Toto Wolff glad F1 avoided Abu Dhabi 2021 repeat in late Silverstone drama
Photo: Race Pictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Toto Wolff revisited the controversial ending of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after a late safety car almost created the prospect of one lap of racing at the end of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen's accident brought out the safety car in the final laps of the race at Silverstone. A message appeared on the penultimate lap suggesting that the safety car was set to be brought in, creating the prospect of one lap of racing, much like was seen in Abu Dhabi five years ago.
The FIA revealed that the "safety car in" message was displayed erroneously and instead the race did not resume, with Charles Leclerc beating George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to the victory.
Asked about the ending, Wolff said he preferred that this happened in 2021, a decision that would have allowed Lewis Hamilton to win his eighth drivers' championship. Instead, Verstappen passed Hamilton on much fresher tyres to win his first title in one of the most controversial Formula One races of all time.
Speaking to the media including GPblog, Wolff said: "Well, I would have preferred for this to happen in '21. That was more important. But it's good that the regulations have been followed. Sometimes it doesn't give for the most exciting final, certainly from a spectacle standpoint everybody would have loved to see Lewis on a soft against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc. But this is a sport, show follows sport and not the other way around so it's good that they made that call."
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Also after the race, Wolff said Mercedes would consider appealing Kimi Antonelli's penalty from the British Grand Prix. Antonelli received a five-second penalty, dropping him out of the points, after he suffered a damage tyre shield while pushing Charles Leclerc for the victory.
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