Christian Horner opens up about Michael Massey’s logging after Abu Dhabi fiasco: ‘He made a mistake’

Christian Horner (left) and Max Verstappen celebrate after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner finally opened up about last year’s controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

There was huge drama at the end of the race as FIA racing director Michael Massey only allowed certain laps of cars to unwind the laps on their own in order to bring a more exciting ending to the race and season.

Unfortunately, this left Lewis Hamilton sitting in front of Max Verstappen on old tires, and the Dutchman eventually flew past him to win the race and the drivers’ championship.

In a summary of the investigation into the post-race incident, the FIA ​​found that Massey had made two serious mistakes, namely that he had called the safety car back into the pits without completing an extra lap as required by Formula 1 sporting rules, And also not allowing all lapped cars to rejoin the lead lap.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Principal Christian Horner

Getty Images Mark Thompson

a mistake

Horner has been tight-lipped about the entire ordeal, opting instead to focus on the celebrations surrounding Verstappen’s maiden title, but he now admits Massey made at least one mistake.

“He made the mistake of not allowing all the lapped cars to untie themselves,” Horner told Cambridge Union. “I think three cars were left at the back of the field and couldn’t [un-] Circle yourself. It was the only mistake he made.

“So I think it was pretty harsh to have him outside to dry, especially in public, and then the trolling and abuse he got online without really supporting the Commonwealth behind him,” Horner continued.

“He made a lot of decisions last year that we felt were not good for us, whether it was the yellow flag in qualifying in Qatar or the Silverstone incident with Lewis. But I do feel sorry for him, there should be more support after that Champion because he’s in a very difficult position.”