Max Verstappen sees the Mercedes protests after the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix “this season in a nutshell”.
In a season full of action, suspense and unprecedented drama, the battle for the drivers’ championship ended until the last lap of the final race between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
In the end, it was Verstappen who won the race and the title, but not before a controversial end to the closing stages of the race.
A crash by Nicholas Latifi on lap 54 led to the deployment of the safety car. While Hamilton did without worn, hard tires to keep his position on the track, Verstappen was called into the pit lane to put on fresh, soft tires.
There was uncertainty about the possibility of doing race laps while the track was cleared, but then in what appeared to be a split-second decision, the FIA let five lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen pass the safety car before immediately restarting Run.
Mercedes was annoyed with the interpretation of the regulations when Verstappen had a flawless run in Hamilton at the beginning of the last lap. Verstappen would then wrest the lead, race victory and, subsequently, the drivers’ world championship from Hamilton.
This is what Verstappen made of Mercedes’ immediate post-race protests by saying:
“There’s not much to say about that. I think it sums up this season a bit too. “
The protests were quickly dismissed by the FIA, much to the relief of Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Max Verstappen had an unforgettable season with Red Bull
On the way to becoming the first Dutch Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen also had a really memorable season at Red Bull.
Verstappen led the most laps in 2021. He took 10 wins, most of them in a single season. It was also the third most in a single campaign by a Red Bull driver after Sebastian Vettel had 13 wins in 2013 and 11 wins in 2011.
Max Verstappen also set a new record for the most podium places in one season with 18 in 22 races. In doing so, he set a new record, beating players like Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, who all had 17 in a single season.
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At just 24, Verstappen is the fourth youngest driver to ever become world champion and the second youngest Red Bull driver to do this feat behind Sebastian Vettel.
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