Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff hits out as new Abu Dhabi 2021 claim emerges

Toto Wolff talking to the press at Silverstone — Photo: © IMAGO

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Wolff hits out as new Abu Dhabi 2021 claim emerges

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains controversial

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 26 January 2025 11:58 Updated: 20:16

Toto Wolff has hit out at Michael Masi in a fresh claim about Mercedes’ title loss during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 2021 season finale has gone down as one of the most controversial races in Formula 1 history, after Lewis Hamilton lost the title on the last lap of the race to Max Verstappen.

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Hamilton led the majority of the race until a crash from Nicholas Latifi brought out a safety car, where the champion stayed out on worn tyres whilst his rival Verstappen pitted for a new set.

Despite the fact not all lapped cars had un-lapped themselves, Masi allowed one more lap of racing, during which Verstappen overtook Hamilton before the finish line to claim his first world title.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP remains controversial

Max Verstappen claimed the title in 2021

Wolff slams Abu Dhabi 2021 decision

The fallout from Abu Dhabi is still felt today, especially by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has once again hit out at the decision made that evening.

Whilst the team boss did not name Masi specifically, he slammed the ‘referee’ for not following the rule book in a decision he regarded as 'madness'.

“Five laps from the end we are world champions. There is no scenario otherwise. Then, someone decides the way the world championship should end with the last lap,” Wolff said on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.

“Unlapping the cars in the middle is unheard of. Both drivers were deserving champions because it was up and down during the season. And both should have been world champions.

Toto Wolff blasts the unheard of decision in Abu Dhabi

“We had the better car and driver in Lewis at the end of the year, and Max was better in the first. They should have both had the trophy. But on that day in that race it fell the other way.

“It was so clear that the referee decided to do something that was not in the rule book. But it was in the madness of it.”

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Toto Wolff Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Michael Masi