With the 2023 season in the history books, Jos Verstappen took the time to reflect on his son’s dominance while also recalling Max Verstappen’s first-ever drivers’ world championship. The Dutchman snatched the championship from Lewis Hamilton in 2021 after a controversial Abu Dhabi GP. Two years later, Verstappen Sr. has now labelled it a “fantastic race”.
Still Hurts#LewisHamilton#AD21#HumanErrorChampion pic.twitter.com/6K41EskrgH
— Hiritish Chidambaram N (@HiritishCN) December 11, 2023
In an exclusive chat with PlanetF1, the former F1 driver pointed out the happiness within the Verstappen family while empathizing with Hamilton, who became an unfortunate victim of a questionable call by the race stewards.
“It was so exciting until the last moment. Of course, for us, the outcome was nice. I can imagine, for Lewis and Toto, it’s not as nice. But that’s how it is, you know, you have to accept it.”
However, a smiling Verstappen Sr. could not hold back his pride and emotions after his son’s victory in 2021 nearly gave him a “heart attack.” He added that he could imagine what Mercedes felt after the race but claimed his team did not come up with those decisions, and thus, it had nothing to do with them.
Lewis Hamilton thought about retiring after the AD21 incident
Of late, Hamilton has talked a lot about facing immense self-doubt, especially since the infamous incident from two years ago. Starting in 2022, Mercedes has won only one race in two years, while Red Bull has been on one of the most dominant runs in F1 history. It all began with FIA’s mishandling of the safety car in Abu Dhabi, which led to Hamilton losing out on a record-breaking eighth world championship in the last lap of the race.
Lewis Hamilton finishes another #F1 season without a win.#BBCF1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/2wwG5d5R11
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 26, 2023
Failing to win any race since then, retirement thoughts have also often clouded the Briton’s mind. “For sure, yeah,” quoted Motorsport as Hamilton agreed thinking about stepping away from F1. However, the Briton added he waited for his emotions to calm down and have a clear thought process before making any big decisions.
Thanks to spending time with his family in Hawaii, the Briton thought it best not to hang up his gloves and continues to chase Max Verstappen for the championship.
