“If that hadn’t happened, he probably would have become champion earlier”– Mercedes driver admits Lewis Hamilton has no reason to complain about Abu Dhabi

Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne thinks Lewis Hamilton has no reason to be disappointed over how he got snubbed for the title.

The controversial calls by FIA denied Lewis Hamilton the 2021 F1 title and rewarded Max Verstappen for his efforts. The judgement by the governing body definitely upset Hamilton.

The Briton is yet to make a media appearance and avoided all the F1 related events after the season. Mercedes also followed the suit, but not everyone in the camp feels the same.

Salaam everyone
Let’s remind the @fia @f1 that they robbed Lewis of a record breaking 8th WC and that their attempts to gaslight & sweep it under the rug won’t work #IstandwithLewisHamilton #F1xed #MasiOUT

— ℝ (@RishcaAbrahams) December 27, 2021

Mercedes race driver for Formula E Stoffle Vandoorne, talking about his friendship with Verstappen claims even the Dutchman got wronged in the middle of the season.

“He told me that normally he never feels pressure, but that during the last Grand Prix he felt such intense pressure for the first time in his career,” Vandoorne told RTBF Sport.

“He was super happy because he sacrificed so much to get there. deserves his world title, especially considering the strides and Red Bull have made.”

“Honestly, if you look at Max’s season, there were three moments where he lost a lot of points. If that hadn’t happened, he probably would have become champion earlier.”

Also read: Max Verstappen takes a dig at Mercedes’ rear wing after Sergio Perez’s Christmas present

Max Verstappen to switch number unlike Lewis Hamilton

With Verstappen winning the 2021 season, he is now eligible to use #1 as a car number in 2022, which is only available to the champion of the previous year.

Hamilton, who has won the championship in the last four years, never used 1 on his car. Instead, he uses his usual 44 number and claims he will never use the prestigious number instead of his own.

Though, he used 1 during a one-off event, to know the feel for it. Meanwhile, Verstappen when asked about using this reserved number, he said he will not hesitate to use it, as he doesn’t know how many chances he will get to race with it.

Also read: Mercedes fires up its F1 car for 2022; first among the whole grid

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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