Michael Masi, the former Formula One race director who oversaw last year’s controversial season finale in Abu Dhabi, has left the FIA and relocated to his home country of Australia.
Masi was removed as F1 race director ahead of the 2022 season after the FIA found “human error” was to blame for the incorrect application of Safety Car rules in the closing stages of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In an attempt to speed up the restart of the race after a late Safety Car period, Masi ignored sections of the FIA’s own sporting regulations to set up a last lap battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the title.
Had he followed the rules correctly, the race would have ended under a Safety Car and Hamilton would have been crowned champion, but by shortcutting the restart process Masi handed an advantage to Verstappen, who went on to overtake Hamilton on the final lap and win the championship.
An FIA investigation found Masi had acted in “good faith”, but the governing body still felt it necessary to implement an overhaul of its race control operation, which included appointing two new race directors to replace Masi.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FIA confirmed Masi no longer worked for the governing body.
“The FIA confirms that Michael Masi has decided to leave the FIA and relocate to Australia to be closer to his family and take on new challenges,” a statement said.
“He oversaw a three-year period as FIA Formula One Race Director and Safety Delegate following the sudden passing of Charlie Whiting in 2019, carrying out the numerous functions he was tasked with in a professional and dedicated manner.
“The FIA thanks him for his commitment and wishes him the best for the future.”