Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has taken fresh aim at Michael Messi ahead of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Two years ago, Lewis Hamilton thought he had won a record eighth F1 Drivers’ Championship, which would put him ahead of Michael Schumacher.
However, the award went to Max Verstappen due to Massey’s incorrect application of the Safety Car rules.
This remains a point of controversy, with Wolff recently saying that he was filled with ‘personal anger’ as he wanted to make Hamilton champion once again.
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And the Austrian has now taken another dig at Masi, saying there will be a ‘proper race director’ at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“I think we’re going there with about equal points and we have a proper race director, so it should be OK,” he said.
“Then let’s race. That’s all as of last weekend.
“They are very fast and they have done a good job.
“I think we could have been on par [in Las Vegas], But the result shows something else.
“To be honest, it’s nice to have a positive P2 to end the season, but for me P2, P3 is very low… it doesn’t make me particularly happy anyway.”
Wolff is still angry at the way Masi oversaw the conclusion of a chaotic 2021 season.
He has taken several digs at the former FIA director during the year – and still feels Hamilton was not given what was his fair share.
Since that race, Hamilton has been unable to compete with Verstappen and the 38-year-old has fallen behind his Red Bull rival.
The 26-year-old is on track to win two more F1 titles after winning the title in 2021.
And Verstappen shows no signs of slowing down after winning the Las Vegas GP this weekend.
The Red Bull star had been critical of the incident before the race.
Yet after rising to the top job he appeared to change his tune and admitted he had enjoyed his latest victory.
“It was tough,” the three-time world champion said.
“I tried to do that at the start. We (myself and Leclerc) both braked too late and I just lost grip, so we went ahead a bit.
“The workers punished me for it and it pushed us on the backfoot.
“I had to pass a lot of cars and there was a safety car, so there was a lot going on at that time.
“Then we went straight outside. I had to pass a few cars to fight them off.
“The DRS here was very powerful. Even when you took the lead, if the person behind is in DRS, he will still have a chance to get back to you, so it made for very good racing today.
“Definitely a lot of fun.”
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Red Bull chief Christian Horner said: “I thought it was a great race, exciting.
“You have long straights, big braking zones and no grip.
“It’s difficult for the drivers, but I think they did great today. The speed here is crazy.
“That’s the thing he likes. This kind of racing, he liked and he enjoyed this kind of racing.
“Even though he was on the end of a penalty and whatever, the way he came back, the way he fought. I think he might have changed his mind about Vegas.”
