Wolff reveals Michael Masi guidance attempt before Abu Dhabi ’21

Toto Wolff claimed that he tried to “guide” Michael Masi through 2021 to not be “stubborn” or “arrogant” with his decisions.

Wolff said he was not the only one who tried to “support” the then-FIA Formula 1 race director. Wolff spoke of a realisation, following the Abu Dhabi 2021 saga, that Masi was just going to do his own thing. Masi was recently announced as the new head of sporting for SRO Motorsports Australia, a role which he will assume full-time in 2027.

Toto Wolff tried to ‘guide’ Michael Masi

One of the all-time greatest Formula 1 title battles that played out between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton reached a dramatic conclusion at the Yas Marina Circuit in 2021.

Masi’s interpretation of the regulations after a late Safety Car period had a direct impact as Verstappen, on fresher tyres, passed Hamilton on the final lap to snatch the crown.

The FIA subsequently launched an investigation, Masi was removed from the race director position before the 2022 campaign got underway.

“I really tried to speak to Michael and guide him all along the year and speak to him and say, ‘Listen, I’ve been in the sport for a long time. Listen to the drivers. Don’t always be stubborn in your decision making. Don’t be arrogant,'” Wolff revealed when appearing on the High Performance Podcast.

“I tried that for the good of the sport, and obviously also for us as a team, not to be vulnerable to situations that could be totally detrimental. So in that sense, what happened is inexcusable.

“Now, you could say the empathy should make me realise how he feels. I realise how he feels, and I know that’s not good, and bad. But he could have thought about it all year long when people, not only me, tried to support, in the right way.

“So sometimes you have to just realise that someone is just doing his own thing or taking his own decisions.

“So for me, I don’t care about it anymore. Now you and I speak about it. We’ve wasted three minutes of our time, but he has no relevance.”

While Wolff may be past caring about the events of Abu Dhabi 2021, that does not mean it is out of mind.

Wolff admitted that “for sure every week” he still thinks about that Sunday, as Hamilton missed out on his record eighth world championship.

But, while Abu Dhabi 2021 was an “unfair” way for Hamilton to be denied, Wolff has no qualms over Verstappen’s credentials as champion that year.

With that achievement, Verstappen ended a four-year Hamilton title streak.

“There is a moment every week where I think about it,” Wolff admitted on the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.

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“But I mainly think about it because I think Lewis should have deserved to be the greatest of all time with eight world championship titles.

“You can argue all along about that year. I think Max and Lewis were deserving champions.

“There were instances during the year where Max lost some points that he shouldn’t have lost, you look at the crash in Monza both of them had, so both deserving champions. But on that particular afternoon in Abu Dhabi, it was unfair.”

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