Guilt? Or maybe the constant threats he was receiving on social media on top of the language being used against him. Sorry if I can't help you and the rest of the Lewis Hamilton squad for not being able to accept this factual and truthful statement by MBS.
OK. Masi was NOT "fired" from the FIA (I never said he was...) BUT He was "removed" from his position as race director as a direct result of his handling of the safety car at Abu Dhabi when the FIA's investigation was completed (Feb. 2022). He left the FIA's employ in July 2022 Michael Masi removed as F1 race director after Abu Dhabi investigation (espn.com) FIA: Michael Masi has decided to leave | GRAND PRIX 247 Again, this was hashed/rehashed ad nauseum many months ago. Why you felt the need to bring it back up is beyond me.
That was many months ago. Why did I bring it up? 1) ALOT of Hamilton fans to this day thinks Masi was FIRED because of Abu Dhabi 2021. 2) A couple of YouTube videos say Masi was fired because of Abu Dhabi 2021. 3.) Masi was not removed from his position as that news has been debunked by what MBS has stated in 2023. And most importantly 3) MBS is stating just recently (2023) that Masi was not fired but he quit on his own because of the reasons I have stated over and over again. I realize some FChatters hear are having a problem with this because of what was "fed" to them months ago.
^^^ #3: "Masi was not removed from his position as that news has been debunked by what Masi has stated in 2023" So, Masi WAS the race director for 2022? OR Masi's is claiming he voluntarily quit as race director but did not leave the FIA's employ? Then in July 2022, he quit working at the FIA? Is THAT the story?
YES, just as many of us realized long ago Ever since MBS left the door wide-open for Masi's return ... as an F1 race director, no less ... we knew that Masi wasn't "fired" at all. And now, in 2023, MBS has come right out and CONFIRMED it: Masi wasn't fired, but rather quit by his own decision (because of threats to his family and other social media pressures). The Hamilton fans will never "believe" it, of course ... because they will forever need a scapegoat They just can't accept the fact that Verstappen won his first, well-deserved championship by passing Hamilton on a racetrack. no matter, life goes on ...
There are TWO things going on in this saga. First: Was Masi "removed" or did he quit the position of "race director" Second: Masi resigned from the FIA. So, try to make yourself clear (you keep saying you've got all this info...post it up) and don't act like I'm putting you out. YOU brought this up. I gave you 2 links: The first, from Feb. 2022, states that Masi was "removed" (not my word, the FIA's) from his "race director" position. If that is incorrect, then post up what happened. The second, from July 2022, states that Masi has resigned from the FIA. If THAT is incorrect, then post up what happened. As far as "the Hamilton Squad" still talking about Abu Dhabi 2021, they are NOT doing that in this thread as the subject was beaten to death months ago. As far as other social media, why is that pertinent in THIS thread? Who cares what a "couple of YouTube video" guys have to say on something that happened 13 months ago? I know I don't.
