F1 fans condemn 'disgusting' footage of Masi and Red Bull chiefs

#IStandWithLewisHamilton trends on social media as F1 fans condemn ‘shocking’ and ‘disgusting’ leaked audio of Michael Masi giving Red Bull what they wanted in last season’s title decider… and call for ‘cheats’ to be STRIPPED of the championship

  • Footage of radio messages between Red Bull and Michael Masi has been leaked
  • It has put Masi’s decisions in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix under heavy scrutiny 
  • He can be heard receiving advice from Red Bull chiefs before his decision
  • The race director has been accused of giving into pressure from Red Bull chiefs
  • Fans have been left outraged, slamming the controversy as a ‘sporting scandal’
  • While others have claimed that Lewis Hamilton was ‘robbed’ of his eighth title 

Formula One fans have hit out at race director Michael Masi and Red Bull after leaked footage raised fresh questions over the outcome of the Abu Dhabi title decider.

Max Verstappen, 24, pipped Lewis Hamilton, 37, to the F1 world championship in dramatic fashion two months ago. 

Hamilton had held a healthy lead but a safety car was called out onto the circuit on lap 54 with just four laps left following a crash by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi that bunched the pack up.  

Formula One fans have condemned race director Michael Masi and Red Bull after leaked footage of their radio messages, with one insisting Lewis Hamilton was ‘robbed’ of the title

One fan took to social media to slam the controversy as a ‘complete sporting scandal’

Another accused the racing director of acting as a puppet for ‘master’ Red Bull

Masi (above) has been accused of giving into pressure applied by Red Bull chief Christian Horner

The Brit looked set to coast to victory with five lapped cars separating himself and Red Bull’s Verstappen.

However, Masi ordered the lapped cars to unlap themselves, resulting in Verstappen closing the gap on his British rival. With the Dutchman on a fresher set of tyres, he was able to pass Hamilton on the final lap to win the championship. 

Masi has been accused of giving into pressure applied by Red Bull chief Christian Horner and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, resulting in his decision not to follow the FIA rules and allow the cars to pass.

Lewis Hamilton led for the majority of the race and was closing in on an eighth world title

However, Masi’s decision to allow lapped cars to unlap themselves helped Max Verstappen win

And video footage of a conversation between Masi and sporting director Wheatley appears to provide further evidence of the race director reacting to Red Bull’s demands.

In the radio messages, Masi is heard receiving advice from Wheatley on how to deal with the lapped cars with Red Bull desperate for a final-lap shootout.

Masi takes on the message from Wheatley, then decides to instruct the five lapped cars to unlap themselves. When questioned by Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, Masi is heard repeating the same language used by Wheatley in the previous message.

Fans of the sport were left outraged, insisting Hamilton had been ‘robbed’ of his eighth World Championship as #IStandWithLewisHamilton gathered momentum on social media.

One fan posted on Twitter: ‘This is so upsetting to listen. Masi literally made a decision under instructions from RB sporting director knowingly breaking FIA rules with much bias. 

F1 fans came out in support of the Brit as #IStandWithLewisHamilton circulated on Twitter

‘Lewis Hamilton was robbed of his eighth Word Championship title on the 12th Day of December 2021.’

Another slammed the controversy as a ‘complete sporting scandal’, questioning the role of regulators.

‘Imagine a football team losing 5-0, asking to have 5 goals added to their score in the final minute to make it an interesting end, and the referee just saying “understood”,’ they wrote.

‘Complete sporting scandal. Where are the regulators?’

Another said they were left ‘gutted’ by the disgusting situation as they claimed Masi had acted like a puppet. 

‘Absolutely disgusting and gutted,’ they posted on Twitter.

‘Can’t even imagine how Masi acted without checking the veracity of facts and performed as a perfect puppet of the puppet master i.e. Red Bull. Just unbelievable.’

The FIA revealed they are aware of the radio messages between Masi and Red Bull as they have access to all radio communication from Abu Dhabi, according to the BBC.

Others ripped into the credibility of the FIA and accused Red Bull of manipulating the rule

They are due to release the findings of their inquiry into the controversial ending to the season finale at a meeting of the F1 Commission next Monday.

But one fan insisted it is already too late and claimed that their reputation has been ‘obliterated’ by the incident.

‘If the credibility of F1 and the FIA was in tatters before, now it’s obliterated,’ they said.

Had FIA rules been followed, Verstappen would have been unable to overtake Hamilton because the race would have not been restarted due to it being the final lap. 

However, Masi restarted the race immediately, which saw the Dutchman pass Hamilton with ease to win the title. 

One fan has accused Red Bull of manipulating the race director for their own advantage. 

‘Till now I thought @redbullracing was innocent in the Abu Dhabi 2021 scandal,’ they wrote.

‘But no. This changes everything. This was pure manipulation of rules for your own advantage.’




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