In a victory for Sir Lewis Hamilton, disgraced Australian Michael Masi, who broke rules during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to help Max Verstappen win the World Championship, has been removed as the F1 race director.
The F1 world governing body has announced the names Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich as the two race directors for the 2022 season. FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem said that both Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich will alternate in the new role. According to the BBC, they will be assited by Herbie Blash, who was the deputy race director under former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting.
Ben Sulayem said that Masi will be offered a new position within the FIA.
Janta Ka Reporter had reported last month that Michael Masi was set to be sacked from his position, a decision that may pave the way for Sir Lewis Hamilton’s participation in the 2022 season. This was after it became increasingly evident that Sir Lewis had lost faith in the FIA and was reluctant to commit to his racing future until Formula 1 governing body made the findings of its inquiry public.
In Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sir Lewis Hamilton had led the race for 57 out of 58 laps until the race director, Michael Masi, controversially decided to ignore the FIA rules and allowed Max Verstappen to win his first World Championship title. Many believe that the race was fixed to stop Hamilton from being the all-time great. Had Sir Lewis won the Abu Dhabi race, he would have become the only race driver to win a record eight world championship titles.