Toto Wolff reflects daily on the events of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race at the Yas Marina Circuit resulted in the most thrilling climax to a championship battle in years, culminating in Max Verstappen‘s first world title. While Wolff acknowledges that the Dutchman’s title was well-deserved – ‘the outcome of that race is a fair reflection of the performance levels that year’ – he remains troubled by the intervention of then-race director Michael Masi.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has since become a part of Formula 1 history, where the title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was decided. The Briton was on track to secure his eighth title for much of the race, until a late safety car intervention disrupted his progress. Ultimately, it came down to the final lap, where Verstappen overtook the then-Mercedes driver, securing his first title. Images of Toto Wolff vociferously expressing his dissatisfaction to former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi – “No, Michael, that was not right!” – circulated globally.
Four years later, has Wolff come to terms with how the race unfolded? “We’re still not over it,” the Mercedes team boss candidly tells The Telegraph. “I recently spoke to Lewis about it – I think about it every day, and so does he. And it continues to linger within the team. Both drivers were championship-worthy, but the referee made a wrong decision, to use a football analogy, and you can’t reverse that. The goal has been scored, the game is over.”
Christian Horner and the 2021 Season
The climax of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi ultimately led to a rivalry with then Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner. The two have had frequent verbal exchanges in the years since, but a conversation about what happened that day at the Yas Marina Circuit never took place. “Christian has never been able to admit it,” says Wolff. “I try to look at it from the other side – and from Red Bull’s perspective, they deserved to become world champions. They had dealt with a number of incidents throughout the season that were unfair to them, and the outcome of that race is a fair reflection of the performance levels during the season.”
“But Christian has never been able to admit – that if the roles had been reversed and it had happened to them that day, it would have been catastrophic and he would have come up with all sorts of insults,” continues the Mercedes team boss. “And I think the ability to be introspective or to see the other side with some compassion is a total void in his personality.” According to Wolff, this is why the Brit is no longer the Red Bull team boss. “That ultimately did him in, because he felt he was entitled to all the power, and Red Bull did not want to give him that power.”
