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Sebastian Vettel has recently opened up about the new F1 race director situation. The Aston Martin driver talked about the new directors FIA has placed lately. The former Red Bull man expressed his desire to see the men in the role to be hardworking and committed like Michael Masi.

FIA had Michael Masi as the race director as recently as last year. However, after a much controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, things have changed. FIA decided to have a commission meeting after the outrage. The meeting took place and the governing body decided to sack the Australian race director.

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Talking about the new race director role, the four-times world champion conveyed, “Michael was working really hard and always had an open ear to us. Obviously, a decision was taken that he was not going to be in that role anymore. We will see going forwards but I hope whoever is coming will be working as hard and committed as Michael was.”

What exactly happened at F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

It was the last fight for the title between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Lewis was chasing his record-breaking eighth world title, whereas Max was chasing his maiden F1 Championship. As the race started, Lewis was leading, followed by Verstappen. The race seems like it would be another comfortable win for Lewis. However, on Lap 52, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed against the barrier and brought out the yellow flags.

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Subsequently, race director Michael Masi called in the safety car so the marshals could remove Latifi’s car from the track. Lewis began to follow the safety car, followed by the cars he lapped during the race.

via Reuters

Soon Masi instructed the lapped cars to unlap themselves, right before taking the safety car off. This brought Max Verstappen right behind Lewis Hamilton with fresher tires. As the race restarted the Dutchman overtook the Briton to snatch the championship away.

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What are your predictions for the 2022 season? Will we see another Lewis-Max rivalry? Let us know in the comments.