F1 News
Wolff recalls Abu Dhabi '21: 'A difficult day for Mercedes'
- Savannah Lenz
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, recently joined Dax Shepard on his 'Armchair Expert' podcast. During the episode, they discussed Formula 1 and Wolff's involvement. One of the topics they touched on was the controversial actions of Abu Dhabi 2021.
'Both of them should have had the trophy'
What does Toto Wolff believe should have happened after the controversial call to unlap the three cars in between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen? After being told that Mercedes had the quicker car that season, Wolff said, "Yes, in the end, not the first half of the year. I think Lewis was the stronger driver in the second half, Max was in the first half. The same with the cars. Both of them should have had the trophy".
In his conversation with Sherpard, he noted, "But on that day in that race. The race was decided, and it fell the other way." Within the podcast, Abu Dhabi was described as one of the most controversial things to ever happen in F1. Wolff agreed. "Probably in most sports. It was so clear that the referee decided to do something that was not in the rulebook. It's not even a judgment call, but just not in the rulebook. But having said that, it was more the madness of it".
As Wolff described the aftermath, he mentioned one specific thing about the rival team Red Bull Racing, "I felt that the other side - and it's not Max- that was a difficult day for Mercedes; they are both deserving champions. There was not one word from Christian or the other team - it was like entitlement." He concluded, "We would have said it."
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