applied by Red Bull chief Christian Horner and sporting director Wheatley, resulting in his decision not to follow the FIA rules and allow the cars to pass. 

The new footage, which shows officials pleading for a final-lap shootout, was presented in the days following the season’s conclusion but has since gained traction on social media, triggering the trending hashtag ‘#F1xed’.

Michael Masi has served as Formula One’s Race Director for three years after growing up in Sydney’s west, studying marketing at a local TAFE

Masi’s decision cost Lewis Hamilton a record-breaking eighth world title despite the Brit leading from the first corner until halfway through the final lap

The BBC reports that the FIA have access to all radio communication from Abu Dhabi so are aware of the footage. They are due to release the findings of their inquiry into the controversial ending to the season finale at a meeting of the F1 Commission next Monday.

The inquiry was launched to determine how the mistakes in the desert were made, with BBC also reporting that figures within the FIA acknowledge that Masi failed to follow the rules correctly, which consequently had an effect on the title outcome.

The same outlet claims that there is a growing belief that the Aussie’s position as race director is untenable following his judgment calls in Abu Dhabi.  

The sport’s iconic commentator Martin Brundle told Sky Sports the entire situation was ‘hugely unacceptable’. 

‘Of course it’s really uncomfortable, and a lot of people are unhappy: Hamilton fans, Mercedes fans,’ he said. 

‘You need to reinstate the lap before. That’s not right,’ Wolff bellowed to Masi, who dismissed his pleas. ‘It’s called a motor race, OK? We went car racing,’ he said

A helpess Mercedes pit crew watch on as Masi’s decision snatches another world title away from the team

‘And you don’t even have to be a Lewis Hamilton fan to think that forever he should be an eight-time world champion, because, for me, the really crucial regulation that wasn’t carried out was that the safety car should have come in at the end of the following lap.

‘But we also know that unwritten rules and meetings, which shouldn’t supersede anything, were: let’s try not to have a race finish behind the safety car.

‘Hugely unacceptable. I met so many fans that were new to Formula 1 last year particularly, and fans in general, that were hugely upset by what happened.’    

Hamilton, who earns $77million per year, overtook his arch-rival Verstappen in the opening corner of the race after the Dutchman started poorly despite taking pole.

The seven-time world champion was in complete control throughout the race, with Red Bull scrambling to find alternative strategies to catch the Brit as he recorded fastest lap after fastest lap.

A virtual safety car provided a small opening for Verstappen, who pitted to take new tyres and attempt to chip away at Hamilton’s lead with 20-odd laps to go.

Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner said they would need a ‘miracle’ to win the race, just as one presented itself. 

Nicolas Latifi crashed with four laps remaining in the season and Hamilton holding on to a strong lead, forcing another safety car.

The 42-year-old had humble beginnings, growing up in Fairfield in the Harbour City’s west and studying marketing at TAFE before volunteering for domestic racing team

Late 2021 he was responsible for the most contentious moment in the history of motorsport, deciding a world championship in the final lap of the season

Verstappen would pit again, changing to soft tyres to have one last crack at the reigning champion but was stuck behind several lapped cars, making his challenge nearly impossible.

Horner jumped on the radio to fight the Australian race director over moving the cars out of the way and allow Verstappen on brand new tyres to pull in right behind Hamilton and his 44-lap-old tyres – virtually handing him the championship. 

‘Why are we not getting these lapped cars out of the way?’ Horner asked Masi.

‘Just give me a second, my main aim is to get this incident clear,’ the Aussie replied.

Mercedes were ropable, unable to match Verstappen’s tyres given the lateness of the decision and claiming Masi had broken the rules. 

The race director is afforded the discretion to decide whether lapped cars are allowed through to unlap themselves, but the rules set out that ‘any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car’.

Yet Masi only ordered for the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves and opted to leave any cars between the rest of the top six. 

Lewis Hamilton resurfaced this week after an eight-week hiatus following the final race 

 

Moreover, FIA rules explain that once lapped cars pass, racing will start ‘at the end of the following lap’. Had the rules been followed, Verstappen would have been unable to overtake Hamilton because the race would have not been restarted due to it being the final lap. 

However, Masi restarted the race immediately, which saw the Dutchman pass Hamilton with ease to win the title.  

There was some uncertainty surrounding Hamilton’s future following what many felt an unjust ending to the 2021 season. The 37-year-old undertook an eight-week social media silence after the Abu Dhabi race but recently resurfaced on social media. 

He shared an image of himself at the Grand Canyon with the caption ‘I’m back’ on Instagram, and was seen visiting the Mercedes factory at Brackley, Northamptonshire, with preparations for the new season well under way.