Lewis Hamilton stays humble in defeat by congratulating fierce rival Max Verstappen after he dethroned him as champion of the world in dramatic race Going for gold! Paris Saint-Germain wear special edition kit in win against Monaco to celebrate Lionel Messi's record-breaking seventh Ballon d'Or Hamilton was unable to defend, given he was on much older tyres, while Verstappen was on fresh, new soft tyres after he pitted during the safety car, leading to the Dutchman pulling off a dramatic overtake and winning his first ever world title. With Hamilton (bottom right) seemingly easing his way to the title, Nicholas Latifi's crash bunched the field, before the late FIA decision to take lapped cars out of the equation enabled Verstappen to make his move on the Mercedes man on the final lap. Masi (top right) had originally said that the lapped cars would not be allowed to unlap themselves but after a word from Red Bull chief Horner (main image, bottom right), Masi changed his mind, allow the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves, wiping out the Brit's 13-second advantage.
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Many fans have now been left questioning whether the whole thing was set up, for the purposes of entertainment and the lucrative filming deal the sport has with Netflix.Ī hugely controversial final race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday saw the Dutchman overtake his title rival and the Mercedes driver in the last few seconds (bottom inset) after a safety car was brought out with just a few laps to go. And, while setting up a stunning photo finish and an even better story line, race director Michael Masi ( topright) invoked fury from Mercedes who lodged a protest that the race director had not properly followed the rules in relation to the safety car. Verstappen won the race in the most controversial of circumstances, pipping Hamilton on the final lap after having been allowed to make up a window of time following a confusion over the rules regarding a safety car.
In previously unheard radio audio and dashcam footage (seen centre), Hamilton (left) questioned what was going on as the race reached its gripping climax and Verstappen roared towards the chequered flag. Lewis Hamilton verbally lashed out and claimed the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had been 'manipulated' after being defeated at the death by rival Max Verstappen, and surrendering the championship title as a result.