Formula 1: Toto Wolff went partying after Abu Dhabi finale

Things didn’t go Mercedes’ way on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, but the Silver Arrows did win another Formula 1 constructor championship.

The only eighth Formula 1 world championship won in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit was that of Mercedes, which have now won a record eight consecutive constructor titles going back to the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era in 2014.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came up shy of what would have been a record-breaking eighth title, losing the lead to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap after a controversial restart.

Hamilton led 51 of the 58 laps around the 16-turn, 3.281-mile (5.280-kilometer) road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while Verstappen led only the final one.

Team principal Toto Wolff was understandably livid with how things played out from the final safety car period until the checkered flag flew, and he made his frustrations known to the FIA on the radio before, during and after the restart that settled the epic 2021 title battle.

Given his interactions with race director Michael Masi during the controversial sequence which brought an end to the race and then his interactions with Masi after the race, he might be the last person you’d expect to be out partying a little bit later.

Add in the fact that Mercedes lodged two protests about the ending as well as an intent to appeal after both were trashed, and you’d expect it even less.

But you would have expected wrong.

After the race, Wolff and members of the team were seen celebrating at an Abu Dhabi club.

Valtteri Bottas was also living it up after the event.

So while the team’s Twitter and Instagram bios both still say, “Home of the 7x Formula 1 World Champions” and nothing has been mentioned about their eighth consecutive constructor title amid the disappointment of Hamilton not winning the driver title, it’s not hard to see that this title is still a big deal.

This is the title that brings in money for the team and bonuses for all the employees who worked their tails off to get them to where they were by the end of the demanding 22-race season.

Plus, it’s a title in which Bottas has played a key role during each of the last five seasons, and he will no longer be with the team in 2022. George Russell is set to replace him, as he is set to move to Alfa Romeo to replace the now retired Kimi Raikkonen.

I’m sure Wolff would rather be celebrating after an eighth consecutive double world championship, but the support of the team is what counts here, and he clearly isn’t lacking in that area.