Lewis Hamilton is celebrating his birthday as uncertainty remains about his F1 career. Today he is 37 years old and is one of the oldest drivers in the field. The youngest riders on the grid are Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda at 21, while Fernando Alonso is the oldest at 39. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo admitted this week that he’s “jealous” of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after their epic title fight.
In a press conference at the end of the season he said: “Of course I’m jealous.
“But I’ve been jealous for eight or nine years. It’s nothing new, but of course it’s exciting to think of.
“To me I’m a fan like everyone else, I’m a driver, but I’m still a fan of the sport. It’s been great and put aside envy, it’s great for F1 to fight the battle.
“I can’t remember a year when two guys stood side by side in so many races.
“I feel like 75 percent of the races have been wheel to wheel at some point, so it’s pretty great.”
Hamilton may not feel enviable after the World Cup was wrested from him in a dramatic and controversial manner in the final round.
A late safety car allowed Verstappen to pit for fresh soft tires, but the controversy surrounded Race Director Michael Masi’s decision to have some lapped cars overtake the safety car, giving the Dutchman a clear run to to overtake the British.
Labor peer Lord Peter Hain, who is also deputy chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for Formula 1, told Express.co.uk that the result was bad for the sport.
He said, “It’s not good for the sport. It can be exciting and dramatic. It may win the crowd that Formula One craves, but longer term you have to think about the credibility and integrity of the sport.”
“As a lifelong Formula 1 fan, I thought it was a perverse result.
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“The goal was effectively manipulated by the stewards to produce a dramatic finale for the theater, rather than a race result.
“I think it left a sour taste unless you’re a die-hard Verstappen fan, but even many of you have admitted it left an unpleasant taste in your mouth.
“Okay, the rules are very complex for the average fan, but at least there is a constancy. This was clearly invented and made to allow for this type of finish.
“I thought Lewis acted with tremendous dignity after going into the Red Bull box to congratulate them, but he must be absolutely down and that the rules have been rigged against him.”
Other drivers also expressed concerns about the season finale, with Ferraris Carlos Sainz describing the restart as “unfair”.
The Spaniard finished the race in third place but felt the restart could have cost him his podium.
He said during the race: “I think it’s unfair to start this race again. We should stay behind the safety car.
After his race engineer took note of his news, Sainz added, “It gives some people a massive advantage.”
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The 27-year-old refined his comments after the race and said: “It was certainly a very strange situation for me.
“I’ve obviously struggled with Valtteri [Bottas] and the Alpha Tauris behind it with medium-sized tires, while I was driving on very heavily used hard tires.
“At first I was told not to round themselves, the group in front of me, then it was decided to round themselves and some people rounded themselves, but there was still, I think, an Aston Martin and an McLaren, Ricciardo, between the two leaders and me.
“I’ve never had to restart the race with these two guys in front of me while fighting for a third place.
“I think it was weird and something to watch because it was just very weird and it almost cost me a podium to be honest.”
Meanwhile, George Russell, who is joining Mercedes for the next season, has condemned how the race was handled on social media.
He said, “This is unacceptable !!!!
“Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have just great respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I can’t believe what we just saw.”
