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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner reveals how the company’s boss Dietrich Mateschitz feels about the controversial way the 2021 title was won.
A month and a half after Max Verstappen won the 2021 Formula 1 title under controversial circumstances, which saw race director Michael Masi ignore the Safety Car rules and protocols, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner can’t escape getting asked about the situation.
In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.com Horner was asked if Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz is “in any way upset by the prospect of the championship being ‘tarnished’ by what happened”.
“No,” Horner said.
“I think there’s been so much controversy throughout the year, [and] I think there’s been so much bad luck that we’ve had during the season that these things tend to balance themselves out.
“He felt Max was very deserving. He was very proud of what he’d done and what the team had achieved.”
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Interestingly, when asked by RacingNews365.com “whether he would rather be second in a hotly-contested battle than finish first after completely dominating a season”, Horner once again turned to listing all of the reason that he believes make Verstappen a “deserving” champion.
“I think that it was such an epic year. It was probably the most competitive season in Formula 1 in the last 30 years, and I think, for Red Bull, for Max, for Honda, to come out on top…
“Yes, we got a little bit lucky with the Safety Car at the end of the race, but so much bad luck [had] gone against us throughout the season.
“These things, I’ve always said, tend to balance themselves out over the course of a season, and I think Max, he led more than 50 percent of the laps in the year, more than every other driver combined.
“He had more pole positions, he had more race wins, and for me he was totally deserving,” Horner concluded.
