"Really uncomfortable" - Martin Brundle's take on controversial F1 race director audio

Ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle felt the footage featuring Jonathan Wheatley that emerged on social media ahead of the Red Bull F1 launch put the sport in an uncomfortable place. The Briton believes the rules were not followed, but one can expect changes in F1 so that the unfortunate incident is not repeated.

Speaking at a Sky Sports discussion, Brundle voiced his opinion over the Abu Dhabi debacle and said:

“Of course it is really uncomfortable. A lot of people are unhappy ... Because, for me, the really crucial regulation wasn't carried out is the Safety Car should have come in at the end of the following lap.”

The Sky Sports TV pundit believes that regulations not being followed in Abu Dhabi is a critical issue in the controversy. Brundle also feels the timing of the footage emerging, which comes before the Red Bull car launch, doesn't help the sport's image either.

Addressing the issue of the footage that emerged, Brundle said:

“It's not pretty for Formula 1 at all but I don't think this particular thing... it's come out today, it's come just before the Red Bull launch as well, but I don't think it changes the narrative, the really uncomfortable narrative of what happened.”

While Brundle said it would take serious regulatory changes to avoid a repeat of the fiasco on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP, he also believes the narrative in the video footage puts the sport in an uncomfortable spot.

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Martin Brundle feels teams lobbying the race director caused the controversy in the Abu Dhabi F1 race

The former Ferrari driver believes the reason behind Masi's controversial Abu Dhabi decision was the rigorous lobbying by Mercedes and Red Bull during crucial laps towards the end of the race. For the F1 commentator teams, making new rules or revising rules before a race was unacceptable.

Explaining his stance on the events that unfolded on the penultimate lap of the Abu Dhabi GP, Brundle said:

“We also know the unwritten rules and meetings that shouldn't supercede anything were 'lets not have a race finishing under the Safety Car.' Hugely unacceptable…"

"We cannot have teams getting at the referee while he's trying to make critical decisions with cars on the track and marshals and breakdown vehicles and the car was on fire at a certain time."

"He's trying to manage that and he is getting lobbied left, right and center. .. Its completely unacceptable.”

While many, including Brundle, believe that Masi's decision was a result of the high pressured scenario caused by team lobbying, the F1 race director’s continuity in the sport remains a concern after the public outrage that has put the FIA in a difficult scenario.