Christian Horner admits he’s pleased Lewis Hamilton is taking his place on the F1 grid for the 2022 season as the Brit prepares to reignite his rivalry with Max Verstappen.
The 2021 world championship was one of the most thrilling in the sport’s history with Verstappen pipping Hamilton to the title on the last lap of the season.
The pair had been inseparable throughout the 22-race campaign, heading into the Abu Dhabi finale level on points.
Mercedes’ Hamilton was seemingly cruising towards a record-breaking world title, 12 seconds ahead of his Red Bull rival with five laps to go.
But a Nicholas Latifi crash then prompted a late safety car, giving Verstappen fresh tyres to overtake Hamilton and win his first title in hugely controversial circumstances, which saw race director Michael Masi ultimately lose his job.
Hamilton was magnanimous in defeat amid protests from his Mercedes team, but hadn’t been heard from since until earlier this month.
The 37-year-old then announced his return from his stance in a social media post which read, ‘I’ve been gone. Now I’m back!’, as he posed in front of a canyon.
And now the dust has settled, Red Bull chief Horner cannot wait for another epic battle between the two biggest stars of the sport.
“I think it was the best season of Formula 1 in the last 40 years,” he told the Breakfast show of last season’s championship.
“The intensity of the rivalry between two titans – Lewis is the most successful driver of all time, Max is the up and coming driver he is.
“It was like heavyweight boxing, every race was about them.”
Speaking more about the rivalry, Horner added: “In any sport, rivalry is a good thing. Whether it’s football, cricket or motor racing.
“Formula 1 is in great shape at the moment, it’s never been as popular as it is right now.
“We are just fortunate we have the talent like with Lewis, the most successful guy of all time, with these great youngsters coming through like Max, Lando Norris, George Russell, Charles Leclerc. There are some great new talent out there.”
Horner also reckons Ferrari are the dark horses for the title, with the famous Italian manufacturers’ last winning the Drivers’ Championships in 2007.
“I think they are the dark horse,” he added. “They were not in the championship fight last year, but with big regulation changes this year they probably started earlier than every team.
“They been a sleeping giant for a few years now.
“You get the impression they might just be waking up.”
Source : Talksport
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