Haas team principal Guenther Steiner addresses the controversial 2021 season finale in his new book ‘Driving to Survive’, with the team boss having joked that he thought Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was going to have a “foking heart attack”.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is for obvious reasons the most spoken about race in modern Formula 1 history, due to claims by Lewis Hamilton that it was “manipulated”.
Former race director Michael Masi was judged by the FIA to have made a ‘human error’ in the closing stages of the season finale, which resulted in Max Verstappen winning the race and the 2021 title.
The controversial race continues to be a huge talking point, with a recent petition to get the results overturned having reached 100,000 signatures.
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In his book, Steiner shares how frustrating it became being constantly asked for his views on the race, with his priority at the time having been “on a Russian [Nikita Mazepin] who didn’t finish”.
“If I had a dollar from every person who has asked for my opinion on what happened between Lewis and Max in Abu Dhabi over the past six days, I’d be able to poach Adrian Newey,” Steiner wrote in his new book.
“Not that I would,” he joked. “He’s far too exciting for me.
“After the race I had a few days visiting my mother and every person I saw in the town wanted to know what I thought.
“‘Why are you asking me?’ I said, ‘I was too busy concentrating on a Russian who didn’t finish the race and a German who was in fourteenth position’.
“What do I think, then? Well, it was certainly very confusing. I remember sitting on the pit wall listening to the orders from the race director and thinking, ‘What the hell is happening here?’
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“At the time it didn’t stack up to me, but at the same time I didn’t know all the facts. It was very entertaining, though. Poor Toto almost had a foking heart attack!
“Look, at the end of the day, both teams have won a World Championship and good for them. Red Bull won the Drivers’ and Mercedes the Constructors’. I’d take either of those.
“Mercedes didn’t protest, so off we go. We move on.”