F1 | Abu Dhabi GP | Max Verstappen is crowned 2021 F1 world champion: “Insane”
Verstappen became the first ever Dutch F1 world champion on Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP, after an intense – and controversial – final lap duel with Lewis Hamilton in Yas Marina.
Max Verstappen is the 2021 FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, after he claimed an extraordinary win in the season finale in Abu Dhabi, following late race drama with a safety car caused by Nicholas Latifi’s wrecked Williams in the final sector, on lap 53.
After some confusion as to whether the lapped cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen would be allowed to unlap themselves, they were allowed to unlap themselves and a 1-lap shootout between the two title rivals unfolded, with Verstappen ultimately getting past in turn 5 and claiming the title glory.
"It's insane. I don't know what to say. I'm so pleased for the team and for all these guys. I love working with them so much.
"Finally, today I had a bit of luck. My team know I love them and I want to do this with them for the next 10 or 15 years," said an emotional Verstappen.
MAX VERSTAPPEN. WORLD CHAMPION!!!
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
A stunning season by an extraordinary talent#HistoryMade #F1 @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/FxT9W69xJe
Speaking about this final race in particular, Verstappen highlighted he “kept fighting”, before his golden opportunity on the final lap of racing 2021:
“It’s unbelievable. I mean, throughout the whole race I kept fighting, and then of course [I had] that opportunity on the last lap. I’m still having a cramp, but it’s insane.”
Earlier in the race, his teammate Sergio Perez stayed out long on his starting tyres, and made sure to hold up Hamilton’s Mercedes as much as possible, which resulted in Verstappen catching up by almost six seconds to Hamilton in a single lap. He described Perez as a “legend” in a radio conversation mid-race, and continued his praise for him and his team after having his title success:
"I also want to say a big thank you to Checo. I mean, he was driving his heart out as well today. It was great team work. And he's an amazing teammate.
LAP 21/58
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
Epic stuff at the front as race leader Sergio Perez battles hard to keep Lewis Hamilton frustrated
Hamilton eventually gets past to take P1, but his lead over Verstappen is cut to two seconds
"Checo is a legend" says Max over team radio #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Thc5IPQV09
"I'm so happy and also Christian [Horner] but also Helmut [Marko] you know, trusting me to be in the team in 2016. Our goal of course was to win this championship and now we have done that.", he completed.
As of the time of this being written, Verstappen’s race and championship win still isn’t officially confirmed, as Mercedes have decided to lodge two protests to the FIA, one of which mentions a breach of safety car rules by car #33, before the restart on the final lap. All news regarding the matter can be found on MotorLAT, as soon as it happens.
