Report: Christian Horner Left the Entire Mercedes F1 Staff Open-Mouthed After the Abu Dhabi GP

The 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi had almost everything, including two title-contenders equal on points heading into the race, and the battle going down the wire to the very final lap. Max Verstappen emerged victorious, while Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes looked absolutely stunned by how the tables turned in a span of two laps.

As Verstappen breezed past Hamilton around turn 5, the latter screamed, ‘This is manipulated’. But, what followed was complete radio silence. His boss, Toto Wolff, on the other hand, had an active radio and almost looked like he was about to break his second headset in as many weekends.

Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner arrives ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The Austrian had his mouth right onto the mic, furiously screaming at Michael Masi, who played a hefty role in the outcome of the race. Absolute scenes! And after a while, even his cries diminished, and all that was left behind was disappointment and heartbreak.

Amidst such a painful atmosphere revolving around the entire Mercedes garage and hospitality, Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, managed to do something that left the Mercedes engineers and crew in utter shock.

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Red Bull boss enters Mercedes in search of rival

There was rage in the air throughout the Mercedes F1 team after the way the race ended. But, the Red Bull boss did not mind that, as he audaciously marched into the Mercedes HQ in a desperate attempt to find his counterpart, Toto Wolff.

The staffs’ jaws dropped, as they bewilderedly watched Horner walk around with the immense smile on his face. According to Daily Mail, most of the engineers even stopped what they were doing to decode the reason why the Briton was in their HQ.

Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 12, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton shakes hands with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner after finishing second in the race and world championship REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

In the end, turns out, Horner wanted to find Wolff to shake his hand. Was that the right time though? Not really, citing the contrasting emotions, but, again, considering how the duo fought each other throughout the year, hand-shake was indeed an obligation.

There is also the question of whether Horner genuinely wanted to do that out of respect, or whether he was just trying to pull some strings again. Well, we’re never going to know, are we? But, let’s hear it from you – Do you think Horner’s post-race actions were reasonable?

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