LATEST: Christian Horner says Mercedes “f*cked up” with Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.
Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull, claims Mercedes just “f*cked up” on the day Lewis Hamilton lost the Formula One World Championship to Max Verstappen in the historic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.
It is two years since the 2021 season finale, in which Verstappen dethroned Hamilton under extremely contentious circumstances, took place on Tuesday, December 12.
A one-lap shootout for the championship between Hamilton, who had led the race the entire way, and Verstappen, who had stopped for new soft tires prior to the restart, was duly set up by FIA race director Michael Masi’s refusal to enforce the Safety Car regulations.
Mercedes is charged with disappointing Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Hamilton, denied a record eighth championship, claimed the race had been “manipulated” over team radio. Verstappen went on to pass Hamilton at the Turn 5 hairpin to win the race and the World Championship.
During his appearance on Sky’s A League of Their Own gameshow, Horner accused Mercedes of committing a tactical blunder by leaving Hamilton vulnerable on worn-out hard tires for the restart.
When asked why the race is so well-known among fans of Formula One, Horner chuckled and said, “I have no idea at all.”
“Mercedes f*cked up. They left poor Lewis out there on tyres that had done pretty much most of the race and we’d pitted with Max, so he was on a fresh set of tyres. Max made the move and…”
In addition, Horner disclosed that Verstappen chose to go inside instead of finishing the crucial pass at the hairpin because he was experiencing cramps in his left leg.
He explained: “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.’
“And then, when they were going down the straight, he was trying to wake his left foot up to hit the brakes for the next chicane.”
