Rumor: Masi was not sacked, he quit

Former f1 driver Jan Lammers has suggested under-fire race director Michael Masi may have resigned from his role rather than having had it taken away from him ahead of the upcoming season.

Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will now share the responsibility of the Race Director role, with veteran Herbie Blash brought back in to act as an adviser.

Other changes include the introduction of a VAR-style system to help them review big calls in real time, and the removal of direct in-race communication links between team bosses and the race directors.

In the wake of all those changes and the personal criticism Masi has received, Dutch Grand Prix sporting director Jan Lammers has suggested the Australian may have jumped rather than having been pushed.

“People are now taking the dramatic version of the story, in which it seems Masi has been sacrificed,” he told Motorsport.com.

“I think it goes much further than that, when you see how it has been filled in now. It may well be that Michael said that he didn’t like it this way and they couldn’t work it out.

“It’s not like Masi got the sack and suddenly someone else does it. It is not that simple. It is just a totally different structure and Masi has not been assigned to that new structure.

“I don’t want to speculate about the underlying reason, it’s so easy to get it wrong.”

Lammers went on to give his support to the new race director structure, as “crucial decisions should not be left to one man”.