Former Ferrari boss Ross Brawn, currently the Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director, admitted that is in favour of banning team bosses from communicating directly with FIA race director Michael Masi during Grands Prix starting from the next Formula 1 season.
The controversial ending of the 2021 championship in Adu Dhabi included several moments when Red Bull and Mercedes team bosses intervened over the airwaves to appeal to Michael Masi regarding a specific event or incident. The race was therefore arked by many in-race radio messages to race control from the two teams’ pitwall, as Mercedes and Red Bull we’re fighting for the titles.
The first turn incident Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as the Red Bull driver attempted to overtake his rival, led to several communication queries from Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley and Mercedes sporting boss Ron Meadows, with both teams arguing a case in favour of their respective driver.
In the second part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff implored Michael Masi not to deploy the safety car when Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo was stranded on the side of the track. However, the chatter and two-way conversations ramped up during the race’s late safety car period when confusion emerged over the fate of the lapped cars positioned between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Horner questioned the already under-pressure Masi about why the cars were not waved through as the rules allow, while Wolff, as the action was undertaken, lost his cool and lambasted the race director, yelling “Michael! No, Michael! No! No, Michael! That was so not right!”
In an interview for German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Ross Brawn admitted that Christian Horner and Toto Wolff’s interventions were not acceptable.
“It is not acceptable that the team bosses put Michael under such pressure during the race. Toto Wolff cannot demand that a safety car should not come, and Christian Horner cannot demand that the cars have to lap back. That is at the discretion of the race director. We will stop this contact next year.” – he explained.
Ross Brawn compared the moment to “a football coach negotiating with the referee”.
The F1 chief also agreed with Michael Masi’s decision to let the drivers race for one final lap, but lamented Mercedes’ post-race protests: “The decision in the last lap is a highlight that can’t be topped,” added Ross Brawn – “Unfortunately, the protest takes the shine from the finale a bit.”
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