General
FIA wants three race directors in 2023 and does not rule out return of Masi
- GPblog.com
It is not excluded that Michael Masi will one day return as race director, according to the words of Mohammed ben Sulayem. The new president of the FIA indicates that Masi is still on the payroll and takes the Australian into protection. According to Ben Sulayem, the structure of the organization within Formula 1 is not right. In addition, he says he wants to snare more race directors in the future.
Ben Sulayem on Masi
According to Ben Sulayem, Masi had to deal with work overload. Besides being race director he was also responsible for the complete safety branch within the FIA. Ben Sulayem said in a conversation with Sportsmail Ben Sulayem: "I didn't get rid of Michael. It is not as if we said it is the end of Masi with the FIA. I don't do that sort of thing."
The 60-year-old FIA chief argues that Masi made a human error and that the World Council decided to push Masi aside. Ben Sulayem spoke with Masi last week."I have no personal issue (with him). I don't hate anyone. Michael is there and we might use him. I didn't say we were getting rid of him. I said we might use him. He may be in a good place to use. We are open to everything," he said.
More race directors in F1?
What is said next by Ben Sulayem is striking. He would prefer to have at least three race directors in Formula 1 from the beginning of 2023. The FIA is going to work hard to improve the organization of Formula 1. There are still a lot of changes to be made and therefore more people are needed. They will soon start with a recruitment campaign.
Masi could be the number three. Ben Sulayem does not explicitly mention Masi's name as a candidate, but at the same time, he does not exclude it either. According to Sportsmail sources, Masi himself would be interested in returning to Formula 1 as a race director.