Christian Horner believes that Mercedes ‘f***ed up’ by not pitting Lewis Hamilton for fresh tyres ahead of the final-lap showdown in Abu Dhabi two years ago. Red Bull opted to pit Max Verstappen for new soft-compound rubber, helping him to his first-ever Drivers’ Championship triumph.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains one of the most controversial races in F1 history with the legendary Verstappen vs Hamilton fight settled by a misapplication of the rules by race director Michael Masi.
With both drivers level on points heading into the race, it was billed as a ‘winner-takes-all’ fight, and heading into the final few laps Hamilton was on course to become the first-ever eight-time world champion before Nicholas Latifi crashed in the final sector, bringing out a late safety car.
Verstappen was ordered to box opposite his rival, so as Hamilton stayed out, the Red Bull star dived into the pit lane for fresh tyres. “I have absolutely no idea,” Horner replied when asked about Mercedes’ strategy decision on his latest A League Of Their Own appearance.
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“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…”
Under the correct application of the rules, the race would have ended under safety car conditions meaning the Mercedes call would have been the correct one. Therefore, if they had brought Hamilton into the pit lane, Verstappen would have stayed out and gained track position, handing him the World Championship.
However, Masi opted to allow only the handful of drivers between the two title protagonists to unlap themselves, setting up a final-lap shootout. Verstappen made the winning move at Turn 5, sending the Red Bull garage into raptures and leaving Mercedes furious.
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Offering some further insight into the winning pass, Horner continued: “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**k 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.”
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