Bernie Ecclestone made a shocking claim regarding Michael Masi, and joined a very small number of people in defending him.
Masi made a contentious decision and broke the rules to let Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen race. What looked like a surefire win and eighth world title for Hamilton was cruelly snatched away from him thanks to the Race Director’s call.
It ended up crowning a new champion, and although Verstappen is a worthy winner, it was a farce on all fronts. Making rules up on the fly does not work for any sport, but that is exactly what the Australian did.
However, Ecclestone made a shocking claim regarding Masi, and ended up doing the opposite of what 99% of F1 fans did.
“It was a great race with the right result,” Ecclestone told Bild newspaper, as quoted by grandpx.news.
“Max deserves it and it is good for Formula 1 to have a new, young champion after the dominance of Mercedes and Hamilton.
“In many cases, he (Masi) was overwhelmed with his job all season and maybe shouldn’t have had it at all.
“In the end, though, he made the right decision to let Lewis and Max race against each other again on the last lap. It would have been unfair to end such a season and such a finish with the safety car.
“Hamilton would have been world champion and all the fans would have said ‘What are these stupid stewards doing?’ No, he did the right thing in this case.”
Theatrics
Ecclestone also expressed his dislike for teams trying to influence the decision-making process and hog the spotlight.
“The sport is suffering from the fact that it is no longer just about pure competition, but only about the interest of a few individuals,” he continued.
“All these team bosses on the radio trying to influence the decisions of the race director during the race. It just means the great competition between Max and Lewis is completely lost.”
Read more: Ecclestone hails departed friend Frank Williams – “He was too busy to give death an audience”
you only defended Masi because it cheats Lewis…and strangely enough I respect that, because you have made no bones about how much you hate Lewis.. Your hate for Lewis probably stems from him receiving a Knighthood, and you didn’t… You condemn Masi for making up rules on the fly, and then praises Max for winning under those made up rules…. Go home, take care of your baby, bond with her… get you brains to kick in, before your mouth starts working…