ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – The most dramatic Formula One season in years has come to an end, of course, in one of the most dramatic endings possible when Max Verstappen steal the world championship from Lewis Hamilton with passing the final lap of the GP Abu Dhabi.
Mercedes has filed two objections after the race, was scrapped more than four hours after the race and Verstappen’s first world championship held.
Hamilton has taken the lead 51 of 58 laps and only five rides around the Yas Marina Circuit are left to pass Michael Schumacher in the record books with an eighth championship on Sunday. Then an accident caused Verstappen and Red Bull one last chance.
Whatever Hamilton said over his radio when Nicholas Latifi’s turn against the wall brought the safety car out was only replayed in one long paragraph to cover up the obscenities.
F1 Race director Michael Masi took his time figuring out how to finish the race before settling the controversy on one final lap to decide the title. Verstappen started the final round just behind Hamilton, chasing him through the first four turns.
Verstappen made his pass on the fifth inning, and Hamilton had a final hit. He pulled Mercedes even with Red Bull in the ninth but couldn’t get past Verstappen, who took the lead to become the Netherlands’ first world champion.
Verstappen and Red Bull celebrated in a champagne dip, receiving hugs from his competitors – including Hamilton and Hamilton’s dad – and making their way to DJs jumping up and down to the beat of the music. The Dutch fans’ “orange army” flared up in joy and fired their traditional orange flares. Fans also chanted Latifi’s name as they left the lap.
“I mean crazy, my goal as a kid was to be a Formula 1 driver and win, get on the podium,” Verstappen said. “When they play the national anthem, you want it to be yours and when you stand here and they tell you you’re the world champion, that’s something extraordinary and special.”
Verstappen, the only F1 winner to compete under the Dutch flag, was congratulated on Twitter by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. He said the victory was a “historic day for Dutch sport.”
It was a fitting end to a season that saw two title contenders across 22 races spanning four continents and to Abu Dhabi, tied for the championship standings. It marked the first time that the contenders were equal at the season finale since 1974.
The two combine to 18 of those wins, with Verstappen winning 10 times – equal to the number of wins scored in his first six seasons in F1. Verstappen led 652 F1 heights of 1,211 laps this year and scored 18 podium finishes.
But he has been criticized this year for his aggressive driving with Hamilton himself, saying Verstappen has crossed the line. Both have crashed three times this season, and Verstappen has been taken to hospital for evaluation following an incident at Silverstone.
Verstappen has complained throughout the weekend that he has been treated unfairly by race managers, who he believes have held him to a higher standard than other drivers. He repeated that he wanted race control to play no role in the finale, but when Masi did, it worked in favor of Verstappen with one final lap to decide the title.
“I think (the track) is clear, so why would you run it to the back of the safety car?” Verstappen said. “When everything is clear, you have to clear the track, so I think that’s a fair point from the race director. Of course, now it works for me. But it also works against me, I know it.”
Hamilton did not attend the press conference after the race with Verstappen and third place Carlos Sainz. He did an interview in front of the podium and congratulated Verstappen and Red Bull.
Hamilton, who turns 37 next month, has won three races in a row through to the final to knock all 19 points off Verstappen’s lead in the rankings. But his eight wins this season are the fewest for Hamilton since 2013, when he won just once and finished fourth in the standings.
He praised Mercedes’ efforts.
“It was the most difficult season. I’m so proud of them, so grateful to be with them. We gave it everything, we never gave up and that’s the most important thing,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been feeling great sitting in the car for the past few months, especially at the end. But if I’m telling the truth, we’re still in a pandemic and I just wish everyone peace and a Merry Christmas with their families, and we’ll see each other next year.”
The fierce rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull has received a well-deserved ending – an ending that leaves the winner almost speechless.
“Oh my God!” Verstappen shouted over his radio as he crossed the finish line.
“You are the world champion! World Champion! ‘ shouted Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
“Let’s do this in 10 or 15 years!” Verstappen replied.
Red Bull won its first F1 title since 2013; Mercedes has won every championship since.
The mood was far different in the Mercedes camp, where Hamilton sat motionless in his car for a few moments as other drivers came to congratulate Verstappen. The defeat ended his reign with four consecutive titles and did not give Hamilton a chance to overtake Schumacher as the all-time great driver in F1.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was skeptical on the radio, demanding “the last lap be restored.”
“Toto, it’s called a motor race,” Masi replied curtly. “We want to race cars.”
Hamilton received a long hug from his father, who later went to Red Bull’s garage and hugged both Verstappen and Verstappen’s father. Jos Verstappen was a former F1 driver and raised his 24-year-old son to become a world champion.
Verstappen took seven seasons to reach the top – he was the youngest driver in series history when he debuted at 17 and the youngest winner when he won the following season. followed at the age of 18 – and he enjoyed it with “Jos The Boss. “His father didn’t even have time to congratulate his son before he put on the championship shirt.
Jos Verstappen, Schumacher’s one-time teammate, has not won 107 races in eight seasons.
“Together with my dad, traveling around Europe, with the sole aim of getting into Formula One, to hope that you can win a race and hear your national anthem, and of course the end goal is the world championship, that is very difficult to achieve,” said Verstappen.
Mission accomplished, and Red Bull celebrated by playing “We Are Champions” in its garage.
