Toto Wolff revealed that he sat down for lunch with Michael Masi on the eve of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, in Melbourne and, by his own account, carried on laying into the axed former Formula 1 Race Director.
Four months down the road from the night in which Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 F1 title in controversial fashion, with Masi receiving the brunt of the blame for the fiasco that ensued in those dying moments of a torrid season. Scapegoat in other words.
Since that night, Masi has been AWOL; rumours abound about his fate since then, from the ridiculous such as he is having medical treatment and living life like a fugitive as Mercedes men in black suits hunt him down; to the unlikely, he is preparing a huge lawsuit against F1 and the FIA; and the most likely he is going about normal life.
When asked about Masi during an interview with PA Media, Wolff said: “I had lunch with him on the Wednesday before the race, and I said to him that: I really want to tell you, without patronising you, that you need to take criticism on board and develop from there.
“Lewis does it every day, but you are a guy who always seems to know better. It wasn’t about influencing him but really giving my honest feedback that he shouldn’t block outside opinion as simply being wrong.
Masi was not liked by drivers or promoters says the Mercedes boss
Wolff added: “You hear from the drivers and how the drivers’ briefings were conducted [by Masi] and some of the guys said it was almost disrespectful how he treated some of them.
“There is a promoter of one of the races in the Middle East who said he was so relieved he had gone because he got so much abuse from him. He was just immune to any feedback and even today he has not properly reflected that he did something wrong.
“He was a liability for the sport because everybody kept talking about Abu Dhabi and the race director, and the race director should not be somebody that people talk about, but someone who does the job and makes sure the race is run according to the regulations,” reckoned Wolff.
Masi has not reacted to the statements made by Wolff or confirmed they even had lunch; if they did – and there is no reason to believe not – it sounds like he was on the receiving end of another bollocking between courses, from the Mercedes boss.
Although Wolff reported he had lunch with Masi, sounds more like he had him for lunch! Would be great to hear Michael’s version of the Wednesday lunchtime meal with Toto. Who paid? One could ask…
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