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Fernando Alonso gives his opinion on the removal of Michael Masi and, unsurprisingly, he doesn’t see “anything wrong” with his decisions in Abu Dhabi.
At Alpine’s 2022 car launch, Fernando Alonso was asked to give his opinion on the changes the FIA is making as a result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, including the removal of Michael Masi and the introduction of a new race control structure.
“The new president [of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem] obviously wanted to make sure that everything was in place,” Alonso said.
“As I said also a couple of times I like Mohammed, I like the approach he has. So if he thinks that we needed some new ideas there, it’s for the good for everyone, so I’m happy with that.”
However, unsurprisingly, the Spaniard hopes these changes were not made in response to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix controversy.
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“On the whole theme of Abu Dhabi, maybe I have a different opinion. I don’t think that there was anything wrong there. I don’t think that they changed [the race control structure] because of Abu Dhabi.
“Or I hope not,” Alonso concluded.
Despite Alonso’s hopes, there’s no denying that the changes are being made as a direct result of the controversy and the FIA’s subsequent investigation.
It was never a secret that Alonso was rooting for Max Verstappen throughout the 2021 season (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he was rooting against Lewis Hamilton). At one point he even boasted how he helped Max at the Hungarian Grand Prix by managing to keep Lewis behind for a few laps, although they are not driving for the same team.
Alonso’s team-mate Esteban Ocon was short and more diplomatic in his response.
“If the rules can be followed the whole time, and be more consistent, I’m very pleased,” Ocon said.
