“Heartbroken and depleted over Championship mockery”: Toto Wolff’s raw emotions on Abu Dhabi GP last lap goes viral
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Toto Wolff
Many hailed Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes until Nicholas Latifi’s crash saw the safety car to come out. With the 36-years-old Brit leading for majority of the race at Yas Marina, Toto Wolff was among those personnel who thought that the job was done to secure yet another double championship in 2021. But little did the Austrian know about what was going to unravel in the dying stages at Yas Marina.
Raw footage from the Mercedes dugout went viral when Michael Masi allowed Max Verstappen to start besides Lewis Hamilton in 1-lap sprint race to decide the winner. Knowing that the Dutchman had just changed his tyres, Wolff revealed his frustration upon the race director Michael Masi and could be seen heartbroken as his ace driver failed to register his 8th world championship.
Toto Wolff rages over Michael Masi
In the most controversial finish to a championship ever seen, a safety car on lap 53 of 58 saw Verstappen pit for soft tyres and remain second. But interestingly, in the actual running order due to lapped cars, sit at least five cars back of Hamilton.
Initially it was determined that lapped cars could not overtake the safety car but on lap 57, the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were told they could, putting the ace Dutchman directly behind his rival for a one-lap dash to the finish. Hamilton was a sitting duck on his old hard tyres and was duly passed by the Dutchman.
But as the decision was made Wolff was on the radio to Masi, proclaiming “this isn’t right”.
Wolff, “You need to reinstate the lap before. That’s not right.”
Michael Masi, “Toto? It’s called a motor race, OK?”
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Yakshpat Bhargava
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