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Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says Verstappen fans thought Abu Dhabi “was retribution for what had happened earlier in the year”, while Hamilton fans thought “the race had been interfered with”.
During his appearance of the ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast, Christian Horner talked about the closely fought 2021 season and the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“It was insane,” the Briton said.
“Of course, it was the most singularly viewed piece of sport, certainly last year, if not in the last five years.
“And there’ll probably not be another Formula 1 championship like it in the next 20 years. It was so epic.”
Horner then said the finish of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to win the 2021 championship, after race director Michael Masi changed the rules which govern the use of the Safety Car, was interpreted differently by Hamilton and Verstappen’s fanbases.
Interestingly, by saying that Verstappen fans saw the finish of Abu Dhabi as some sort of “retribution” for the FIA’s decisions earlier in the season (which they perceived to be biased toward Hamilton), he inadvertently acknowledged that the decisions made in Abu Dhabi were not correct.
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“And of course, sport is polarising. On the one hand, you’ve got the Verstappen fans going bananas and thinking it was retribution for what had happened earlier in the year.
“You’ve got the Hamilton fans thinking that the race had been interfered with and it was unfair.
“And then you’ve got the neutrals who had just witnessed the most phenomenal race between two magnificent drivers and teams operating at the top of their game.”
Horner also acknowledged that the 2021 battle brought many new eyeballs to the sport.
“For the sport, it was fantastic. Because suddenly, again, we were just engaging with a whole new audience and wherever we go in the world now, Formula 1 is having its moment in the spotlight.
“It is sold out and the demand for Formula 1 is just huge wherever we go,” the Briton concluded.
