The 2021 Formula 1 season was among the greatest seasons in recent history. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled it for the championship title until the last race. The whole year was filled with controversies on and off the track involving both the teams and their bosses. After dominating the grid for two years, Christian Horner has opened up about the psychological impacts of battling against Lewis Hamilton.
It is very well known that competing against Hamilton is as much of a mental game as it takes skill. The likes of Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammates at different times, have spoken about how mentally draining it is to go up against the Briton for a whole season.
🗓️ On This Day 2021 : Le départ historique entre Hamilton et Verstappen à Silverstone ! ⚔️
Une folle intensité pour une bataille entre les deux prétendants à la couronne mondiale… jusqu’au crash terrible pour Verstappen.#F1pic.twitter.com/tp9ZGEUJVJ
— Off Track (@OffTrack_FR) July 18, 2023
Following the 2021 season, even Verstappen had spoken about how stressful it was for him to go toe-to-toe with Hamilton. Despite wanting F1 to be a closely fought sport, Verstappen had admitted that he would not be able to endure the same stress daily. Now, Horner has also spoken out about a similar issue that he faced.
The Heavyweight fight between Red Bull and Mercedes
Christian Horner appeared on the ESPN F1 Unlapped show, where he was asked about the stress levels he had to cope with during the 2021 season. Horner exclaimed that the whole year was insanely stressful for him.
Horner said, “I didn’t have a single grey hair before 2021. [It] aged me! So yeah, it was the most insanely intense year you could imagine.” The Red Bull team principal then compared the whole season to a heavyweight fight, with the first round being the Bahrain GP and the last Abu Dhabi.
Not a single race weekend in 2021 was devoid of controversy. From the incident in Silverstone, where Verstappen was shunted off the Copse corner, to the collision at Monza that left Verstappen’s car on top of Hamilton’s, the season was as intense as possible.
Christian Horner hopes for a Mercedes comeback
Two years later, things still haven’t calmed down between the two teams. The cost cap saga in 2022 saw Horner and Wolff come to blows with each other once again. However, Horner believes that despite the competition, there is also an innate respect between the two teams.
Horner explained that Mercedes are colossal team, a record-breaking team’, and he believes firmly that they will get through their period of struggle and will be back to fight for the championship. According to Horner, “Toto will have plenty to say then.”
