In 2021, Lewis Hamilton narrowly missed out on winning a record eighth driver’s world title after losing the controversial season finale in Abu Dhabi to eventual champion Max Verstappen. Williams’ head James Vowles triggered the two sides with the recent comments he made on the YouTube podcast, ‘High Performance‘. Speaking about winning a world championship, Vowles mentioned an unsportsmanlike win often ends up leaving the beneficiary with regrets.
“You can win the championship, but if you’ve done so in a way that isn’t fair and sportsman-like, you will have regrets for the rest of your life. You have a championship to your name. But it will be sullied. It’ll be muddied. It won’t be pure“, explained Vowles.
Fans on the internet took immediate note of the statement and drew parallels with the Abu Dhabi 2021 incident. Both Verstappen and Hamilton fans went head-to-head on X (formerly Twitter) and shared their perspectives on the statement.
The Max Verstappen side shares its views
A couple of Max Verstappen fans called out Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 Silverstone GP crash between the two.
Yep if Hamilton won that by crashing in Silverstone, Hungary. And Bahrain cheating. Then Hamilton would have lot of regrets
— maxxx (@akki6923) February 11, 2024
Do if lewis won 2021 he would have regrets because of silverstone 2021?
— Domagoj_playz (@Domagoj_playz) February 10, 2024
Meanwhile, one fan called James Vowles out for his inability to win championships.
in other words:
I’m mad that I can’t win championships, so I’ll just discredit other people’s championships— oo ⃢oo (@F1Trolol) February 10, 2024
Another user called attention to various incidents that preceded the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. They recalled the 1994 Michael Schumacher incident, amongst others. Also in the mix was the 1990 Suzuka incident, involving Ayrton Senna. The 2008 season that saw Felipe Massa miss out on the world championship was also up for debate.
2008 or when did the massa thing happened?
Senna 1990 Suzuka,
Schumacher in 94 crashing Hill, and God knows how many other incidents.
Compare that to 2021 a pass on track with better tyres, oh what a sporting crime that is , there wasn’t even contact. But people still cries https://t.co/whVqWee21G— old hunter (@NanoGrunge) February 10, 2024
The Lewis Hamilton fans have their say on the matter
Lewis Hamilton fans then replied to their rival base. The 39-year-old’s supporters posed a united front by using the same base for their arguments.
If this triggers you ask yourself why
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) February 10, 2024
mind you, no names were mentioned yet by the comments you’d think he called max by his full government name if the shoe fits, I guess https://t.co/a5zEtllaSR
— my love, mine all mine (@_dlnk) February 11, 2024
He didn’t say a name yet a certain fanbase will cry.
— marie gomez (@mariehatred) February 10, 2024
Almost three years since the event, the memory is still fresh in the hearts of every F1 fan. While there might never be a definitive answer to the issue, the on-track competition that arises due to the issue shall remain a spectacle for the fans.
With Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025, his rivalry with Verstappen could see a new chapter. Ferrari could be the next big rival to Red Bull, having been the only team to beat the Milton Keynes outfit in 2023.