Ben Sulayem: Toxic social media caused Masi to quit Image Unavailable, Please Login Many believe that former Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi was made a scapegoat in the aftermath of the blundering at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale, but FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem says it had more to do with the toxicity of social media. The story of how the Australian messed up the sport’s biggest night isx well told, the F1 title decided controversially, and still a bone of contention, particularly for Lewis Hamilton fans who feel their driver was robbed on the night with Max Verstappen ending up the beneficiary, aka World Champion. What erupted was a disgrace to the sport and its so-called fans, social media went haywire as #DigitalMaggots emerged to further sully a downright awful mess by the FIA, starting with Masi mishandling of those final decisive laps, which thereafter unacceptably included death threats, unacceptable hateful abuse and sheer criminal behavior by an agitating few. Since that night, Ben Sulayem as President has been tasked to sort out the F1 race direction, while turning around the laborious FIA ‘ship’ that Jean Todt had sailed into a sandbank. In other words, taking ownership of the sport as is the governing body’s right. Thus to sort out F1 ‘refereeing’ problems, two RDs were assigned to the role – Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich. – which was never going to be ideal. But the stakes were never as high in 2022 as on that title-deciding night at Yas Marina a year earlier and it worked, sort of. While speaking to journos covering the Dakar Rally, and reflecting on Abu Dhabi 2021, Ben Sulayem suggested that Masi was not pushed but rather decided to walk: “It was also his choice. “I’d talked to him at the beginning. There were human errors there, and I felt that he also wanted to just not go further, because of what he got from social media, the toxic social media. I spoke to him, and it was unfair also to him. The FIA was always supportive. Ben Sulayem: We need to take a stand against social media abuse The FIA, under Ben Sulayem, uses special AI programs and state-of-the-art algorithms to combat the online scourge, where over 50% of ‘followers’ are fake and the bigger the following the more fake profiles, as in the case of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen; F1’s most followed drivers on social media. Ben Sulayem revealed that the problem runs deep and beyond the drivers and teams: “This is the same thing that’s happening to Silvia [Bellot, FIA steward], again to some of our members: threats. “I got some threats also, to reverse the results, but I didn’t take them seriously but now we stand against the toxic social media that will affect our sport. I am a big believer that if we don’t take a stand, we might find the damage will be beyond repair for our sport in the future.” As for the race director role, Ben Sulayem is convinced the solution is to have two RDs, despite the fact that Freitas has stepped back from the role with Wittoch apparently solo in charge, for now. “There is a process now, and I have a team who is going through a proper process and training for stewarding, and for race directors,” explained Ben Sulayem “You cannot just have one race director and rely on them. I see that we should prepare the second role. We cannot rely in the biggest discipline that we have or any other discipline. What if something happened? If we are going to sustain motorsport, we have to be ready with training,” concluded the FIA President. https://www.grandprix247.com/2023/01/11/ben-sulayem-toxic-social-media-caused-masi-to-quit-f1-race-director-role/
This article further taints Max's title. Ben clearly admits “I’d talked to him at the beginning. There were human errors there" Is this the first public admission that Masi made a error from him? Also he admits Masi wasn't "properly trained" which I think we all know. “There is a process now, and I have a team who is going through a proper process and training for stewarding, and for race directors,” A properly trained director as we had in the past, would have made the correct call. Thanks for this article, very revealing.
You forgot the part where MBS states " The FIA was always supportive." You're nit-picking now. Nonetheless, this report refutes what was thought that happened regarding Masi being fired.
Ben stating an error was made by Masi is the biggest bombshell from this article for me, doesn't matter how he lost his job. This article is not good for Max.
Literally everyone KNEW Masi screwed this up, I sure didn't need an admission from anyone to confirm it. The Hamilton haters stand by the Masi call, I wonder what their stance would be were it LeClerc (or probably anyone else) in Hamilton's place? I won't hold my breath on that, however.
If Masi broke the rules for Hamilton, on the last lap, of the last race, to win the championship. All we would here is how the FIA cheats for Hamilton/Merc. The haters would be singing a totally different tune. There would be endless threads and post. The thread would be renamed F1/Hamilton.
LOL What a load of cobblers !!! If you think you are in the right, you don't quit because of toxic social media, you ignore them !!! Plenty of people in politics, entertainment, sport, business, are subject of harrassment on a daily basis on social media, they dont leave because of it. Social media are by nature toxic, that's a fact of life. Masi left because his position as race director was untenable, after all the clangers he dropped in 2021. He didn't have to be pushed. .
Refer to his OFFICIAL in the FIA regulations CLARIFICATION LOL. He violated his own rule and update from 2020. He did not allow other teams to compete by only unlapping a given set of cars. His own incompetence removed him. What about that? What about competition not including the Max - LH piece. NO - ITS FAIR CAUSE MY HERO WON LOL! WHAT ABOUT THAT EH?? The I hate LH cause I just do team here is off their meds LOL! Masi fired himself. He burnt anything he ever did good for F1 on that night. He know will suffer the ire of the worst crowd in the world - parents of Karting younglings. He thought F1 was BAD LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!
