Martin Brundle’s furious response to leaked Michael Masi audio – ‘Hugely unacceptable’

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Martin Brundle has given a furious response after hearing the leaked audio between Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race director Michael Masi and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The interaction occurred just moments before Masi allowed five lapped cars which had come between title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to overtake and move out of the way during the final race of the 2021 calendar.

Masi’s decision was widely condemned and it proved pivotal as Verstappen ultimately stormed to victory in the desert when he had appeared to be out of the contest.

And the Red Bull driver’s triumph meant he won his maiden F1 title as Hamilton was denied a record eighth championship.

The audio of Masi speaking to Wheatley was made available by F1 in December. But it was widely shared on Wednesday ahead of Red Bull’s new car launch.

And former F1 driver Brundle, who now works for Sky Sports, has admitted the audio is “really uncomfortable” and the events which led to Verstappen’s victory were “hugely unacceptable.”

“It’s not new news, and also I think you have to understand that it’s not necessarily telling Michael Masi something he didn’t already know,” Brundle told Sky Sports about the interaction.

“Let’s not assume it’s giving Masi information he didn’t already know in terms of what he could and couldn’t do in terms of the lapped pack.

“Of course it’s really uncomfortable, and a lot of people are unhappy: Hamilton fans, Mercedes fans.

“And you don’t even have to be a Lewis Hamilton fan to think that forever he should be an eight-time world champion.

“Because, for me, the really crucial regulation that wasn’t carried out was that the safety car should have come in at the end of the following lap.

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“But we also know that unwritten rules and meetings, which shouldn’t supersede anything, were: let’s try not to have a race finish behind the safety car.

“Hugely unacceptable. I met so many fans that were new to Formula 1 last year particularly, and fans in general, that were hugely upset by what happened.

“We cannot – and we know it’s going to change – have teams getting at the referee while he’s trying to make critical decisions with cars on the track and marshals and breakdown vehicles.

“The car was on fire at certain times. He’s trying to manage that and he’s getting lobbied left, right and centre.

“You can imagine that on the football ground or rugby ground is completely unacceptable. And that will change.

“It’s not pretty for Formula 1 at all, but I don’t think this audio today changes the really uncomfortable narrative of what happened.”

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