For the first time in the turbo-hybrid era of Formula 1, Mercedes failed to seize the success in the drivers’ championship, which was instead won by Max Verstappen for the first time in his career. The German team also won the constructors’ championship, but the Dutchman’s success brought joy and satisfaction to Red Bull and Honda, now ready to officially leave Formula 1 starting next season.
The Japanese company itself, through the words of its Racing CEO Masashi Yamamoto, also retraced some moments of the fight between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, starting with the one that took place in the first race of the world championship in Bahrain. On that occasion, the future world champion had to give up his leadership after an overtaking on the English, thanks to the overcoming of the track-limits in curve 4. A choice that immediately aroused heated controversy, given that the same concession was not previously implemented by the seven-time world champion, although he too was the protagonist of the same maneuver: “Since that time – said Yamamoto – we understood that we were fast enough, finishing the first race with the feeling that there was still an entire season to go ”.
Confirmation later came in GP of Emilia-Romagna at Imola, with Verstappen’s victory immediately followed by Hamilton. In that case, however, the Briton had the great opportunity to take advantage of the red flag regime to redeem himself from a previous run-off, which cost him several positions: “Lewis made a mistake – added Yamamoto – going off the track and wasting a lot of time. In any case, the interruption of the race allowed him to be able to repair the car, and to restart immediately. He has been lucky several times over the course of this season, and that was an example“.
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