The most controversial race ever
Occasionally, during interviews given by Formula 1 personalities in the off-season, the conversation returns to *that* race. The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP remains etched in recent motorsport history as one of the most intense moments—both sporting and emotional—and as one of the greatest controversies ever seen on an F1 track. Recently, the “wronged party” in that iconic event spoke out again: Toto Wolff.
The Mercedes team principal secured the Constructors’ title that day but lost the chance to see Lewis Hamilton claim what would have been his eighth career title, the seventh with the Brackley team. This was due to the controversial decisions made by Race Director Michael Masi. Instead, Max Verstappen celebrated, clinching both the race win and the championship with a last-lap overtake at Turn 5.
The lack of “acknowledgment”
Toto Wolff revisited that extraordinary Sunday during his appearance on the *Armchair Expert* podcast with Dax Shepard. The Austrian focused particularly on the behavior of his colleague and rival Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, and the Milton Keynes team as a whole. Toto Wolff expressed a desire for the winners of that chaotic race to have shown more respect and understanding for those on the losing side, reciprocating the sportsmanship Lewis Hamilton displayed when he immediately congratulated Verstappen after the race—an act of grace far from guaranteed in such a charged moment.
“It felt like, from the other side—and I’m not talking about Max—there wasn’t a single phrase acknowledging, ‘It was a tough day for Mercedes; we recognize that. Both are worthy champions, and today things went against Mercedes,’” Toto Wolff said. “Not a single word of recognition came from Christian or other team members. We were entitled to that. We would have done it,” the Austrian manager concluded.
After the race, Christian Horner did, in fact, shake hands with Lewis Hamilton and offer his congratulations while representing Red Bull on the podium with Max Verstappen. However, tensions between the two teams persisted for several days before Mercedes eventually withdrew their appeal contesting the outcome of the GP.
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