F1 to ban Toto Wolff and Christian Horner from pressuring race director during Grands Prix
The vociferous bosses of Red Bull and Mercedes will no longer have direct access to exert influence on race decisions
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.F1 managing director of motor sports Ross Brawn says lined of communication between team chiefs and the race director will come to an end in 2022, after Michael Masi was increasingly put on the spot by Red Bull and Mercedes bosses.
The situation had already been a feature of the 2021 Formula One season, particularly in the run-in as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went head-to-head for the championship, but it was exacerbated by incidents in the finale at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.
Toto Wolff was incensed at Masi’s late call to allow the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to unlap themselves to clear the way for a sprint finish, with the Red Bull racer won to claim the title, while Horner had previously been clamouring for the safety car to come out in a bid to close up the gap between the two drivers.
It all exerts undue influence on the race director, says Brawn, instead of leaving him free to make his own decisions on what should happen on the track.
“We will stop this contact next year,” he said, per Auto Motor und Sport.
“It’s unacceptable that team bosses put Michael under such pressure during the race. It’s like the coaches negotiating with the referee in football.
“Toto can’t demand there shouldn’t be a Safety Car and Christian can’t demand the cars have to un-lap. That’s at the discretion of the race director.”
To continue Brawn’s comparison, it’s notable that managers on the touchline in football often interract with the fourth official rather than directly with the referee - raising the potential compromise in F1 whereby the team bosses do have access to an alternative senior figure, who is in turn in touch with the race director in case of any calls which need addressing.
Whether the race director will end up being Masi next season is seemingly up for discussion, however, as he has come under intense scrutiny and been widely criticised for his decision-making in Abu Dhabi - having apparently changed safety car protocols at the last minute for the decisive final lap.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments