Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has faced calls from many quarters to resign over his controversial safety car decision which chased the course of the title race last season.
His call to fast-track the process and resume racing for the final lap at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to overtake Lewis Hamilton and win the championship.
Masi was accused by some of prioritising entertainment over sporting integrity, with scores of pundits and fans stating their belief that his position is now untenable as a result.
As it stands the Australian remains in the role, but the FIA is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding what happened and will report back before the start of the new season.
Hamilton is set to be waiting on the results of that report to decide whether or not to carry on racing in the sport, as he is "disillusioned" after losing the title through circumstances beyond his control.
While the investigation continues and the axe looms over Masi's career, he has found at least one ally in the form of ex-F1 racer Romain Grosjean.
The Frenchman was diplomatic when asked for his views on the debacle, but praised Masi for having the courage to make sure the title race was decided under racing conditions.
"There's a few ways of seeing it," Grosjean said, speaking at a press conference for the IndyCar championship in which he currently competes.
"It would have been very strange to not unlap those cars and have Lewis first and then Max four cars behind over one lap for the world championship.
"On the other hand, for Lewis it was definitely not a great call but, as a TV fan, as a spectator, for the sport, I think Michael Masi make the right decision.
"I don't think the championship would have been nice to finish under the Safety Car. It would not have been nice to finish with the guys being separated on track being first and second separated by a few cars."
Despite the controversy of that final lap, Grosjean said he "loved" the action and dismissed claims that the title had been decided purely on that one decision.
He went on to say he had been cheering for Hamilton, but admitted Verstappen was a deserved winner because of his performances over the course of the season.
"I think the wrong conception is to think that the world championship went on one lap. It was 22 Grands Prix and, if you look at the full season, Max had the puncture in Baku, Valtteri Bottas crashed into Verstappen in Hungary, there was the Silverstone race," he added.
"I think, at the end, if we look at how many points were lost by Verstappen, not necessarily by his fault, he was the one that deserved more the championship.
"On the Abu Dhabi race, Lewis deserved more the championship. He got unlucky over the last lap. But as a race fan, I loved that last lap, and it was super exciting to watch."
