Michael Masi did make a mistake in Abu Dhabi but the backlash was “tremendously harsh”, Red Bull boss Christian Horner says.
The former FIA race director was removed from his role ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season after the governing body concluded he made a “human error” during a late Safety Car at last year’s season finale at Yas Marina.
Masi’s handling of the restart procedure of course benefitted Max Verstappen, who was able to pass Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to claim the win and the championship.
And speaking ahead of the British Grand Prix, Horner acknowledged the one mistake he believes was made.
“He made one mistake in that he didn’t allow all lapped cars to un-lap themselves,” he told the Cambridge Union.
“I think there were three cars that were kept at the back of the field and unable to [un-]lap themselves. That was the only mistake that he made.”
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The backlash from Hamilton fans and others continued throughout the off-season and even remains a touchy subject now over six months later.
And Horner was critical of how Masi was treated.
“So I thought it was tremendously harsh for him to be hung out to dry, particularly in public, and then the trolling that he got and the abuse that he got online without really any support from the federation behind him,” he said.
“There was a lot of decisions he made last year that we felt went against us, whether it was yellow flags in qualifying in Qatar or the Silverstone incident with Lewis.
“But I did feel sorry for him that there should have been more support after that championship because he was in an incredibly difficult position.”