![]() ![]() Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner went on to call Mercedes’ first appeals “a little bit desperate.” Though Hamilton offered his congratulations to Verstappen, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was left visibly furious following the Dutchman’s win. Verstappen’s win prevented Hamilton from surpassing the record he still shares with racing legend Michael Schumacher. The Dutchman, on new tires, had the pace to overtake his rival on turn five and win one of the most dramatic F1 races ever. It meant the race restarted on the final lap, with Verstappen now allowed to start almost side-by-side with Hamilton, despite the Brit having established a healthy lead. The controversy reached its peak when a message from race director Michael Masi initially said lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen would not be allowed to unlap themselves, only for Masi to appear to change his mind moments later, leaving the Red Bull driver right behind Hamilton with fresh tires and just one lap to go. Verstappen re-entered the track with five lapped cars between him and Hamilton. While the Mercedes team decided they couldn’t afford to pit Hamilton in case he would lose his lead, Red Bull did choose to pit Verstappen and got fitted with a new set of soft tires. The drama intensified when Williams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers with four laps remaining, resulting in the safety car being called out. The Brit finally found a way past the Red Bull but not until he had Verstappen back on his heels.īut Hamilton looked to have done enough, building up a double-digit second lead, and was cruising to victory before the mayhem of the final lap. Red Bull then resorted to its Plan B, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez expertly holding up Hamilton after the Mercedes driver emerged from the pit lane in second. Peter Fox/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images ![]() Stewards, however, decided not to investigate the incident and allowed Hamilton to proceed in first. There was controversy early on, as there has been throughout the season, with Red Bull adamant that Hamilton should have given his first place back to Verstappen after the Mercedes man went off the track following contact with his rival. Verstappen took the early advantage by qualifying in pole position after a magical qualifying lap on Saturday – but it was Hamilton who started the race better from second, overtaking Verstappen before the first corner and dominating the majority of the Grand Prix with the Mercedes pace. ![]() The two titanic rivals arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit level on points. Mercedes said on Monday that there was “no further communication planned at this time” regarding their intention to appeal Sunday’s result. Mercedes on Sunday lodged an intention to appeal against the decision relating to restarting the race for the last lap – which could pave the way for even more drama over the coming weeks. Verstappen was declared champion – but only after both teams spent hours in the steward’s box, after Hamilton’s Mercedes team launched two protests against the hotly contested result, which were dismissed by officials. This Sunday, Max Verstappen clinched his first Formula One World Championship by beating Lewis Hamilton in a controversial season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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