TG’s F1 correspondent is going for a much needed lie down. Should Hamilton have conceded the lead at the start? Did Mercedes make a grave error in not pitting their man during the virtual safety car? Was the race director allowed to clear some but not all of the lapped cars within the limits of the rulebook? The saga could run for quite some time… Our goal was to win this championship and now we have done that." Christian (Horner) and Helmut (Marko) trusted me to be in the team. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. To my team, I think they know I love them, and I hope we can do this for 10, 15 years together. Max Verstappen is F1 world champion after beating Lewis Hamilton to the chequered flag on the last lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, capping arguably the most titanic title. It was great teamwork and he is an amazing teammate. “I also want to say a big thank you to Checo (Sergio Perez), he was driving his heart out as well. I love them so much and I really, really enjoy working with them since 2016 but this year has been incredible.
These guys (fans in the stands), my team and, of course, at home as well they deserve it. “The whole race I kept fighting and then that opportunity in the last lap. Hamilton pinned it at the restart and defended for his life, but on fresher rubber Verstappen made the decisive move in turn five and held on to snatch away what would’ve been Lewis’s record-breaking eighth title in a finish surely only rivalled by the Brit’s own maiden crown in Brazil in 2008. One single racing lap to decide one of the closest title fights in F1 history. But out of nowhere the five cars - and only those five cars - between the two rivals were waved through, setting us up for a grandstand finish. With just a few laps left Nicholas Latifi put his Williams in the barriers and triggered a safety car, and with nothing to lose Verstappen pitted for a third time for new soft tyres as Hamilton stayed out.Īnd then came the decision we’ll likely be talking about for years: race director Michael Masi initially ruled the lapped cars couldn’t overtake the safety car - giving Hamilton the buffer he needed to nurse his old rubber home. A grim Christian Horner spoke to Sky Sports from the pit wall with 10 laps to go: “We need a miracle.”
Hamilton - as he so often does - judged his older tyres beautifully in the closing stages of the race, ensuring the charging Dutchman couldn’t even get within 10 seconds of him despite the tyre offset.
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