The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP will always remain as one of F1’s darkest days. And despite it happening almost four years ago, the moment that Lewis Hamilton was seemingly stripped of his eighth world title still seems to be fresh in the minds of the fans and everyone who witnessed it.
The then Mercedes driver was on course to seal that record-breaking title when a late Safety Car and a controversial decision by the now sacked Race Director, Michael Masi handed the title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen instead, on the very last lap of the race.
The immediate ramifications of the loss even led Hamilton to contemplate retirement. However, the moment he stepped out of the car still congratulated Verstappen stands as an endearing memory to Sky Sports F1’s Natalie Pinkham.
David Croft says the last lap of Abu Dhabi 2021 was the most memorable piece of commentary in his career
“With that last lap, and everything that led to up to it, with controversy as well, and then to call someone as the World Champion.. I managed to find the right words as Max… pic.twitter.com/H7wtrSmjiC
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) August 15, 2023
“For Lewis to walk up to Max and shake him by the hand [and] look him in the eye. I thought, if anything we can take out of this is, this incredible moment for children everywhere to see how to deal with adversity and defeat graciously,” she said on the Red Flags podcast.
That being said, the British driver disappeared completely during the winter break after the 2021 finale as Yas Marina. While Hamilton would’ve shown due respect toward his opponent, he certainly had a lot of mental trauma, which is why he went off the grid to come to terms with what happened on the night of December 12th, 2021.
Despite Hamilton’s resilience that night, his fans have still been asking for accountability from the FIA. In the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Masi was sacked and the governing body did admit to ‘human error’, however, there has not been any closure as to the impact it has had on the #44 driver.
Despite 2021 Abu Dhabi controversy, Hamilton fights on for 8th title
There’s no one better than Pinkham who understands the plight of Hamilton’s fans better. She even went on to say that it was impossible for her to make her kids understand what transpired that night at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“One of the problems that I had with 2021 personally was, I couldn’t explain it to my kids. And if I can’t explain it to my kids, how can we as broadcasters explain it to the viewers, the public at large,” she added.
Since then, Hamilton has shown resilience and stepped out onto the track to avenge that elusive eighth title. However, the ground effect era of the sport saw Mercedes and Hamilton struggle for top-five results for the last three years, let alone win races and challenge for the championship.
That said, the seven-time world champion now embarks on a new journey with Ferrari. The SF-25 has been touted to be one of the top cars in the pecking order this season, and the Briton is surely going to come sprinting out of the blocks this season to right the wrongs of his 2021 defeat.
