Lewis Hamilton was very impressed with how handling the Safety Car in the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix cost him his eighth world title.
Mercedes revealed that the Brit was “disillusioned” with the way things were handled, and suggested there is no guarantee that the seven-time world champion will be at the start of the 2022 F1 season.
A potential exit from Hamilton would deprive Formula 1 of what has been a fascinating rivalry with Max Verstappen, who has been very close all season.
The Red Bull driver therefore hopes that his rival will choose to continue in F1, and believes that the Briton’s desire to secure his eighth title, which would be an all-time record, should be the stimulus needed to stay on the grid again.
When asked if he thinks Hamilton might be angry enough to leave F1, Verstappen said: “Well, I mean, I can understand that the first few days after a race like that, he’s not happy.”
“But it should also be understood, as I said before, that these are the races in the end, and these things can happen to anyone.”
“I think he should just look back at what he has achieved. This should give him a lot of comfort and should also be a boost to continue, because he can still try to get the eighth title.”
“And, for sure, he can do it again next year. So I don’t see any reason to give up or stop now.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: FIA Pool
Verstappen then recalled that if Hamilton was discouraged in this case, he should keep in mind that in 2008 he was the other side of the coin, winning it right on the last lap in the battle for the title with Felipe Massa.
“I don’t mind, but I can understand it can be very painful,” added Verstappen. “But in the end this is also racing. You just have to keep fighting until the end. And you know that in racing anything can happen. I mean, he too has won a championship like this, so I think he can understand.”
Verstappen received the world champion trophy at last night’s FIA awards ceremony in Paris, hours after Mercedes confirmed they would not pursue the appeal against the Abu Dhabi race results.
While admitting that he had lived days with the doubt that Mercedes could decide to carry on the thing, he explained that he had never been bothered by what was happening.
“Not really,” he said. “I mean, we were also having a lot of fun as a team, because we knew we had won on the track when there was a green flag. Nobody can ever take that away from us, so I was in a good mood.”
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