Rumor: FIA planning a 2nd race-director alongside Michael Masi

(GMM) Formula 1 is drawing up a plan to give under-fire race director Michael Masi more support in 2022.

Even those not calling for the Australian to be ousted agree that some questionable decisions in 2021, including in the Abu Dhabi title-decider, means F1 needs to respond in some way.

“Now the FIA wants to help Masi,” a report by Sky Deutschland announced.

“All of his responsibilities seems to have gotten to be a little too much for the 44-year-old.”

However, the FIA is reportedly not planning to oust Masi, but more support for the Australian – who replaced Charlie Whiting after his sudden death in 2019 – is now likely.

According to motorsport-magazin.com, the FIA could implement football-style video assistant technology to help with monitoring incidents.

Masi might also get some race co-directors in his corner, with WEC race director Eduardo Freitas, former DTM race director Niels Wittich and Formula E race director Scot Elkins all mentioned.

The report declared: “Steve Nielsen is apparently not an option due to his position as sporting director at Liberty Media, and Marcin Budkowski is not returning to the FIA.”

January 27, 2022

According to the BBC, Formula 1’s governing body is planning a new race-management structure in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the problems at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

There is widespread acceptance across the sport that race director Michael Masi failed to follow the rules correctly during a late safety-car period in the title-deciding race; however, the rules do conflict with each other in that the Race Director can pull in the Safety Car whenever he wants to.

Governing body the FIA has been seeking the teams’ views on the matter writes Andrew Benson of the BBC.

The inquiry launched after Abu Dhabi is still ongoing, and no concrete conclusions have yet been reached.

But sources have told BBC Sport that the FIA’s plans are to introduce a series of safeguards that will leave the race director freer to make decisions in a calmer environment.

It has been accepted that Masi was left exposed, isolated and under too much pressure in the final laps of the race.

A support structure is being planned for the race director, insiders say.

This is likely to include a barrier between that role and the teams to avoid the direct lobbying to which Masi was subjected from the team bosses of both Mercedes and Red Bull in Abu Dhabi.

Revisions to the operations of the stewards – who are independent of the race director and decide on penalties for breaches of the rules – are also being considered.

Removing Masi and finding a new race director is a recommendation some of the teams have made to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, BBC Sport has learned.

Some senior insiders say they cannot see how Masi can credibly remain in his role into another season, arguing not only that Abu Dhabi fatally undermined his credibility, but that the errors he made there were merely the biggest and latest of a series over the course of the 2021 season and before.

And high-level sources say that the most likely scenario is that a new race director will be installed for the 2022 season.

However, there is far from unanimity on the matter. Other teams are said be either ambivalent as to whether Masi stays or would have no problem with it, as long as a more effective support system was put in place around him. BBC.com