Max Verstappen is “a deserving world champion” and “time will move on” from the events of Abu Dhabi, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has said.
Today (Wednesday) marks a month since the Dutchman passed Lewis Hamilton on the final lap at Yas Marina to secure his first Formula 1 title, this after a highly controversial decision by FIA race director Michael Masi to only allow the five lapped cars between the two drivers to overtake during a late Safety Car.
The fallout from that race is continuing, with pressure growing on the governing body to take meaningful action as they conduct a detailed analysis into the decision-making process that took place.
There is even still the possibility of Hamilton opting to take a sabbatical or retire altogether from F1, with the outcome of the FIA analysis thought to be crucial to his decision.
Even so, at Red Bull, there is a belief that once the new season gets up and running, the events of Abu Dhabi will soon be forgotten.
“People in this business have such very short memories,” said Horner via GPFans.
“We’ve even forgotten what happened [earlier in the year]. It was such a long racing season.
“Max is absolutely a deserving World Champion. When you look at the championship as a whole, of course, the events in Abu Dhabi drew an awful lot of comment but that happens in sport.
“We had a lot of bad luck last year, we got fortunate with a Safety Car, we made the right strategic calls, great strategy, great teamwork and great execution by Max, and we won the race.
“Time will move on. Max is a very deserving World Champion, we are incredibly proud of that, and the history books will always show he is the 2021 World Champion.”
Verstappen too thinks the perception around the race will change in the future, noting how past incidents in title deciders are judged.
“Even with championships won 30 years ago or whatever, there has also been controversy,” he said.
“Nowadays, when people look back at the footage they enjoy it. It’s just part of the sport.”