Toto Wolff admits some frustration at never having received recognition from Red Bull and Christian Horner during the last race of 2021. In actor Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, he expressed this regret at not having received salvation from his main rivals during the race which decided the 2021 title, and which was marked by the scandal caused by Michael Masi.
“I felt like the other party, and it's not Max, didn't say a single sentence saying 'it was a tough day for Mercedes, we recognize that, they both deserve to be champions and today it worked against Mercedes' “There was not a single word from Christian or the other members of the team to acknowledge this. They thought they were in the right.” Wolff said.
The Austrian salutes the merit of Max Verstappen, like that which Lewis Hamilton would have had in being titled: “Both drivers deserved to be champions because of the ups and downs of the season. They probably should have both been world champions.”
“Max was the stronger driver in the first half, Lewis was in the second. It was the same with the cars, both should have had the trophy. But in that race, that day, the race was decided and it swung the other way.”
“The referee decided to do something that was not in the rules – not just a judgment, but simply something that was not in the rules. It was madness and chaos.”
Wolff believes the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has become a touchy subject to discuss in the community, even though it has helped make Formula 1 even more popular. However, he compares it to political subjects that no one wants to talk about.
“It's part of the great success we have in F1 today. It was really dramatic. And I remember the topics that no one wanted to talk about on the Christmas tables were Trump, Brexit and Abu Dhabi 2021.”
