Brundle: Removing Masi won’t fix F1’s underlying problem

FIA race director Masi’s position is under intense scrutiny after he did not apply the rules correctly during a late Safety Car period in the 2021 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

Masi’s contentious decision-making resulted in Lewis Hamilton losing the championship to Max Verstappen and has led to an FIA investigation after F1’s governing body admitted the events of the final laps of the Abu Dhabi finale were “tarnishing the image of the championship”. 

Amid concerns about F1’s integrity and mounting speculation surrounding Masi’s future, former F1 driver turned commentator Brundle believes the FIA faces a dilemma that is far from straightforward. 

“If the FIA and F1 want Michael Masi to stay, and if Michael Masi wants to stay, he's clearly only got one life left. So I don't know if that's tenable all-round,” Brundle said on a special edition of Sky Sports’ The F1 Show. 

"Who would you replace him with? Be careful what you wish for, I would say in this.

“What I absolutely know for sure is that changing Michael Masi will not fix the problem. This is way too big a job for one person to handle, in a 23-race season, it's only going to grow.

"Back in the day with 16-18 races for Charlie [Whiting] and Herbie [Blash]. Charlie used to start the race and Herbie was effectively the race director until Charlie got back from the starting rostrum down near the grid.

"They had it all under control, but it's just growing exponentially so Masi if he stays needs a lot of support around him and I suspect that's what they're looking at, at the moment.

"And who would actually want to step into his shoes right now?”

The fallout from Abu Dhabi left Hamilton “disillusioned” with F1, according to his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. 

Reports emerging earlier this week claimed Hamilton will not decide whether to return to F1 this season until he sees the results of the FIA inquiry, with insiders telling the BBC that the seven-time world champion has lost trust in the governing body. 

Fellow Sky Sports pundit Johnny Herbert believes Masi’s decision-making has “done too much damage” to F1 and leaves his position untenable. 

"The position that he's in, you've got to have trust,” the three-time grand prix winner said. “And I think that trust has completely and utterly evaporated.

"The problem is who do you replace him with? Because obviously experience is going to be very important for the man who slots into that position.

"Michael was very fortunate, he was underneath Charlie Whiting when Charlie was head of it and he learned a lot of good things from that point of view.

"Is there anybody that stands out for me at the moment to replace him? No, and that is the conundrum."