Formula 1: Christian Horner’s sly seven-word dig at Lewis Hamilton
By Asher Fair
Christian Horner took a dig at Lewis Hamilton’s driving ability after a chaotic inaugural Formula 1 race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The inaugural Formula 1 race weekend at Jeddah Corniche Circuit was full of chaos, and it ended with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton drawing even on points with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the lead of the driver standings with just one race left on the 22-race 2021 schedule.
Verstappen is still technically the leader, due to having more wins (9 to 8).
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Heading into the first-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it was believed that Mercedes would be the team to beat in the 50-lap race around the 27-turn, 3.837-mile (6.175-kilometer) temporary street circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The reason for this was their straight-line speed advantage.
It was estimated that Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the fastest track on the schedule aside from Monza, would see drivers at full throttle for a whopping 79% of the lap.
While Red Bull were expected to be closer to Mercedes in this regard than they had been in recent races, the Silver Arrows still definitely had an advantage in this category throughout the weekend.
Verstappen surely would have been on pole by close to four-tenths of a second over Hamilton if not for a last-turn, last-lap mistake in qualifying, but this discrepancy was on full display in the race anyway after a timely red flag period played right into Verstappen’s hands, giving him the lead and a free pit stop for new tires after Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas had already stopped.
Every lap, Verstappen gained close to a full second in the lower-speed, twisty first sector, while Hamilton was able to claw back throughout the rest of the lap, many times running the fastest overall lap of the race in doing so.
When it was all said and done, Verstappen had been penalized multiple times and had to settle for second place behind Hamilton, though Hamilton still would have won the race without the penalties considering the difference in tire strategies.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was none too pleased with how things played out, specifically in regard to how the FIA managed the multiple Verstappen-Hamilton run-ins.
He defended his stance as Verstappen being the best driver in the world amid the chaos.
“Sector 1 is more driver focused and the sector 2 and 3 is more about the engine,” he said, referencing the way in which Verstappen was able to pull away from Hamilton in this sector despite the engine advantage of the Mercedes.
That led to Horner taking a sly dig, which we’re going to take the liberty of assuming was directed at one driver in particular.
“Anyone can drive in a straight line.”
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Who will prevail in this hotly contested world championship battle? The 22nd and final race of the 2021 Formula 1 season is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 from Yas Marina Circuit beginning at 7:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, December 12. Be sure to start your free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!