Mercedes Chief Draws Explosive 2021 F1 Season Comparison To Donald Trump

Saajan Jogia | Jan 6, 2025

Toto Wolff 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, Sunday - Sebastian Kawka / Mercedes Press Image

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has linked Formula 1's explosive 2021 season to debate-triggering topics such as Brexit and the re-election of Donald Trump, saying that people refrained from discussing these topics on his Christmas table. Despite the controversial nature of the 2021 season, which marked the end of Mercedes' dominance, Wolff suggested that it boosted the sport's popularity immensely.

The 2021 season not only saw a heated championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, leading to a showdown in the Abu Dhabi season finale, but also a bitter rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes. While the seven-time world champion had a better chance of winning the title in the final stages of the race, a misapplication of the rules by then-FIA race director Michael Masi led Verstappen to win his maiden F1 championship.

The episode caused a huge uproar among fans and the Formula 1 fraternity. While Masi was eventually sacked by the sport's governing body, hatred between fans of both teams continues to create conflicts on online platforms. Wolff, who still discusses it today, revealed that the season turned out to be a topic that people avoided talking about because it flared up emotions leading to outbursts of strong opinions, comparing the controversy with Brexit and the re-election of Donald Trump.

However, just like all controversial topics, the 2021 season further fueled Formula 1's popularity across the world. Speaking on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, the Mercedes chief said:

"It's part of a great success we're having [in F1] today.

"It was really dramatic.

"And I remember, the topics that nobody wanted to touch on many Christmas tables was [Donald] Trump, Brexit and Abu Dhabi 2021."

While Mercedes and Red Bull have moved on, the emotions still remain sensitive, and even a hint of conflict between Wolff and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner puts both of them into battle mode, as seen recently during the 2024 Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, where the war of words between Max Verstappen and George Russell, sparked by the former impeding latter during Qatar GP qualifying, quickly escalated.

Their argument spilled over into the Abu Dhabi season finale, where Russell claimed Verstappen had threatened him with physical harm, an accusation Verstappen denied. The dispute also reached the team principals, with Horner calling Russell "hysterical" and Wolff retorting by labeling Horner a "yapping little terrier". Now though, it remains to be seen in the opening races of 2025 whether this conflict will come to rest, or if it will escalate further.