Christian Horner again tries to blame Mercedes for Abu Dhabi 2021

© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd

Christian Horner once again tries to defend what happened at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and says “in being defensive”, Mercedes “exposed themselves to the situation that unfolded”.

At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen managed to beat Lewis Hamilton for the world championship under controversial circumstances, after race director Michael Masi ignored and altered the rules which govern the use of the Safety Car.

The intervention allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton on the last lap of the race, making for a nail-biting finish to an exciting season.

In reality, Lewis had no chance against Verstappen, since the race director’s intervention allowed the Dutch driver to have fresh Soft tyres, while Hamilton was on worn-down Hards.

Many fans and observers believe to this day that this was a blatant ‘robbery’ of Lewis’ deserved, and almost certain, eighth title win.

Now, while talking to Sky Sports, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner once again claimed that Lewis’ situation was down to Mercedes’ strategy decisions.

“A lot is made about the final lap,” Horner said.


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“But Mercedes went into that race and they were quicker than us. In the grand prix, Lewis was able to manage the gap to Max pretty comfortably.

“But then they went very defensive, they went very conservative. They left Lewis out on a set of tyres that were 43 laps old, so he was only ever a Safety Car [from being] hugely exposed.

“I think in being defensive, they exposed themselves to the situation that unfolded,” the Briton concluded.

Of course this argument is completely false, as Mercedes had no other reasonable choice but to keep Hamilton on the track after Verstappen was pitted for fresh tyres.

Had Masi followed the rules, the race would have finished under the Safety Car, and losing track position to Verstappen would mean basically handing the world title over to him.

You can read our detailed analysis of the situation here.

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