Reflecting on a 2021 campaign that contributed to Formula 1’s major popularity boom, Toto Wolff said the controversial Abu Dhabi season finale was a topic for everyone to avoid around the Christmas dinner table.

And it shares that status with Donald Trump and Brexit.

No family ‘wanted to touch Abu Dhabi 2021’

2021 will be remembered as an all-time classic Formula 1 season, as Lewis Hamilton – having already tied Michael Schumacher’s record of seven World Championship titles – went head-to-head with an F1 great in the making in Max Verstappen, Hamilton looking to secure his eighth crown while Verstappen was bidding to end the Hamilton dominance.

Ultimately, with the pair tied on points at the Abu Dhabi decider, Verstappen emerged victorious to win his first of four consecutive World Championships, though the race was shrouded in controversy due to the actions of then race director Michael Masi which directly impacted the result.

It was a season which saw tempers flare not only between Hamilton and Verstappen on multiple occasions, but also between the Red Bull and Mercedes camps as a whole, respective team bosses Christian Horner and Toto Wolff regularly engaging in verbal combat.

But, with Formula 1 having enjoyed an unprecedented surge in popularity over recent years, Wolff credits that 2021 campaign for playing a key role, though said its conclusion made for an off-limits topic of discussion around the family Christmas dinner table.

The same he said was true about Donald Trump, the US President-elect whose first term ended at the start of that year, plus the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, coined Brexit.

“It’s part of a great success we’re having [in F1] today,” Wolff said about the F1 2021 season when speaking on the Armchair Experts podcast with Dax Shepard.

“It was really dramatic.

“And I remember, the topics that nobody wanted to touch on many Christmas tables was [Donald] Trump, Brexit and Abu Dhabi 2021.”

More on the Toto Wolff and Christian Horner rivalry

???? Christian Horner and Toto Wolff: A history of Formula 1’s odd couple

???? F1 team principals’ rich list: Net worth figures revealed for Wolff, Horner and more

Wolff reflected on what was a brutal Abu Dhabi 2021 experience for Mercedes, with the team and Lewis Hamilton unable to return to title contention again after that heartbreak.

Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2021 with 2024 victories at Silverstone and Spa, in a year where his F1 2025 move to Ferrari was already confirmed.

And Wolff believes that Red Bull showed “entitlement” in how they reacted in Abu Dhabi 2021 as Verstappen sealed his first title, the Austrian claiming Mercedes would have responded with a little more compassion had the roles been reversed.

“I felt that the other side – and that’s not Max – there was not one sentence saying: ‘That was a difficult day for Mercedes, we acknowledge it, they’re both deserving champions and today it went against Mercedes,’” said Wolff.

“There was not one word from Christian or the other team [members] in acknowledging that. It was entitlement.”

With speculation quickly bubbling up over potential Mercedes action against the outcome of the race, it was put to Wolff that such statements from Red Bull could have influenced any dispute over the title if it had arisen.

“We would have said it,” he confirmed in response.

But, in a 2024 Sky Sports interview, Horner did heap praise on Hamilton regarding the Abu Dhabi 2021 aftermath.

“I felt the way that Lewis handled that disappointment after the race, hats off to him,” said Horner.

“Because he would have been even more disappointed. Record-breaking World Championship has just disappeared but he handled himself with dignity and respect.

“I shook his hand in the driver’s room after the race and he had the good grace to say well done.”

Read next: Rosberg reveals ‘never before’ seen Lewis Hamilton ability in F1