What happened to Michael Masi? Abu Dhabi 2021’s controversial race director

The phrase “Abu Dhabi 2021” is sure to spark plenty of emotions amongst Formula 1 fans, as it has gone down in history as one of the most controversial conclusions to a season in F1 history.

There, race director Michael Masi opted to truncate the standard restart procedure in order to allow Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to race to the checkered flag over just one lap, thus resulting in his removal from the role. But where is Michael Masi now?

What is Michael Masi doing now?

After being dismissed as Formula 1 race director, Michael Masi was offered a new position within the FIA as an independent chair of the Supercars Commission.

Supercars is a touring car racing series based in Australian and New Zealand; Masi had previously worked with the series before being appointed to Formula 1 and was encouraged to take over a new role with Supercars following Abu Dhabi 2021. Abu Dhabi remains a popular event with the best betting sites for F1.

Masi replaced former independent chair member Neil Crompton, a stalwart of Australian touring car racing.

“I am delighted the commission has appointed Michael to this important position for the sport,” said Supercars chief executive Shane Howard.

“The role of commission chair needs to be an independent, strong and robust leader. They need to effectively manage the commission and its process, broker compromise where required, and be a good communicator.

“Michael has worked closely and industriously with Supercars team owners, principals and stakeholders for many years and returns to Australia with vast experience and leadership which will be invaluable in guiding our sport into the future.”

Masi added: “I view this role as continuing the amazing work already done by Neil and the commission to lead Supercars into a brand new era with the introduction of the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.

“I’m very proud to have been appointed to this role and look forward to working with the key stakeholders in the sport to ensure the future is an exciting one for our teams, partners, sponsors and, most importantly, the fans.”

In December of 2022, Masi also joined the board of directors for Karting Australia, the sole FIA-recognized karting body in the country.

Since leaving Formula 1, Masi has been open about the backlash and threats he received from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the toll it took on his mental health.

In 2023, Masi requested a meeting with Lewis Hamilton during the Australian Grand Prix in order to explain his decisions in Abu Dhabi, but Hamilton declined the invitation.

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How did Michael Masi land the role of F1 race director?

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1978, Michael Fausto Masi fell in love with motorsport at an early age.

While studying for a degree in marketing, he began volunteering for teams competing in the Super Touring series.

Masi soon began moving up the motorsport ranks. He assumed the role of Supercars deputy race director between 2016 and 2019, followed by similar duties with Rally Australia, Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula 1.

He served as primary race director on a handful of occasions with both Formula E and DTM.

It was in 2019 that Masi was offered the role of a lifetime.

Just prior to the start of the Australian Grand Prix, beloved Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting died of a pulmonary embolism, leaving the F1 world bereft.

Having served as a deputy race director under Whiting, Masi was quickly promoted to the role of overall race director, a role he held for three years.

How did Michael Masi impact the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Coming into the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, two Formula 1 drivers were tied on points: Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton and rising star Max Verstappen.

The 2021 season represented the final year of a regulatory set that was going to be completely altered coming into 2022, and as is often the case during those final years, the competition tightened dramatically.

For the past several seasons, Mercedes had dominated the sport and Hamilton was the natural favorite for the title coming into 2021.

Suddenly, though, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen emerged as a legitimate title contender.

Unlike the ultra-experienced Hamilton, Verstappen was hunting down his first World Championship, hungry to snatch the highest honor awarded in Formula 1.

Hamilton and Verstappen were evenly matched all season, swapping wins and trading scuffs on their bodywork as they made contact during critical overtakes.

Coming into the season finale, they were tied on points. Whoever finished higher in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix would be the winner.

The championship looked set to be settled in Hamilton’s favor until Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams at Turn 14 on Lap 53 of 58.

The crash triggered a safety car period that was expected to last until the end of the race; as a result, Hamilton remained on track on old tyres in order to maintain his advantage, while Verstappen dipped into the pits for fresh rubber.

He emerged onto the track in second position, albeit with five lapped cars between them.

On Lap 57 of 58, Masi told the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves — but no other cars were instructed to do the same, which is a breach of standard safety car restart procedure.

As soon as the final lapped car of Sebastian Vettel passed the safety car, Masi announced that the safety car would pull in that lap to allow for a final lap of green-flag racing to settle the 2021 World Championship.

Hamilton initially held his lead, but he was no match for the fresh tyres on Verstappen’s Red Bull, who made a decisive pass into Turn 5.

Verstappen won the race and, therefore, the championship.

Why did Michael Masi leave the FIA after Abu Dhabi 2021?

Mercedes protested the results; the stewards determined that the race director has “overriding authority” to alter the safety car procedure as needed.

At the end of 2021, the FIA elected a new president in Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who hinted that he was intent on rectifying what he saw as a procedural error in the championship finale.

While investigations maintained the result of the 2021 World Drivers’ Championship, Masi was ultimately removed from his position as race director.

In 2022, the FIA investigation revealed that Masi had incorrectly applied safety car regulations, with the report reading, “The Race Director called the safety car back into the pit lane without it having completed an additional lap as required by the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations (Article 48.12).”

The FIA reasoned that all lapped cars should have been required to unlap themselves and that the safety car would need to complete an additional lap after that point before the race could be restarted.

The FIA attributed Masi’s decision to “human error.”

Who has held the role of F1 race director since Michael Masi’s exit?

After being dismissed, Masi was replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, who assumed the role of race directors on an alternating basis for 2022.

Ahead of the 2022 United States Grand Prix, the FIA abandoned the rotating race director solution, thus appointing Wittich to the role full-time.

He continued as race director up to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, ahead of which the role was transferred to Rui Marques.

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