Max Verstappen and Michael Masi had their differences in the past, but the Red Bull driver says F1's ousted race director was also "appreciative" of the recent messages of support sent his way by the Dutchman.
Masi was removed by the FIA from his role as F1's chief steward and race director as a consequence of its investigation into last year's controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Masi's handling of the late safety car period that marred the end of F1's season finale at Yas Marina delivered the world championship on a silver platter to Verstappen and deprived Lewis Hamilton of a record eighth F1 title.
Verstappen criticized the governing body's decision to remove Masi, calling the Aussie a "capable and good race director" who was "thrown under the bus".
"What happened to Michael is very unfair," Verstappen told the Daily Mail. "The FIA were pressurised into making a decision. I wrote a message to him about it.
"I said we didn’t always agree on everything but that’s racing. We always wanted to make the sport better as a whole.
"Nobody is perfect, but what was always brought up was that we needed to race. We needed that mindset and he had that."
Verstappen reiterated his belief that Masi, who succeeded veteran race director Charlie Whiting after the latter's unexpected passing in 2019, should have been given more assistance and time in his role.
"For Michael to jump in after Charlie was a difficult task," added the reigning F1 world champion.
"Everyone needs help. I have the whole team around me. Maybe Michael needed more people around him but he never got the opportunity. They really put him in the ground.
"He appreciated my message. He got a few more. It was very fresh for him.
"I have had my moments with the stewards but at the end of the day you have to have respect for each other.
"You don’t always have to agree. The aim is to make the racing better, more exciting but also fair."
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