Christian Horner: Sacking Michael Masi as race director was 'harsh' by FIA

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner believes the FIA sacking Formula 1‘s race director Michael Masi was a ‘harsh’ call.

Masi was fired as part of the FIA’s sweeping changes to the sport following the contentious ending to the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.

The way Masi handled the restart after the Safety Car – as well as his bargaining with teams – was criticised by many.

It went against the sport’s own regulations and also resulted in the title being decided off track.

“It’s a difficult one. It’s the FIA’s business. I think it’s harsh,” Horner told TalkSPORT.

“I think that he was in a very difficult position last year. We felt a lot of decisions went against us last year.”

Horner further stated that Masi and the likes do not have access to the type of data most teams do. This, in turn, makes it harder for race control to make calls in the heat of the moment.

“When you look at what he has in terms of resource, compared to what the teams have, it’s such a massive, massive difference,” the Red Bull boss added.

“I think it’s good to hear they are bringing in things like the VAR equivalent and they are bringing back one of the most experienced guys, Herbie Blash.

“I just think there was so much pressure put on the removal of Michael and that’s not right. That was my personal feeling.”

Change of tune from Christian Horner?

Of course, the Red Bull boss himself put plenty of pressure on Masi in 2021. This was perhaps never more evident than in the aftermath of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.

Then, Horner said the sport missed Charlie Whiting, the man who held the race director position before Masi took over.

“I’ve said it for too long we’re over-regulated,” Horner said after the race. “It felt like… there’s rules about 10 car lengths but the formation lap isn’t a formation lap if it’s a restart. It feels like there are too many rules.

“It felt like today that the sport missed Charlie Whiting. I am sorry to say but the experience he had… it’s obviously frustrating but it’s difficult for Michael [Masi] and the stewards, particularly at this type of venue and this type of circuit with the amount of debris and the types of corners there are but it’s the same for everybody.”

Meanwhile, the new Formula 1 is inching closer and closer. Nine out of the 10 teams have revealed their new cars and pre-season testing begins on February 23 (Wednesday).

The season begins from March 18 onwards at Bahrain.