Lewis Hamilton suffered what was arguably his biggest sporting heartbreak at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Both him and title rival Max Verstappen entered the season finale level on points and the equation was simple- whoever finished in front, would win the championship.
For Verstappen the evening went off to a very difficult start, as Hamilton was clearly the faster driver that day. The latter was just a few laps away from winning his eighth world championship but a late race safety car changed it all. Then race director Michael Masi made a series of controversial decisions, that handed Verstappen with a golden opportunity to overtake Hamilton on the final lap.
Max Verstappen’s overtake on Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi 2021 https://t.co/oLQo9N4WZV pic.twitter.com/NA537rCd6g
— Kieran (@kie_SF1) January 12, 2023
Hamilton, the entire Mercedes team and fans watched in disbelief, as Verstappen snatched the win away and became the 2021 F1 World Champion. Mercedes protested against the decision in the immediate aftermath of the outing, but the result stood, leaving Hamilton and his fans devastated.
Lewis Hamilton petition gathers strength
Mercedes and even Hamilton, have moved on from the infamous incident in Yas Island. However, Hamilton’s fans have still not moved on from what they feel was a very unjust outcome. Hence, they started their own petition calling for the title to be scrapped off Verstappen.
Of course, the FIA even taking this petition into consideration is not remotely possible. But, it shows that fans are majorly leaning towards Hamilton and calling for Verstappen’s title to be stripped off him.
According to The Express, the petition to have the 2021 world championship taken away from Verstappen has gathered more than 80,000 signatures.
Hamilton, Verstappen and Mercedes have all moved on from 2021
The 2021 F1 season produced what was arguably one of the most exciting title battles of all time. It went right down to the wire and even though the ending was marred by questionable decision making on Masi’s part, no one can deny the greatness of both Verstappen and Hamilton which was on display that year.
Toto Wolff on Abu Dhabi 2021:
“I think about it every day. But I have my peace with Max winning the championship, because he’s a deserving champion. How it panned out, I think I have values around fairness, and especially sporting fairness. This is what provides my fundamental
— The F1 Journal (@thef1journal_) August 15, 2022
Verstappen, evidently, thinks that the decision was correct and has no thoughts about the season finale keeping him up at night. However, Hamilton and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff too, have now moved on from the result.
While both Hamilton and Wolff feel that the outcome was unfair, they feel there’s no point dwelling on the past.
