Mercedes 'F****d Up' Leaving Hamilton On Old Tires - Horner Reflects On Abu Dhabi 2021

Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 07:00

Updated at Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 09:21

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner shared his perspective of the final lap during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is one of the most popular and memorable races in the last couple of seasons. The race was special because the Championship fight got to be decided on the final lap of the final race of the season.

It was also controversial because many fans believed the race director made a wrong decision at the end of the race, which gave Max Verstappen an advantage over Lewis Hamilton.

Appearing on Sky’s A League Of Their Own gameshow, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was asked why he thinks the race is so notorious amongst F1 fans. He replied:

"I have absolutely no idea. Mercedes f*cked up. They left poor Lewis out there on tires that had done pretty much most of the race, and we’d pitted with Max, so he was on a fresh set of tires. Max made the move and…"

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What happened was safety car got triggered a few laps before the end of the race and it wasn't clear whether the race would be finished behind the safety car or not.

Therefore, Mercedes, in the lead, had to keep the seven-time World Champion out of the pits to not risk being overtaken by Verstappen, who, in the meantime, got the advantage and went for the new set of soft tires.

When it turned out the race would be resumed, the Red Bull driver had an enormous tire advantage over the Mercedes driver, which gave him better grop and allowed him to break later.

The 26-year-old was able to make the most out of his fresh, soft tires as he overtook Hamilton at the first opportunity he was given. Horner explained the overtake:

"The interesting thing is where Max passed him – it caught Lewis completely by surprise. After the race, Max told us he didn’t intend to overtake him there but he got cramp behind the Safety Car and he couldn’t feel his left foot properly, so he thought: ‘Oh, f*ck it, I’m going [for it] anyway.’

After being overtaken by Verstappen, the seven-time World Champion couldn't retake his position, which lost him his eighth World Championship and won the Dutchman his first.