Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has suggested that along with divisive geopolitical topics like President Trump and Brexit, families have sought to avoid discussing the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the in the wake of that year's controversial F1 season finale.
Toto Wolff compared the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to newly (re)elected US President Donald Trump and the UK's decision to leave the European Union, as a divisive issue that could undermine the unity within families or groups of friends!
Bernie Ecclestone used to say that even bad publicity is still publicity. It is certain that F1, which has certainly become strongly polarized with the outcome of the dramatic 2021 season, has gained in visibility and engagement with this tumultuous episode. Wolff thus underlined how the contentious episode at the Yas Marina circuit catalyzed the growth that F1 continues to experience thanks to the docuseries Drive to Survive by Neflix.
Already riding the wave of the show's success, F1's controversial 2021 season has compounded that growth, while attracting new fans during the hostile campaign between Mercedes and Red Bull – and their lead drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
While the former has since moved on to new horizons at Ferrari, the latter won the F1 drivers' title in each of the following three seasons.
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Although he says he still suffers from it on a daily basis, Wolff can see the benefits that this championship, and its unfortunate end, offered to F1. However, he did not shy away from acknowledging that the season and its ending were divisive.
Throughout the campaign, tempers and tensions were not only heightened within the confines of the F1 paddock. Toxicity within the online F1 communities, fans of both teams and both drivers has become a lasting norm.
According to Wolff, this phenomenon can be considered alongside seismic geopolitical events, such as the rise – and longevity – of US President-elect Donald Trump, and Brexit, the colloquial name for the UK's referendum and decision subsequent decision to leave the European Union. The 52-year-old suggested that due to the divisive nature of these three issues, each was a topic that families did not dare discuss when spending time together during the holidays, namely Christmas.
“This is part of the great success we have [en F1] Today “underlined the Austrian on the podcast Armchair Experts with Dax Shepardas he reflected on the famous season. “It was really dramatic. I remember that the topics that no one wanted to discuss on Christmas tables were [Donald] Trump, Brexit and Abu Dhabi 2021.”
