“He’s just an idiot who made the wrong decision” - Mercedes boss admits scars still fresh after what Michael Masi did in 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that he still carries the "scars" from the 2021 F1 season finale.

The 2021 F1 season finale race in Abu Dhabi witnessed one of the most controversial incidents in Formula 1 history as Lewis Hamilton missed out on the opportunity to clinch a record-breaking eighth world title.

The Brit headed into the race with the same number of points as rival Max Verstappen (369.5). Despite leading for the majority of the race, Hamilton eventually fell short as a late safety car incident allowed Verstappen to take the lead in the final lap.

The decision to allow only the lapped cars between Hamilton (P1) and Verstappen (P2) to overtake the safety car created a huge controversy. Michael Masi, the then FIA race director, faced widespread criticism for his handling of the situation. He left his position three months later, with the FIA concluding that he made a "human error" with his decisions.

According to Mercedes president Toto Wolff, the team still has scars from the incident which happened nearly two years ago. The 51-year-old, speaking to the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com during this year's Brazilian GP (comments published on 2 December), said:

"[There were] brutal scars [from Abu Dhabi GP incident] ! Incredible scars and we will never get over them, in a way. They became scars and there are moments when you think: ‘How could that happen?"

The Mercedes boss refused to dwell on the reasons behind Masi's decisions, asserting that doing so would give Masi "too much credit."

"We know how it happened," he said. "But I don’t want to waste a minute [thinking] about the reasons [why it happened], because that would give the guy too much credit. He’s just an idiot who made the wrong decision."

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, recently said that a window for Masi to return to FIA was still open if the right opportunity came knocking. He told PA Sport:

“If I see there is an opportunity that the FIA needs, and Michael Masi is the right person, I will bring him."

It will be interesting to see how Wolff and the Mercedes team react if Masi were to return to F1 in the future.

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Mercedes targeting major rejuvenation inside the organization

2023 wasn't the year of the Silver Arrows. Going winless for the first time in ages, the German outfit was left trailing far behind the Constructors' Champion Red Bull.

Heading into the 2024 season, the eight-time Constructors' champions are eyeing to make big changes inside the organization. In a recent conversation with Damon Hill, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed, via F1 Nation podcast (h/t PlanetF1):

“There is no sports team that has won eight consecutive World titles and for me it’s been a psychological journey. Because you have a great group of people on this mission together and you grow and you develop, but at the end, are you the same person that you’ve been at the beginning of 2013? Maybe not. But maybe you’re wiser, maybe you have more experience?"

The Mercedes boss is optimistic about the team's future, emphasizing the importance of rejuvenating and recreating a successful organization. He said:

“And I think getting that balance right, for us, that’s the really difficult task. And we’re going to come back that’s for sure, it’s just maybe rejuvenating and recreating the successful organisation.”

While Mercedes finished second in the constructors' championship, they trailed Red Bull by 451 points. They beat Ferrari, who finished third, by just three points.