![]() ![]() It was a fitting - if hard to comprehend - end to a chaotic and drama-filled season that saw Hamilton dethroned for the first time since 2016. Verstappen entered with the tiebreaker as he had won nine races to Hamilton’s eight through the first 21. Verstappen left Mexico with a 19-point lead after winning there but Hamilton got wins in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to tie Verstappen in the standings ahead of the final race. The two drivers entered Abu Dhabi tied in the points standings after Hamilton had won the previous three races. ET, some six hours after the race began.Ģ protests by Mercedes filed /bNGzopF8lz The protest regarding the race procedures was dismissed at 2 p.m. ![]() Mercedes filed a protest immediately after the race, though the two protests were dismissed. And the decision to only let some lapped cars pass but not all appears to be a direct breach of F1 rules. ![]() Only those that were between Hamilton and Verstappen got to get their laps back. However, not every lapped car was allowed to pass. That would have provided a buffer for Hamilton to likely win a record-breaking eighth championship and cement his status as the best Formula 1 driver of all time.īut after saying one thing, officials changed their minds and said that the handful of cars between Verstappen and Hamilton could pass Hamilton and get their laps back right before the race restarted. Officials were adamant that the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen would not be allowed to clear themselves on the restart. The most bizarre thing about the final laps were the officiating decisions from F1. He was going to finish second if the race didn't restart and a race restart gave him an opportunity to overtake Hamilton. Verstappen had nothing to lose, so pitting was the right decision no matter what happened. Stopping would have potentially given Verstappen the lead had he stayed out, and there was no guarantee that the race would get restarted. Hamilton wasn't too far behind Latifi when the Williams driver crashed, and Hamilton couldn't afford to make a pit stop. Verstappen had no issues getting past Hamilton on the final lap, thanks to the extra grip that those fresh tires provided. The decision left Mercedes and Hamilton confused and fuming. They reversed that decision with less than two laps to go, allowing Verstappen to restart on Hamilton's bumper and get the win. Formula 1 officials initially said that the lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton would not be allowed to pass Hamilton and get their laps back before the restart. ![]()
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