James Allison, Chief Technical Director of Mercedes, made an amusing gag about their relationship with Red Bull after the controversial 2021 season finale. Max Verstappen ousted Lewis Hamilton in the F1 drivers’ championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It was a divisive climax of the race that helped Verstappen. Hamilton had led for most of the race, but a safety car gave Verstappen an opportunity to beat the Brit after the cars were allowed to pull out in front of him.
Mercedes submitted two protests, which the FIA rejected. They then announced on Thursday that they had withdrawn their appeal.
The rivalry between the two teams was the main topic of conversation of the season and Verstappen and Hamilton exchanged verbally and on the track at times.
And that pressure has often jumped over between the two teams. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner have a frosty relationship.
That led Allison to joke about the rivalry after winning the Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes.
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He joked that both teams figure out each other.
“I cannot emphasize enough what a joy it is to be able to pick up this trophy today after a championship of this quality and to have the pleasure of fighting with Red Bull like cat and dog all year round,” said Allison.
“Brilliant opponents. We get on each other’s nerves a little. But that’s the way it should be and it was just a fantastic fight. So, yes, very grateful for that. ”
Verstappen has also spent the past few days pondering his rivalry with Hamilton.
The FIA then changed this decision controversially, however, which effectively allowed Verstappen to free-run at Hamilton on fresher soft tires.
Mercedes was furious with the result, in which Hamilton missed an eighth record world title, but Verstappen insisted the gong be won on the track.
“We won it on the track. People say it was a lucky win. Absolutely, the win was very happy, ”continued the 24-year-old.
“But we had a lot of bad luck throughout the season, otherwise the championship would have been decided much earlier, despite the dominance that Mercedes had towards the end of the season.
“I think, ‘Well, sometimes a little luck in your life is nice too.'”
