Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean defended FIA Race Director Michael Masi over his Abu Dhabi GP decision, saying that it made for an exciting watch.
Masi’s call at the Abu Dhabi GP’s final lap has led to the fiasco F1 finds itself in today. The fallout from Yas Marina has seen protests, legal battles, divided fans and investigations, and that’s just beginning to describe it.
Even though the Australian’s decision made for an entertaining watch, it was a breaking of the rules, and something that should have never been done. It also ended up influencing the world championship result, making it a farce all around.
However, Grosjean defended Masi over his Abu Dhabi GP decision, saying that all things considered, he was in the right.
As quoted by PlanetF1, when asked in an IndyCar press conference about Masi’s actions, the former Haas driver said, “There’s a few ways of seeing it, it would have been very strange to not unlap those cars and have Lewis (Hamilton) first and then Max (Verstappen) four cars behind over one lap for the World Championship.
“On the other hand, for Lewis it was definitely not a great call, but as a TV fan, as a spectator, for the sport, I think Michael Masi make the right decision.
“I don’t think the championship would have been nice to finish under the safety car. It would not have been nice to finish with the guys being separated on track being first and second separated by a few cars.”
Fine margins
“I was more Lewis side than Max, so I was kind of, ‘Oh, Lewis lost it over the last part of the season; Max did the same, made an incredible job. But I thought it was so cool to get those two guys going together,” the Frenchman continued.
“I think the wrong conception is to think that the World Championship went on one lap. I think at the end, if we look at how many points were lost by Verstappen, not necessarily by his fault, he was the one that deserved more the championship.
“On the Abu Dhabi race, Lewis deserved more the championship. He got unlucky over the last lap. But as a race fan, I loved that last lap, and it was super exciting to watch.”