'Not right': Red Bull boss lashes out over 'harsh' F1 sacking

The F1 world reacted with shock when Australian race director Michael Masi was stood down last week and Red Bull's team principal has slammed the decision as 'harsh'.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen wrestled the F1 title from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in controversial circumstances last year when chaos erupted on the last race of the season.

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Max Verstappen seized the lead on the last lap of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix due to altered safety car rules.

The F1 world was divided over the incident with race director Masi coming under heavy criticism.

And the decision ultimately cost Masi his job with the F1 announcing the Australian has been stood down.

An investigation was launched into the race in the weeks afterwards and will be published at the Bahrain season-opener on March 19 but the FIA has pre-empted the investigation by replacing Masi prior to the season.

The FIA has said it will replace Masi with Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich in a restructure of race control.

However, the move didn't sit well with everyone.

Red Bull team principal Michael Horner thought the decision was harsh on Masi, considering how much pressure he was under in the final moments of the season.

“It’s a difficult one. It’s the FIA’s business. I think it is harsh, I think he was in a very difficult position last year," Horner told TalkSport Breakfast.

“We felt a lot of the decisions went against us last year.

“When you look at what he has at his disposal in terms of resource, compared to what the teams have, it’s such a massive difference."

Horner added the introduction of a replay system will benefit the F1, but said the decision to remove Masi was 'not right'.

Michael Masi controversy

Masi came under criticism for how the last lap of the 2021 F1 season played out.

A spin from Nicholas Latifi brought the safety car out with just five laps remaining, with Hamilton leading on well-worn tires and Verstappen, who had managed to pit for fresh rubber, trailing in second, but with five lapped cars in between.

Normally, the race director must allow all lapped cars to overtake the safety car and rejoin at the rear of the field before the race can resume - but with just two laps to race and a grandstand championship finish on the line, Masi waved through the five cars separating Verstappen and Hamilton, then brought the safety car in for a one-lap sprint to the finish.

The move prompted outcry from Mercedes, with Red Bull's Verstappen able to easily get past Hamilton thanks to his tyre advantage.

The FIA's move to replace Masi has prompted further changes, with communication between team bosses and the race director to no longer be broadcast on live TV.

This has been done in order to alleviate pressure on the race director, after several instances last season of teams bothering the race director when they should have been able to focus their attention fully on the correct application of procedure.

Sulayem also announced the creation of a VAR-style system to provide additional support to the incoming race directors.

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