The 2021 Formula 1 season will be remembered for a long time. Regardless of what will be decided by the commissioners following the complaints presented by Mercedes, the 22-race duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has given fans a championship of rare intensity that hasn’t happened for some time.
The Red Bull driver and seven-time Mercedes world champion delivered epic performances and in the end, during a controversial last lap, it was the Dutchman who got his hands on the title.
Chrstian Horner, who spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport F1 HD, wanted to comment on what he experienced in this 2021 and, above all, the swing of emotions of this Abu Dhabi GP.
“It has been an extraordinary season. Max drove superbly not only in this race. It seemed to us that the world championship was getting out of hand after the start and then there was the decision not to force Lewis not to return the position. Nothing was going our way ”.
The Red Bull team principal then threw a dig at Mercedes pointing out the strategic mistake committed in the safety car regime.
“Checo has done a fantastic job bringing Max back into the game. They had the fastest car today and we needed a little luck which came with the safety car entering the track. I didn’t understand why Mercedes decided not to stop to change tires like we did ”.
“We were in dire need of a safety car, it was our only chance. We made a right strategic decision and the mechanics did a great job. Max then had to overtake and he succeeded. I thought he would do it in turn 6 and instead he did it in turn 5 to make life a little more difficult ”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, first place, Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, celebrate on the podium with champagne
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
However, Horner wanted to give credit to Mercedes even if the unknown factor of the complaints presented by the Brackley team remains.
“Congratulations to Lewis and Mercedes, they were great opponents. It is a pity that they filed this complaint. Let’s hope everything goes well. I have no idea why they proposed it, I think because of something that happened under the safety car regime “.
“It’s been a very long seven years. Mercedes were so dominant that no team had ever managed to beat them during the hybrid era. We made it today with Max. I’m proud of him but also of the team for how he continued to fight and how much he pushed in this championship. Now we are waiting for the official result ”.
Before leaving, Horner took the time to joke, underlining how important Latifi’s crash with five laps to go was in the final outcome.
“Nicholas Latifi will have a supply of Red Bull, a bit like Petrov.”
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