And That Is All I Have To Say About That
From WIKI:
During the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Masi was involved in a safety car procedure controversy. On lap 56 of the race, during which Lewis Hamilton was leading, it was deemed that lapped cars would not be allowed to retake their lap, but abruptly on lap 57, Masi changed the decision. He however only allowed the five cars directly in front of championship contender Max Verstappen to unlap themselves before the restart. This allowed Verstappen, who had pitted into soft tyres, a chance to overtake Hamilton, and with that win the 2021 World Drivers' Championship. Mercedes protested the race result, on the grounds that Masi did not follow the correct procedure, by arbitrarily allowing the cars directly in front of Verstappen to unlap themselves, and no others, despite initially rejecting requests from Red Bull to do so. The team argued that this was a breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, and if procedure was followed, it would have secured Hamilton's 8th Worlds Drivers' Championship. The protest was rejected.
Masi's decisions were criticized on social media and by racing drivers as unusual and to contrive excitement. Former world champion Damon Hill noted that the decision appeared without precedent, stating that it was "a new way of running the sport, where the Race Director can make these ad hoc decisions". Former world champion Nico Rosberg felt that Masi "did not follow the rules" and that Christian Horner demanding "one more lap of racing" to Masi via radio was inappropriate. McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo commented that Masi's decision to let other drivers unlap, but not him, was unusual.
Williams driver George Russell criticized the events, stating that it was "absolutely unacceptable".[20] McLaren driver Lando Norris suggested that the decision was made to create an entertaining finish to the race, and "made for TV".[21] Writing for Fox Sports, Jack Austin stated that F1 "engineered" the finish to increase viewer excitement. Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic echoed a similar sentiment, suggesting that Masi's decision was to ensure that "Netflix gets another juicy storyline for the next season of Drive to Survive" and questioned his capability in effectively officiating a race.
The FIA defended Masi's decision, stating that the Race Director has the "overriding authority" to amend any rule regarding safety car procedure as they wish.
Mercedes announced their intentions to appeal under article 15 of the International Sporting Code and Article 10 of the FIA's Judicial and Disciplinary Code.
