Memoir Drive details Masi call before 2021 Abu Dhabi decider
The final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains Formula 1’s most scrutinised lap, and a forthcoming memoir has returned it to headlines.
According to advance extracts reported ahead of publication, former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner acknowledges he urged race control to clear lapped traffic during the decisive safety car.
The disclosure arrives almost five years after Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to win his first drivers’ championship.
Horner’s memoir, Drive, is scheduled for publication on 22 October by Transworld Publishing, with an audiobook narrated by Horner.
The publisher describes it as a candid reflection on more than two decades leading Red Bull from a symbolic one pound acquisition to multiple championship eras. Advance coverage indicates the book opens with Yas Marina 2021.
What The Reported Extracts Claim
According to reporting, Horner writes his heart sank when race control initially signalled lapped cars would not unlap.
At that moment five backmarkers sat between Hamilton, leading on used hard tyres, and Verstappen, second on fresh softs after pitting under the safety car caused by Nicholas Latifi’s crash.
With one racing lap remaining, Verstappen could not clear five cars and challenge. Horner describes believing the championship was about to end behind the safety car in unsatisfying fashion.
It was then, extracts state, he pressed race director Michael Masi. He told Masi the race needed to restart, asked why lapped cars were not moved, and said it would be a shame to finish under neutralised conditions. The reported closing line: The lapped cars should unlap. Let’s race.
The broadcast captured a shorter version. Red Bull’s radio included: Why aren’t we getting these cars out of the way? We only need one racing lap. That transmission was aired live and remains part of the official record.
What followed is undisputed. Race control allowed only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap, rather than all lapped cars as required at the time.
The safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap 57 instead of lap 58, creating a one-lap shootout. Verstappen passed Hamilton at Turn 5 to win.
Why The Procedure Mattered
Under 2021 regulations the unlapping procedure was explicit. Once race control decided lapped cars may overtake, all such cars should pass the leaders and safety car.
Only then would safety car return to pits at end of following lap.
In Abu Dhabi that sequence was truncated. Selective release and immediate withdrawal meant prescribed additional lap did not occur. That deviation became central focus of post-race debate, more than any team radio.
Lobbying race control was standard in 2021 and broadcast live. Such advocacy does not breach regulations. Obligation to apply rulebook rests with race direction regardless of pressure.
FIA Investigation And Conclusions
Mercedes lodged protests after the race, citing vagueness in procedure. The FIA launched detailed analysis.
On 17 February 2022, Masi was removed from his role as Race Director following an FIA investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The governing body concluded regulations had been applied incorrectly, because not all lapped cars had unlapped themselves and because the safety car had not completed the mandatory additional lap before returning to pits.
The FIA later described events as human error from attempt to deliver racing finish. It confirmed 2021 results were valid, final and could not be changed, while introducing reforms.
Direct team to race control communications are no longer broadcast, remote support structure was created, and race director role was reorganised with Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas alternating.
Horner’s Earlier Comments
In June 2022 at Cambridge Union Horner said Masi made one mistake: failing to allow every lapped car to unlap. On Beyond The Grid he said he contacted Masi a couple of times after race and argued nobody wants championship decided behind safety car.
What distinguishes Drive is timing. Earlier remarks addressed outcome after fact. Reported passages address intent while title was still live. That detail clarifies motivation without altering established facts.
Why Precision Matters
Social summaries have circulated widely, compressing wording. Precision matters on sensitive subject.
Masi received significant abuse after race, prompting condemnation from FIA, teams and drivers. Responsible coverage distinguishes paraphrase, verbatim quotation, and live broadcast.
Readers should treat advance extracts with care until full text is available. Verified facts remain: late crash, tyre offset under safety car, truncated unlapping, championship decided by one lap.
Career Context
Horner was replaced at Red Bull by Laurent Mekies ahead of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, ending more than twenty years as team principal. Red Bull won fourteen world titles under his leadership.
Horner has since returned to paddock as guest at Silverstone and announced British speaking tour beginning 18 October before publication on 22 October. Drive serves as both historical record and platform for next chapter.
Why Abu Dhabi 2021 Still Defines Modern F1
Abu Dhabi 2021 endures because it crystallises tension between spectacle and discipline. Hamilton was cruising toward eighth title before Latifi crash. Verstappen’s stop for softs created grip advantage that defined final lap.
Team principals are expected to advocate forcefully. Race directors are expected to apply rulebook without favour under pressure.
Horner’s reported words suggest first duty was pursued vigorously, while FIA findings show second was not fully met.
Formula 1 has since codified unlapping more precisely, restricted radio, and added remote support. Debate persists because margin was so fine and procedural departure so consequential.
ALSO READ: Ferrari Plan Radical 2027 Aero Rethink After SF-26
Drive will not rewrite result, which FIA confirmed as final, but may add participant perspective to archive, helping fans understand how decisions are made when season compresses into one lap today.
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