Toto Wolff is adamant that Lewis Hamilton “don’t drive so fast” due to what happened in Abu Dhabi in 2021 is a flawed theory.
The 2021 Formula 1 season will be remembered as a classic, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen entered the Abu Dhabi finale tied on points, with Verstappen emerging world champion, although it was a race shrouded in controversy, with the actions of then race director Michael Masi directly influencing the outcome.
Hamilton therefore missed out on an eighth world title which would have put him ahead of Michael Schumacher in the title standings, while 2021 also marks the most recent season Hamilton has been in title contention, with three other campaigns for Mercedes far more lackluster Next.
Asked on the Beyond the Grid podcast about Hamilton’s ability to bounce back from this 2021 disappointment, Wolff responded: “The end of 2021 is something that will stay with us forever when it comes to our professional lives.”
“But I don’t think the end of 2021 had any correlation with not driving as fast anymore, or anything like that.”
If anything, Wolff believes Hamilton got even better from that point on.
“Overall, as a human being, professional and outside of the car, he becomes more and more complete every time.”
Another crucial race in the 2021 title fight was Brazil, where Hamilton – starting last for the sprint due to a DRS fault and being demoted five places on the Grand Prix grid for taking a new engine – was still able to fight his way through the pack and eventually pass Verstappen to take the win.
“Brazil in 2021 was great, yes.”
“Because we were disqualified from the sprint race, and it was really for nothing, but it just wasn’t good on our side. And I think what was triggered was a momentum in the team to say ‘now let’s show them,’ and that’s what happened.”
“We knew we had to win every race to win the championship. And he came back in the sprint in a tremendous way, and then in the race itself, despite all the defense, clean and not so clean, he won the race. It was the best.”
