Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has revealed that he deliberately applied direct pressure on race director Michael Masi during the closing stages of the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In his memoir Drive and a recent appearance on the High Performance Podcast, the Briton detailed the tense moments inside the pit wall when the historic championship-deciding Formula 1 race hung in the balance.
The 2021 season finale featured an intense title showdown between Red Bull's rising star Max Verstappen and Mercedes veteran Lewis Hamilton, with both drivers arriving at the final round level on points. The championship battle boiled over when Williams driver Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers, triggering a safety car period that completely reshuffled the race strategy.
Verstappen had just pitted for fresh rubber, but found himself separated from race leader Hamilton by five lapped cars as the field circulated behind the safety car. Horner admitted his heart sank at the time, knowing that clearing all five cars in a single racing lap would be an impossible task for the young Dutchman.
Sensing the championship slipping away, Horner decided to intervene directly with race control. He recalled telling the team, "I decided to apply some more pressure on race control. 'Come on, Michael, we need to get this race going; why aren’t we getting these lapped cars out the way?'" This direct lobbying from the pit wall added immense weight to an already chaotic situation.
Masi ultimately made the unprecedented call to only unlap the cars positioned directly between the championship contenders, restarting the race for a single green-flag lap. This allowed Verstappen to easily dispatch Hamilton on his new tyres and secure his maiden world title. Horner insisted that Red Bull did nothing wrong, stating that Masi operated within his regulatory remit, while acknowledging the profound aftermath that saw Masi replaced ahead of the 2022 season.
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