Horner admits that Masi made a mistake in Abu Dhabi
Christian Horner has retracted his statements that he made following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021.
The 2021 season will go down in history as one of the most intense seasons in Formula 1. It took until the 22nd and final Grand Prix of the season to definitively separate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
This Grand Prix will, however, remain extremely controversial because at the end of a race dominated by Lewis Hamilton, it was ultimately his Dutch rival who emerged victorious and became the world champion. The cause? A very late safety car caused by Nicholas Latifi, under which the decisions of the race director Michael Masi seemed arbitrary and contrary to the regulations.
Masi made a mistake.
It will be judged later that a human error on the part of the race director influenced the outcome of the race and therefore the championship. Christian Horner initially accused Mercedes of turning this situation into a scandal in order to discredit Verstappen’s victory, but in a new interview, he admits that Michael Masi made a mistake.
« He made a mistake by not allowing the backmarker cars to regain their lap. I believe there were three cars that were held back at the back of the grid and unable to recover their lap. That was the only mistake he made. So I think it was extremely harsh for him to be treated like that, especially in public, and then the mockery he endured as well as the online abuse without any support from the FIA behind him.
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« There were many decisions last year that we felt were directly against us, whether it was the yellow flags in Qatar or the incident in Silverstone with Lewis [Hamilton]. But I feel guilty for him, there should have been more support for him after the championship because he was in an extremely delicate position. »
“A championship is won over a season.”
The boss of Red Bull insists that Max Verstappen’s championship has been completely discredited because of the events in Abu Dhabi. Despite this incident, the Dutchman remains the most victorious driver in 2021 and the one who achieved the best results. The reality is that a championship is won over a season, not just one race. And I believe that Max’s driving last year, sometimes in a slower car, makes him fully deserving of this championship.
