F1 Director Reveals It Was Actually Red Bull Boss Christian Horner Who Pushed for Disputed Broadcasting Decision

In the last few years, some big steps taken by F1 have resulted in some big leaps in enhancing the spectators’ experience. One of them is letting the fans know what goes on between teams and race officials. This resulted in fans being introduced to Michael Massi, the race director. And he has Christian Horner to thank for it.

Speaking on In The Fast Lane podcast, Massi revealed how it was the Red Bull Team Principal who suggested the inclusion of communication between sporting directors and teams to be part of the broadcast.

“If I recall correctly, I think it was actually Christian Horner that said in the commission meeting last year, he said, ‘Let’s put Michael and the sporting directors, on air, that’ll make a really good different perspective for the broadcast.”

However, the Race Director confessed he wasn’t a fan of this proposal when it was put forward for the first time.

“I’m not a fan of that type of stuff myself,” Massi said.

But Michael Massi also described how these interactions, which have ‘happened for years’, allow fans to discover and experience the new side of Formula 1.

“It was a new and different perspective for the spectators and the viewers, to see that different side of sports that they hadn’t seen before.”

The notable interactions with Michael Massi in races

Fans would recall two memorable incidents in which teams were communicating with Michael Massi.

One was in Silverstone.

When Lewis Hamilton crashed into Max Verstappen, Red Bull saw a potential penalty for the Briton. This led to Toto Wolff communicating a message in his driver’s defense which was then broadcast live.

Another such incident took place in the United States Grand Prix.

Alpine’s pit wall complained to Michael Massi about Kimi Raikkonen’s off the track overtake being ignored while Fernando Alonso’s overtake was cautioned.

However, according to Michael Masi, there’s a lot of communication which doesn’t see the light of the day.

“You only hear very much a snippet on air of the interactions, but I can tell you at times they’re very constant and intense,” Masi said.

With the communication between the Race Director and the Teams becoming a popular and successful decision, fans wouldn’t mind listening to more than the snippets of the interactions.

Would you like to listen to more of these interactions?

Also Read: What Was Inside the Email Toto Wolff Sent to Michael Masi After Hamilton-Verstappen Crash?