Masi reacts to departure from FIA and returns to Australia for family
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Last Tuesday the FIA announced that they are parting ways with Michael Masi. The reason for this is that the former race director is going to live closer to home in Australia and to take on new challenges there. At the time it was only a statement from the FIA, but now Masi himself has reacted to the news.
The statement from the race director between 2019 and 2021 in Formula One says Masi is proud of the opportunities he has been given since the sudden death of Charlie Whiting in Australia, just before the first race of the season in 2019. "It has been my pleasure and honour to represent the FIA as race director for Formula 1," Motorsport.com reported.
Famous for Abu Dhabi
Masi has made a name for himself primarily through the decisions he made at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With one lap to go, he ordered the safety car to be brought in to give Max Verstappen one last chance to overtake Lewis Hamilton and win his first world title.
Within the FIA organisation, this decision drew a lot of criticism, which eventually led to Masi's departure as race director in Formula 1. At the time it was mentioned that the FIA would look for another job within the FIA for Masi, but now he has made his own decision. "I have now decided to leave the organisation and move back to Australia to be closer to my family and friends," he said.