Let them race! Christian Horner applauds bold but ‘correct’ decision by FIA

Let them race! Christian Horner applauds bold but ‘correct’ decision by FIA

Christian Horner

This season could not have gotten any more controversial as the championship was decided in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP. 6-7 laps before the conclusion of the race, it seemed that Lewis Hamilton was destined to win the championship, but a late yellow flag played into Red Bull’s hands.

In a strange sequence of events, FIA allowed the cars between Max Verstappen, running P2 and Lewis Hamilton, P1 to pass the safety car, as the Dutchman who was on fresher set of tyres was given a chance to win the championship. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands, as he made a move stick on Lewis Hamilton, and brought his car home to seal the win.

Christian Horner applauded FIA’s decision and said that it was all about letting the two drivers race until the end. “I was screaming at them, ‘Let them race!‘” the Red Bull team boss told Sky Sports, as quoted by RacingNews365.

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“That’s what we’ve been talking about all these years – let them race – and this championship came down to the last lap. And [the team made] a great strategy call, to make that pit-stop, to take that set of Softs, and then it was down to Max to make it happen,” he added.

“I’ve lost my voice,” Christian Horner on the dramatic final lap

Christian Horner
Christian Horner

Christian Horner recalled the final lap, where Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton to take the lead. Max had just one lap to win the championship, as he got the job done at turn 5.

Christian Horner applauded Max Verstappen for his incredible season, and stated that it was an amazing feeling to win the championship once again.

“I’ve lost my voice. I was screaming from Turn 5, all the way down that back straight! He got the job done into [Turn] 5, and then they were coming back on the straight with a slipstream, but you just knew that Max was not going to give it up,” said Horner.

“He’s come so far this year and then to clear [Hamilton] and close it out across the line, and see him become the World Champion for us after all these years… [It’s] an amazing feeling,” he added.

Also Read: Max Verstappen on Mercedes protest: “Can work for me or against me”