Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told the High Performance Podcast that he urged Masi not to be stubborn or arrogant in his decision-making, drawing on his extensive experience to offer advice. The Austrian team principal said he told Masi to listen to drivers and avoid being inflexible with decisions, believing this guidance would benefit Formula 1 while protecting Mercedes from potentially damaging situations. Wolff revealed he was not the only one who tried to support Masi in his role.
The revelations come after Masi was recently announced as the new head of sporting for SRO Motorsports Australia, a position he will take up full-time in 2027. The former race director was removed from his Formula 1 role following the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to claim his first world championship after Masi's interpretation of safety car regulations allowed Verstappen to attack Hamilton on fresher tyres.
Wolff described what happened as inexcusable and said he eventually realized that Masi was determined to make his own decisions regardless of input from teams. Despite no longer caring about Masi personally, Wolff admitted he still thinks about that Sunday in Abu Dhabi every week, particularly regarding how it denied Hamilton a record eighth world championship that would have made him the greatest of all time.