Ever since the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, the FIA race director, Michael Masi, has been under immense pressure. A lot of teams have demanded the governing body repudiate his role before the start of the 2022 season. However, interestingly, Red Bull Racing, being the biggest gainers of Masi’s Abu Dhabi GP call, has joined the defending side of the Australian.

Red Bull’s sporting director, Jonathan Wheatley, opined that Masi must continue as the FIA race director. Why? Well, prior to Masi’s reign, F1 had lost Charlie Whiting, arguably the best race director the sport could ask for. Hence, Wheatley felt that filling the void left behind by Whiting is impractical.

What did Red Bull say?

Speaking to The Jack Threlfall Show, Wheatley opined that the F1 teams must continue to support Masi as he is capable of performing as efficiently as Whiting.

“In Michael Masi, we have a precocious talent who will hopefully fill the void of Charlie Whiting. Charlie left a huge void in the FIA ​​in that particular role. I think we – the F1 teams – have supported Michael and Michael It’s helped. We’ve worked together collaboratively and it’s worked really well,” he said according to Soy Motor.

“I think the FIA ​​was slow to realize what a huge pair of shoes it would have to fill. I think Michael, given the right support, is more than capable of doing that.”

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Very difficult for the FIA to replace Whiting

Although the FIA has a trustable member in Masi as their race director, Wheatley admitted that Whiting was a sports giant and replacing him takes time.

“On a personal level, he’s a very nice guy. He listens and tries to do things as best as possible, but in Charlie, we lost a sports giant,” he said. “It is very difficult for the FIA ​​to fill that in one piece of paper. It appears that the new FIA President is taking this very seriously and looking to provide support exactly where it is needed.”

Overall, a crucial season awaits Masi, as the new FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem will be carefully scrutinizing the Australian’s decisions. So, will Masi be able to deliver a less controversial season this time around?

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