Toto Wolff thinks about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 every day
The leader of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, has revisited the standout moments of last December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The wound is still open for the Austrian who reminisces about this race every day.
During the last Grand Prix of the past season, Lewis Hamilton seemed to be heading towards his eighth world championship title after dominating the majority of the race in Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately for the Brit, the trend reversed after the intervention of the safety car following an accident involving Nicholas Latifi and his Williams. Michael Masi did not properly follow the procedure, allowing only a few lapped drivers to regain their lap. The race would have restarted one lap earlier than what the regulations provided for in this situation.
This decision then allowed Max Verstappen, who had put on soft tires, to overtake Lewis Hamilton to secure his first world championship title. After the race, Mercedes initially contested the result of this race, threatening to take the matter to the Court of Appeal.
A few months after this episode, Toto Wolff revisited this Grand Prix in an exclusive interview with Autosport magazine.
(I) I think about it every day. But I am at peace with the fact that Max won the title, he is a deserving champion.
I think that I have values around fairness, and especially sportsmanship. That’s what gives me my fundamental love for sports. And then it was trampled on that day.
Regarding Masi’s successor and the work done by the president of the FIA so far, Toto Wolff believes that the difficulties encountered were inevitable due to the change in approach he was seeking to bring.
I think that Mohammed Ben Sulayem, through his way of hiring and recruiting, shows the way. Each personality has its advantages. And I think that the main objective of being transparent, providing good governance and a good framework is on the right track.
With the change in regulations this season, the Mercedes is not as competitive as last year. The German team is expected to put an end to their streak of consecutive constructor championships won. Lewis Hamilton will have to bide his time until next season in hopes of winning an eighth world championship title.
