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The end of the 2021 Formula 1 season remains a sore spot for Lewis Hamilton as he lost his record eighth world title at the last minute.
There was a bitter battle with Max Verstappen throughout the season, with the final lap of the race coming to an end after then-race director Michael Masi decided to go against the usual safety car protocol.
With Hamilton on the old hard and Verstappen on the new soft, the Briton made a valiant attempt to hold off the Dutchman, but in vain as Verstappen clinched his first world title.
If Massi had followed the correct procedure, the race would have ended after the safety car, giving Hamilton a moment of glory never before seen in Formula One.
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After the Australian Grand Prix, where the safety car carried the drivers to the finish line, the result was chaotic, with former Formula 1 team manager Peter Windsor claiming that’s “what we should be getting in Abu Dhabi in 2021.”
“I didn’t see any Australian fans – who are very loud at the best of times – complain or boo and say, ‘No, we want this race to end as a normal one-lap race, that’s too bad​​​​ too bad.
“They were all cheering and clapping – as I said in Abu Dhabi ’21, if they had finished the race under the safety car, which they should have done, Lewis was cruising and winning his Eighth world title.
“For me, it’s absolutely another demonstration of what’s wrong with Abu Dhabi and I’m still very upset about it.
“I still think they totally screwed up, Lewis Hamilton was stripped of his eighth title in that incident, it’s bad.
Of course, you don’t win or lose titles in one game. I’m talking about decisions that have already been made.
read: Revealed: Why Lewis Hamilton was ‘aggressive’ with Max Verstappen
“And no one cares [in Melbourne]. The Australians really liked that safety car, they were all cheering,” he added.
As events unfolded in 2021, Hamilton complained over his team radio that the results had been “rigged” to strip him of the title.
Red Bull argued the result was fair and right to use the final lap to decide the title, although the drivers found themselves on different tire compounds, giving Verstappen a clear advantage.
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