Ross Brawn defends Michael Masi after criticism of Red Bull ‘negotiation’

[ad_1]

Ross Brawn said race director Michael Masi made the decisions correctly in an “extremely difficult race” in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Masi had been the subject of criticism after speaking to Red Bull during a red flag period and making an ‘offer’ to leave Max Verstappen in P3 on the grid for the restart, having left the track to push Lewis Hamilton back at the turn 1.

This has been interpreted in some quarters as a race director ‘deal’ with Red Bull, but Masi himself has said that this kind of conversation is not an irregular occurrence in the sport.

Red Bull accepted Masi’s decision on the matter, with the possibility that a stewardship decision would come into play if they hadn’t.

Brawn also came to the clerk’s defense, and it was quick to confirm that Masi had followed the correct protocol in this situation.

Michael Masi said his “offer” to Red Bull to drop Max Verstappen on the grid during the red flag period was “a very normal discussion going on”. https://t.co/m99W8tWiPG # F1 pic.twitter.com/kMraO07HdT

– PlanetF1 (@ Planet_F1) December 6, 2021

“I would like to congratulate the FIA ​​and race director Michael Masi for handling this extremely difficult race well. I know some people think some of the decisions were controversial, but they weren’t, ”Brawn wrote in his post-race column,

“The situation you had with Max and Lewis on restart, when Michael recommended that Max leave Esteban and Lewis behind, was handled well as the alternative was to report it to the stewards and it could have ended in a penalty of time.

“I think Michael handled it pragmatically. This type of discussion is repeated several times during a race. If a driver passes someone or defends himself unfairly, the clerk of the course will ask the team to correct the position.

“Some people seem to think Michael was making a deal. He wasn’t doing business. It was simple: we accept the decision of the clerk of the course, with a known result, or we pass it on to the stewards to take charge of it.

“It was a tough race and weekend. We had a lot of challenges here, and I think everyone – the FIA, F1 and the teams – came together to make this event work and it was a huge success.

Verstappen was penalized separately by the stewards later in the race for going off the track and gaining an advantage in a separate defense against Hamilton at Turn 1, before getting a 10-second penalty for what the stewards called “Erratic” under braking to allow the Mercedes driver by.

[ad_2]