The usual Autosport Awards took place on Sunday night, an awards show featuring a silent auction in support of the Grand Prix Trust at Grosvenor House, London.
The Grand Prix Trust is a historic charity that provides help and advice to Formula 1 staff (including former drivers and employees) to “help them get their lives back on track when things don’t go their way”.
During that same night, it was revealed that the best offer to enjoy a visit with three other people to the Mercedes factory in Brackley , had been made by the Red Bull team manager, Christian Horner , who was attending the ceremony on behalf of of the team.
The winning bid ultimately amounted to £4,000 (the equivalent of just over €4,700 ), sparking humor on social media as fans considered the possibility that Horner could take a good look at his arch-rival’s factory. .
However, what no one expected was that the small print of the prize and the terms and conditions would lead to the cancellation of said plans and Horner could not finally visit the Mercedes factory .
One of the clauses reads: “Please note that employees of other Formula 1 teams will not be eligible to take this tour.”
A variety of prizes were offered at that auction which together with outside donations led to a total of £46,752 being raised in one night.
Red Bull and Mercedes had a tense battle throughout the 2021 season as both championships made it to the final race of the season at the Abu Dhabi GP alive.
Horner and his Mercedes counterpart, Toto Wolff , enjoyed an icy relationship in the midst of their title fight. Towards the end of the season, the Red Bull man stated that there was “no relationship whatsoever” between them.
Horner attended the Autosport Awards last Sunday, where Red Bull won the award for the best racing car of 2021 thanks to the RB16B and Max Verstappen took the award for the best international driver of the year, a trophy that was collected by the team manager himself. .
“It was like a heavyweight boxing match, from the first race in Bahrain to the last in Abu Dhabi,” said Horner. “Max has led more laps than all the other drivers put together, plus he’s won more races than any other driver, so I think he’s fully deserving of everything he’s achieved.”
