Niels Wittich, a former Formula 1 race director, publicly defended Michael Masi’s handling of the controversial safety-car finish at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, saying “Michael didn’t do that much wrong” and calling Masi a “scapegoat”. Wittich said Masi was following a collective mandate from teams, the FIA and Formula 1 to try to finish races under green flags. He said the failure of FIA leadership to back Masi left him exposed to public abuse and death threats and ultimately to removal from his role, which Wittich called unacceptable.

Wittich recounted the key late-race sequence: Lewis Hamilton led by more than 11 seconds when Nicholas Latifi crashed with six laps remaining, Max Verstappen pitted for new soft tires while Hamilton stayed out on used hards, and on lap 57 of 58 Masi allowed the five lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to unlap themselves and immediately instructed the safety car to pit. That move produced a final-lap, winner-takes-all restart that enabled Verstappen to pass Hamilton and clinch the championship. Wittich acknowledged the sequence conflicted with the strict letter of Article 48.12 but said the regulations left discretionary room and that allowing only those five cars to unlap themselves was within Masi’s authority under the circumstances. He dismissed a red flag as an obvious alternative and said focusing solely on Abu Dhabi ignored that the 2021 title was contested over 22 races.

The controversy prompted an FIA inquiry that attributed the outcome to “human error,” after which Masi was stood down and later removed from his FIA role. Masi left the FIA in July 2022 and later worked for Motorsport New Zealand and the New Zealand Championship. Wittich, who stepped down as an F1 race director toward the end of the 2024 season, criticized the FIA for failing to defend its employee and contrasted the response with past backing under Charlie Whiting and Max Mosley, saying the handling of Masi has reignited debate over governance and decision-making in the sport.

Sources