Mohammed Ben Sulayem has opened the door for Michael Masi to return to F1 two years after he broke the FIA’s own rules at the Abu Dhabi season finale in 2021. Masi was sacked as race director after he allowed one final lap of racing between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the former coming out on top to secure his first world title.
An FIA investigation later found that Masi circumvented the rules by allowing only some lapped cars to overtake the safety car late on. He also bypassed the standard procedure by resuming the race on the very next lap, rather than completing another full lap behind the safety car once the lapped cars had repositioned themselves.
Ben Sulayem, who replaced Jean Todt as FIA president after the race in Abu Dhabi two years ago, has since insisted that Masi will be welcomed back with open arms if he wishes to return to F1 in the future.
“I always apologise but I cannot apologise for something which was done before my time,” Ben Sulayem told The Independent. “I will do the apology but I will bring Michael Masi again. Do you think that is right? The poor guy is a person who has been attacked and abused.
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“Michael Masi went through hell. Hell! And if I see there is an opportunity that the FIA needs, and Michael Masi is the right person, I will bring him.”
The infamous race in Abu Dhabi left many fans outraged at what they felt was an injustice towards Hamilton, with over 108,000 people signing a petition to see the result overturned. It ended up falling on deaf ears, though, with the FIA deciding against changing the result and Mercedes opting not to challenge it either.
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Ben Sulayem went on to reveal that he was later subjected to death threats and compared the race to the World Cup final in 1966, when England beat West Germany after a goal was given despite replays showing the ball did not cross the line.
“I even had people threatening me to kill me because I had the power to change it,” he added. “But I said to them: ‘Sorry, the World Cup of 1966, England against Germany, was that correct? Did they change it? No.’ Did they give it to Germany? Nein.”
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