The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had just seen the chequered flag; roaring celebrations commenced in the Red Bull F1 garage while for the Mercedes crew, it was pain and agony.
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The entire Mercedes garage was raging over Michael Masi’s decision under the safety car period which eventually denied Lewis Hamilton his record eighth world championship title. Amid such a horror scene unfolding at Mercedes, Christian Horner allegedly tried to taunt Toto Wolff by searching for the Austrian to shake his hands.
This led many to wonder, was that necessary? Was Horner attempting to shake his hands out of generosity or was he just trying to mock him after having beaten the Wolff-led team to the championship? Well, nobody knew what Horner’s intentions were, and nor did anyone know whether he managed to accomplish his goal with Wolff.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – Mercedes’ Team Principal Toto Wolff with Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner during the press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS
But, two months later, the answer is finally here! Horner himself opened up on why he wanted to shake hands with Wolff. And it seems like his intention was pure and had no evil side to it.
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What did the Red Bull boss say?
During an exclusive interview with WION, the Briton opened up that a sport requires sportsmanship and that was the reason why he wanted to show his respect to Wolff despite sharing a bitter history with him.
“Yeah! Look, in the end of the day, we’re in a sport. We’re not saving lives. You know, a sport is fierce and competitive but there has to be a respect at the end of it. And I think it’s been a long, hard, tough year last season. And… Yeah, that’s why I went to see Toto following the end of the race,” he said.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates winning the race and the world championship with the Netherlands flag on the podium as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton looks on after finishing second REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
What’s more, Horner admitted that he never managed to find Wolff but instead, had a conversation with Lewis Hamilton and his father, Anthony Hamilton.
“Unfortunately, he wasn’t there. But, I did manage to see and speak with Lewis and his father,” he concluded.
Overall, the 2022 season is all set to commence, and the rivalry between Horner and Wolff will most likely begin to intensify again. So, are we in for another 10 months of war of words between the duo?
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