Red Bull chief Christian Horner says how he really feels about F1 rival Lewis
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Christian Horner and Lewis Hamilton have frequently battled each other over recent seasons, with Red Bull and Mercedes emerging as two of the main title challengers in F1
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hailed Lewis Hamilton for the manner in which he dealt with his controversial loss in the 2021 F1 World Championship.
Hamilton was battling Max Verstappen for the title that season, with the two drivers unable to be separated heading into the final race of the year. The Mercedes star was leading until the final lap when race director Michael Masi controversially decided to allow Verstappen to overtake the lapped cars under the safety car.
Verstappen subsequently overtook Hamilton to claim his first world championship, but Mercedes were left furious with Masi. The Australian was later sacked from his job by the FIA due to his controversial decision.
Winning that year’s world championship would have seen Hamilton break the record for most title wins. And Horner has now revealed his admiration for Hamilton as he slammed Mercedes for their decision-making during the race.
“I felt the way that Lewis handled that disappointment after the race, hats off to him because again, he would have been even more disappointed. Record breaking World Championship has just disappeared,” Horner told the Secrets of Success podcast.
“But he handled himself with dignity and respect. I shook his hand in the drivers room after the race, and he had the good grace to say well done. A lot is made about the final lap, but Mercedes went into that race and they were quicker than us in the Grand Prix.
“Lewis was able to manage the gap to Max pretty comfortably. But then they went very defensive, they went very conservative, and they left Lewis out on a set of tyres that were 43 laps old.
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