Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told former FIA race director Michael Masi he was “a guy who always seems to know better” in a lunch ahead of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
While Formula 1 has tried to move on from last year’s controversial season finale, in which Max Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton to win the championship on the final lap after Masi made “human errors” during a late Safety Car period, it’s clear the event still remains a touchy subject, stirring up all kinds of emotions and opinions.
And that is evident in a new interview Wolff did with the Press Association, where he began by revealing a conversation with the Australian, who was replaced for 2022, urging him to be more open in the wake of criticism over decisions during the season.
“I had lunch with him on the Wednesday before the race [in Abu Dhabi],” he said. “I said to him that ‘I really want to tell you, without patronising you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there. Lewis does it every day, but you are a guy who always seems to know better’.
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“It wasn’t about influencing him but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn’t block outside opinion as simply being wrong.”
Ahead of the season finale, there had already been plenty of on-track incidents between Verstappen and Hamilton where Masi’s decision-making was questioned, including recent races, at that time, in Brazil and Jeddah.
However, Wolff says unhappiness at Masi’s attitude and approach went even further than what happened on track.
“You hear from the drivers and how the drivers’ briefings were conducted [by Masi] and some of the guys said it was almost disrespectful how he treated some of them,” the Mercedes boss claimed.
“There is a promoter of one of the races in the Middle East who said he was so relieved he had gone because he got so much abuse from him.”
Wolff has previously stated he never wishes to have contact again with Masi and ended his damning coments by referring to the fallout from Abu Dhabi.
“He was just immune to any feedback and even today he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong,” the Austrian stated.
“He was a liability for the sport because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director, and the race director should not be somebody that people talk about, but someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations.”
