Christian Horner praises Lewis Hamilton for handling the 2021 Abu Dhabi scandal with “dignity and respect”
Lewis Hamilton handled the 2021 Abu Dhabi scandal with “dignity and respect,” according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, even though he didn’t get the desired outcome.
Given that the race director took charge of the situation and applied the rules in an inconsistent manner, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finishing in 2021 will go down as one of the most contentious in the sport’s history. In the hypothetical situation, Max Verstappen defeated Hamilton to win both the championship and the lead on the penultimate lap.
The Red Bull team manager praised Lewis Hamilton for keeping his composure and decency in the face of controversy in an interview with Sky Sports. He said:
“I felt the way that Lewis handled that disappointment after the race, hats off to him. Because he would have been even more disappointed. A record-breaking World Championship has just disappeared but he handled himself with dignity and respect.”
“I shook his hand in the driver’s room after the race and he had the good grace to say well done.”
The F1 team principal makes a daring guess regarding Lewis Hamilton’s 2024 campaign.
CEO of McLaren F1 Zak Brown stated that he will not be shocked if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton mount a strong challenge and emerge victorious in the 2024 world championship.
In an interview with Speedcafe, Brown stated that, while he was optimistic about McLaren’s chances for the upcoming season, he was cautious about Mercedes and Ferrari. He said:
“Mercedes or Ferrari, these teams have everything they need and are great teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were sitting here and all of a sudden, Mercedes was back to Lewis winning his eighth championship. It’s very tough and competitive now. I don’t think you can rule anybody out.”
The American went on to say he was excited about the 2024 season because of Adrian Newey’s wizardry and Red Bull’s RB20.
“We like what we’re seeing in the wind tunnel and CFD at the moment, so we feel like we’re going to take a step forward. How much? The great mystery on Red Bull is when did they turned off the development of their car to focus on next year [2024], and I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey magic comes out of the oven so to speak to see where we are,” Brown said.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, who finished second in the Constructor’s Championship behind Red Bull, will be optimistic going into the upcoming season and a potential title challenge against the formidable Max Verstappen.
