Former race director, Michael Masi has now officially quit the FIA.

His departure was announced in a brief statement released by the sport's governing body on Tuesday afternoon.

"The FIA confirms that Michael Masi has decided to leave the FIA and relocate to Australia to be closer to his family and take on new challenges," it read.

"He oversaw a three-year period as FIA Formula 1 Race Director and Safety Delegate following the sudden passing of Charlie Whiting in 2019, carrying out the numerous functions he was tasked with in a professional and dedicated manner.

"The FIA thanks him for his commitment and wishes him the best for the future."

Shortly before the start of the season, it was announced that he would not continue as (F1) race director, instead the role would be split Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, nonetheless he remained part of the FIA.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of that night in Abu Dhabi, Masi's position was untenable, for, in the eyes of many he would always be seen as the 'human' behind what the FIA termed the "human error" that led to one of the most shameful decisions in the history of the sport.

A veteran of Australian motorsport - to which he will surely return - Masi served his apprenticeship under Charlie Whiting, and was the obvious successor following the Briton's sudden death on the eve of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.

While there were a number of questionable decisions under Masi's reign, they are but nothing compared to the ongoing controversies under his replacements.

Just last weekend, Sebastian Vettel stormed out of the drivers' briefing as he and his colleagues continue to question the lack of consistency in terms of how the rules are applied.

For its part, Pitpass has always believed Masi to be the patsy in terms of the events of Abu Dhabi, confident that the infamous safety car instructions came from much higher up the food chain.

In our humble opinion, his departure is both the FIA's and F1's loss.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Pavlo, 13/07/2022 8:46

"Good luck Michael!
I still believe F1 would be in much better shape by keeping Michael and letting him learn and fix mistakes, rather than appointing new people who would do worse mistakes."

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2. Posted by @R1Racing71, 12/07/2022 20:41

"Agree with the article. There is a huge story in the background."

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3. Posted by Defiant, 12/07/2022 20:40

"see ya, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

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4. Posted by Burton, 12/07/2022 19:37

"His willingness to play fast and loose with the regulations in favour of unwritten and risible things like "the teams prefer finish under green" is perhaps directly linked (and understandly) linked with the current directors anal-retentiveness."

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5. Posted by phantom, 12/07/2022 18:54

"Well, there are lots of shoe stores in Australia."

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Masi quits FIA

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