Why was Michael Masi fired??

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Good read here. What did masi do wrong? And as the article says good ammo if Masi were to sue for wrongful termination.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/t...dress/9137893/

What extent did Mercedes other contracts with fia play (safety car etc)? Was there a backroom deal among the good ol boys in the backroom? To wit Get rid of masi or we take our marbles an go home.

To this day an I have looked on multiple sites an forums there are lots of Mercedes fans who think Lewis was robbed. Can you believe that?

Pretty clearly fia messed this up by not thinking through every possible scenario when they agreed to let em race for the whole year an finish races under green - an then made masi the fall guy.

You agree?

-Ed-

[wombat666]

A scapegoat was required.

[Panther_99FS]

I think the main problem is that the big two (Mercedes/Ferrari) have arguably ALWAYS had "influence" on the ruling party. - Remember Ferrari threatening to leave F1 on multiple occasions?

But FWIW, the same thing happened in Indycar as well (Big owners having too much influence over the governing body).

[huub vink]

For the decision about Masi, I have nothing to add to what Wombat and Panther already mentioned.

Whether I think Hamilton was stolen? No he wasn't, as Mercedes made a tactical error in my opinion. They wanted to keep Lewis at P1 at all costs. But they should have called Hamilton in for fresh tires immediately after the crash. This would have brought Lewis on fresh tires behind Verstappen. But Mercedes left the initiative to Red Bull. Which was perhaps an easier decision for Red Bull as Verstappen was already at P2 so he didn't loose anything. The decision of Mercedes or perhaps better the lack of taking a decision, made Lewis the sitting duck. When Lewis would have been on fresh tires, Verstappen would have been the sitting duck. Red Bull still could have gone for fresh tires, but this would have taken them back to second position again. And the Mercedes was faster car all race already, so this would not have given Red Bull the win.

The decision to end the race under the green flag was already taken months before after the GP from Belgium. To allow all lapped cars to overtake would have taken too long and would have made it impossible to finish the race under the green flag. So personally I think Hamilton wasn't robbed, and Masi took the right decision (or best compromise).

In my opinion the whole aftermath, and especially the behaviour of Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton shows the conclusion by Panther is correct.

Mercedes has been a great winner, but were definitely poor loosers.

Just my two cents,
Huub

[Panther_99FS]

I don't think Hamilton's behavior was that far off the mark. I mean he came back whereas Nico didn't.
And Mansell wasn't exactly a house cat when he lost either.

[huub vink]

I don't think Hamilton's behavior was that far off the mark. I mean he came back whereas Nico didn't.
And Mansell wasn't exactly a house cat when he lost either.

I mean things like not showing up at the FIA prize giving gala, removing all your followers on social media, don't be clear about your future, saying the FIA did the right thing by firing Masi (ignoring what is in the official report (but who will read this?)), etc. Not really behaviour I expect from grown men.

Of course I can imagine they felt disappointed, but they clearly suffered from the Calimero's syndrome. And as I tried to explain above, the Mercedes team clearly played a role in loosing the last race from the 2021 season.

Another reason for me to hope that Ferrari will win this year's championship....

Cheers,
Huub

[Panther_99FS]

I mean things like not showing up at the FIA prize giving gala, removing all your followers on social media, don't be clear about your future, saying the FIA did the right thing by firing Masi (ignoring what is in the official report (but who will read this?)), etc. Not really behaviour I expect from grown men.

Of course I can imagine they felt disappointed, but they clearly suffered from the Calimero's syndrome. And as I tried to explain above, the Mercedes team clearly played a role in loosing the last race from the 2021 season.

Another reason for me to hope that Ferrari will win this year's championship....

Cheers,
Huub

I suppose Lewis might have hit the boiling point over all the *crap* that he's endured since McLaren (and who knows how much before).
For example, James Hunt's flamboyant lifestyle didn't receive that much criticism whereas Lewis is judged as being "not-focused enough".

Oh and let's not forget the crap from Jackie Stewart as well.

I don't blame Lewis at all considering that he's under way more pressure than any driver on the grid and any in history.
I can't say that I can relate - but I do know what it's like be only ice hockey player around for miles and miles.....

All that being said, I'm actually a bit agnostic this year about who wins.....But I do hope Haas has a much better season overall.