F1 News: Red Bull Holds Mercedes Responsible For Depriving Lewis Hamilton Of 8th Title In 2021

Lewis Hamilton lost the 2021 championship title to Max Verstappen under controversial circumstances.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner blamed the Mercedes team for depriving Lewis Hamilton of winning his eighth championship title during the 2021 grand finale in Abu Dhabi, emphasizing that Mercedes left their driver vulnerable to significant threats in the final laps. Instead of pointing fingers at the FIA stewards, Horner directs the blame toward the Mercedes team.

The ending laps of the last race of the 2021 season, when Lewis Hamilton was on his way to a championship title as he led the Grand Prix, saw a huge twist when Nicholas Latifi crashed and put the Grand Prix under safety car conditions on lap 53. Taking advantage, Red Bull decided to pit Verstappen while Hamilton remained on the track with tires that were worn out. 

Typically, in such scenarios, all lapped cars get to un-lap themselves before racing recommences. Unfortunately, there wasn't sufficient time for this process to unfold before the race conclusion. The then-race director, Michael Masi, directed only the lapped cars positioned between Hamilton and Max Verstappen to un-lap, allowing the season to conclude under race conditions.

Mercedes Press Image

Subsequently, Verstappen, equipped with fresher tires, managed to surpass Hamilton and secure the championship victory. 

Horner held Mercedes responsible for leaving Hamilton in a vulnerable position during the safety car. Speaking on the Secrets of Success podcast, he revealed:

“A lot is made about the final lap, but Mercedes went into that race and they were quicker than us in the grand prix.

"Lewis was able to manage the gap to Max pretty comfortably. But then they went very defensive.

“They went very conservative and they they left Lewis out on a set of tyres that were 43 laps old. So he was only ever at a safety car going to be hugely exposed.

"I think in being defensive they exposed themselves to the to the situation that unfolded.

“The way that Lewis handled that disappointment after the race, hats off to him because he would have been even more disappointed, record breaking [eighth] world championship has just disappeared from under his nose, but he handled himself with with dignity and respect.

“I shook his hand in the driver room after the race and he had the good grace to say well done.”