LEADING Formula 1 commentator David Croft believes Michael Masi was made a \u201cscapegoat\u201d from the controversial finish to last season<\/p>\n
Masi was removed from his position as F1 race director after an FIA investigation into his handling of the season-finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, which saw Max Verstappen crowned world champion after overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the final lap.<\/p>\n
Speaking on SEN\u2019s Whateley<\/em>, Croft jumped to the defence of Masi, saying the Australian wasn\u2019t provided enough support in the high-pressure race director role.<\/p>\n Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas replaced Masi for the 2022 F1 season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been removed from his post as race director, but no explanation has been given as to why he\u2019s been removed,\u201d Croft said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still await the report into Abu Dhabi. I find it quite strange that someone has been removed from their post, but no explanation has been given and no report has been issued.<\/p>\n \u201cI also find it quite sad that Michael Masi has been replaced as race director.<\/p>\n \u201cI know Michael Masi, I get on very well with Michael Masi, I\u2019ve always found him a very nice man to deal with, open, honest and passionate about the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo years into the job, and a very difficult job under a lot of pressure from all sides, I don\u2019t think he should have been replaced, and I\u2019m not the only one to say that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting to hear the drivers when they were asked about it at the first test in Barcelona, pretty much all of them said Michael Masi shouldn\u2019t have been made a scapegoat, that wasn\u2019t fair on Michael Masi.<\/p>\n \u201cThe support structure has now been put in place to the race director, that should have been put in place a long time ago to help support Michael Masi, but it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been made the scapegoat but wasn\u2019t given the tools to be able to do the job to the fullest extent of his abilities at the time. I think that really is a shame.\u201d<\/p>\n The opening race of the 2022 F1 season takes place in Bahrain on Sunday, 20 March.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n