Lewis Hamilton will be "very, very angry" if Michael Masi is allowed back to F1, according to Johnny Herbert

Lewis Hamilton will be understandably angry if Michael Masi is allowed to continue as F1 race director, according to Johnny Herbert. The F1 driver-turned-analyst shared his views on the controversy surrounding the 2021 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

During a Sky F1 show, Herbert said:

"It's not going to be a comfortable situation, probably for both, to be perfectly honest. As a driver, and for Sir Lewis, I think he feels very aggrieved his championship was taken away."

Herbert added:

"You would not want - and I would not want - to have the man who made the wrong decision, the wrong call, that then lost me a world championship. I'd be very, very angry if he was allowed back, and I think Mercedes is in a very similar way. There are a lot of things that need to be dealt with in the right way, especially from the FIA to make Formula 1 what we expect it to be, (which is) to be fair."

Masi's fate as race director will be decided by the FIA's ongoing internal investigation. Hamilton is reportedly to decide on his future in F1 following the outcome of the FIA's investigation.

According to reports, former Alpine boss Marcin Budkowski is in line to replace Australian motorsport official Masi.

FIA president in contact with Lewis Hamilton

Newly-appointed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is reportedly in regular contact with Lewis Hamilton.

Ben Sulayem, a former rally driver, replaced Jean Todt as FIA boss in December 2021. The Emirati has reached out to the seven-time world champion via text messages.

Sky F1 analyst Craig Slater has surmised that Ben Sulayem has made the FIA's investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a matter of urgency.