Red Bull wants to finish the championship without running on the gravel as F1 prepares for the “winner takes all” race in Abu Dhabi.
Red Bull and Mercedes had the spiciest race of the season in Saudi Arabia. The winner of the race was Lewis Hamilton, and the result has brought two protagonists of this year at levelled points ahead of the season’s penultimate race.
There have been a few instances where things had ended somewhat controversially in F1 when the stakes were high like this. Furthermore, the two teams have been involved in certain heated moments, which has more or less affected the season.
But Red Bull boss Christian Horner doesn’t want the season to end like this. He aspires to finish the season respectfully and cleanly, and not in a stewards’ room.
“You want to win it on the track, not in the stewards’ room, not in the gravel trap,” he said. “It’s been a tough fight all through the year. There’s been some fantastic racing between these two drivers and I hope that it’s a fair and clean race in Abu Dhabi.”
BREAKING: F1 stewards have handed Max Verstappen a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton on Lap 37 of the Saudi Arabian GP, although he stays second as he was 16 seconds ahead of third-placed Valtteri Bottas at the chequered flag.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 5, 2021
Also read: Mercedes appeals to Red Bull to ensure a fair-and-clean season-finale at Abu Dhabi
Red Bull still would have done anything to have a chance like that
After almost seeming to win the season in Mexico, the three successive wins by Hamilton has brought the championship to the last race. Yet, Horner claims that someone had given them this deal to win the race in Abu Dhabi and take the title at the start of the season.
Then he would have honestly taken the offer without contemplation. “We’re going to Abu Dhabi equal on points but leading by virtue of the number of wins,” he commented. “Who would have thought at the beginning of the year?
“If you had given us this chance of one shot to win this championship in Abu Dhabi at the last race after 21 races of intense battle with Mercedes, I think we’d have all as a team absolutely bitten your arm off for that.”
“I think you guys probably would have as well, based on the dominance that we’ve seen in the last seven years. There will be no problem in raising morale going into this final weekend. We’ve actually come out of [Saudi Arabia] with second place.”
“We managed to get ourselves into a lead, lead large percentage of the race once again but lady luck is shining on Lewis at the moment.”
