Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Masi did nothing wrong in Abu Dhabi - Alonso
Fernando Alonso says Michael Masi did nothing wrong in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year and hopes the FIA race director was not removed due to that event.
Masi’s handling of the closing stages of the final race came in for severe criticism as he failed to correctly apply the regulations regarding safety car restarts in an attempt to ensure a clear fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for one racing lap. After analysis from the governing body, new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem last week announced a new race control structure that doesn’t include Masi, and Alonso said he is conflicted over the reasons for it.
“I mean, it’s a new president so he obviously wanted to make sure that everything was in place,” Alonso said when asked by RACER about the recent changes. “As I’ve said a couple of times, I like Mohammed, I like the approach he has, so if he thinks that we needed some new ideas there, then it’s for the good for everyone so I’m happy with that.
“On the whole thing of Abu Dhabi, maybe I have a different opinion -- I don’t think there was anything wrong there. I don’t think they changed it because of Abu Dhabi -- or I hope not.”
Alonso’s stance appeared to be in conflict with that of Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon, who suggested rules weren’t followed at certain moments, adding: “If the rules can be followed the whole time and be more consistent, then I’m very pleased.”
That’s not the only FIA change that Ocon is happy with either, as he welcomed a recent move to scrap the rule that means cars reaching Q3 have to start on the tire compound they progressed from Q2 on.
“I think first of all to have the Q2 rule banned is a good thing," he said. "I think it was already complicated for strategy for people to understand on the Saturday what it was, and to just have pure performance qualifying, I’m happy with.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
Read Chris Medland's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.