It was clearly too much for Masi in Abu Dhabi: 'Was a perfect storm'

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a historic one. Not only because Max Verstappen became world champion but also because of the actions of Michael Masi. According to Peter Windsor too many things came together in Abu Dhabi and therefore Michael Masi could never make a good decision.

Masi played a big role at the end of the last Grand Prix of the season. Because of Nicholas Latifi's crash he suddenly had to make decisions about safety cars and the lapped cars between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The decisions made by the race committee are still being talked about today.

Windsor explains in a video on his YouTube channel that what Masi was doing is very human. Mercedes and Red Bull Racing both have a big team with strategists and data analysts, while the Australian has a much smaller team around him. He doesn't have the same good people and resources, which makes it much more difficult to predict what's going to happen and what the race management should do in that situation. The Brit admits that this situation was extreme: "What piled up in Abu Dhabi was the perfect storm."

Michael Masi lacks knowledge

Too many things actually came together in Abu Dhabi, according to the British journalist. The title fight, the last few laps, a collision on a tricky part of the circuit in terms of clearing and clearing quickly and the cars that sat between Hamilton and Verstappen. On top of all that came the pressure of not wanting to end the race behind the safety car. "It was a perfect storm and that's why Michael Masi came with these different instructions and at the end of the day got it wrong."

According to Windsor, it was also easier for Charlie Whiting, the race director for Masi, to make decisions. "Charlie was this all embracing figure who had his foot in both camps," Windsor said. He was a technical delegate and race director, so he had knowledge of both the technical and sporting sides. Compared to Whiting, Masi lacks knowledge.