Former F1 race director Michael Masi would have been “fearing for his life” if Max Verstappen had lost the controversial 2021 world championship, according to Mercedes driver George Russell.
The climax of the 2021 season saw Verstappen claim his first title in highly contentious circumstances. Lewis Hamilton had dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was on course for a record-breaking eighth championship before a late Safety Car intervention changed everything.
Masi’s incorrect application of the restart rules allowed Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the final lap, securing both the race win and the championship.
The decision led to widespread outrage and ultimately resulted in Masi losing his position as race director.
Russell on Verstappen’s Response to Defeat
Three years on, amid rising tensions between himself and Verstappen, Russell suggested that the Dutchman would have reacted very differently to losing the title compared to Hamilton’s composed response.
“I think he’s been enabled [to bully] because nobody has stood up to him,” Russell told the media.
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“Lewis stood up to him in 2021 and Lewis lost that championship unfairly. Could you imagine the roles being reversed? Max losing that championship in the manner of how Lewis lost that championship? I mean, [Michael] Masi would be fearing for his life.
“And the way Lewis dealt with that championship fight, he was hard, he was aggressive, he was always respectful, and he never went beyond the line.”
Verstappen’s Struggles with Adversity
Russell’s remarks followed an incident in Qatar, where Verstappen reportedly threatened to “put me on my f*****g head in the wall” after blaming the Briton for a post-qualifying penalty.
The Mercedes driver also made the bold claim that “25%” of Verstappen’s engineering team wanted to leave Red Bull after frustrations arose within the Dutchman’s camp.
“He cannot deal with adversity. He’s had the most dominant car in racing history for two and a half years,” Russell said.
Citing Verstappen’s crash with Hamilton in Budapest and his criticism of Red Bull, Russell suggested that Verstappen struggles when not in the fastest car.
“Since Austria, he’s won the same number of races as six other drivers,” he added. “So when you say, is Max beatable? Of course he’s beatable.
“When he’s in the most dominant car, he is not beatable. The same way as Lewis and I, when we had the most dominant car, in Silverstone, in Las Vegas, we were not beatable either.”