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Christian Horner says he has made contact with the under-fire Michael Massey after the drama of last season’s Abu Dhabi final unfolded.
The former race director was heavily criticised after the race restarted, as Max Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season for his maiden title.
The aftermath of the game continued for weeks afterward. Mercedes It felt like Hamilton had been stripped of his eighth world title for not following FIA rules at the time.
The Red Bull team chief admits it was Massey’s fault for not letting every car pass the safety car, but thinks it’s the right thing to do to see the season come to an end on the track – citing this year’s Italian Grand Prix as evidence of disappointment Saw the race ended under yellow flag conditions.
“Yeah, a few times,” Horner revealed on Formula 1 Beyond the grid When asked if he talked to Marcy, the podcast.
“I don’t think he’s been treated fairly because I think he’s done his best to follow what he’s been told.
“The only thing he screwed up was not allowing the last two cars to unravel at the back of the field. But everything [else] What he did, you know, it was absolutely on the books and following the principles of getting them to finish the race on the track.
“As we saw at Monza recently, nobody wants to see a race diluted and finished under the safety car.
“So he went out of his way to get that game back on and it was going to be a terrible end to the season to see it diluted and faded under the safety car.
“Then I think the reaction after the game was that he got a lot of verbal abuse and his family got death threats. No one deserves what he did.”
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl recently revealed After the safety car at Monza ended, teams were unable to agree on safety car rules beyond last year, finding no “fair solution” in sporting terms.
The FIA’s internal investigation into Abu Dhabi’s impact in early 2022 resulted in clarification of the rules on lap cars in the written rules, and Massey was relieved of his role as race director before recently leaving the FIA ​​entirely.
Part of the FIA’s plan is to bring in a joint race director, appointing Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas to share key responsibilities to relieve pressure on one person throughout the season.
Red Bull boss Horner assured that problems could still arise this season as part of feeling “wronged by the referee” during the sport, and while he disagreed with every decision Massey made on the field, he believed the Australian was not The complete infrastructure he needs at that moment.
“They’re obviously new, they’re obviously very capable, they’ve got experience, but we’re still seeing issues that obviously come up from time to time, and they’re continuing to learn and develop,” Horner said of the new joint tournament director.
“But you know, this is a new chapter for the FIA. I think Michael did his best throughout the year in difficult circumstances.
“And we have to remember that he had almost no support in that race control tower where he was pretty much alone and when you follow the process of how they see if the car is not lapped it goes back to the pen and sheet of paper.
“He doesn’t have all the backups that the team has, for example, our operating room and software and so on — it’s still a very, very rudimentary process.
“Earlier this year, even earlier in that race, Max passed Lewis on the first lap and Lewis wasn’t instructed to give way, and we felt like it was, you know, a very tough one that worked against us. Decide.
“We believe that Qatar has made tough decisions, such as Saudi Arabia’s, and the leniency it has shown at different times.
“But it’s subjective to everyone and you can always feel a little bit wronged by the referee.”
Read more: Where are they now?12 different champions of the defunct GP2 series
article Christian Horner contacts Michael Massey after being treated ‘unfairly’ in Abu Dhabi appeared first on Planetf1.com.
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