Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen stand in front of the F1 World Drivers Championship Trophy in 2021 - Source: Getty
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen competed against each other for the 2021 drivers' championship till the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. The effect of this tight competition travelled through the principals and teams as well, which included some unorthodox methods of battling, one Red Bull mechanic has claimed. Mercedes pit crews are said to have abandoned an understanding of how pit lane management was done in favour of one-upping its competitors.
On the Road to Success podcast, RBR Senior Power Unit Assembly Technician Callum Nicholas spoke about the strategy used by Hamilton's pit crew team where they wouldn't pull their cables that were hanging in the pits so that the drivers could pass by easily, causing Red Bull drivers to have to drive around it slowly, causing delays.
While the cable managment in the pit lanes was usually done to avoid inconveniencing drivers, Nicholas said (via PlanetF1):
