Verstappen won his first ever world title after a safety car right at the end of the race saw him and Hamilton race wheel to wheel in the last lap.
Follow Us
The final race of what was a dramatic season ended in the most dramatic way possible. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won his first ever world title after a safety car right at the end of the race saw him and Lewis Hamilton race wheel to wheel on the last lap. Hamilton led for the majority of the race but Williams driver Nicholas Latifi crashed during lap 54 of 58. It resulted in a safety car that was on track till lap 57. When the green flags were finally waved, the title protagonists raced wheel to wheel and the Dutchman ended up gaining the advantage. Hamilton tried his absolute best to win the position back but it was Verstappen’s defence in the end that won him his maiden title. Mercedes, however, bagged the constructor’s championship for the eighth season in a row while Sebastian Vettel finished the season with the most overtakes.
Verstappen did start the race on pole but Hamilton got a better start when the five lights went out. However, on the very first lap, it seemed like the Dutchman would pass Hamilton, but the latter strayed off track to keep his advantage. The FIA ruled that no investigation would be necessary as they felt that Verstappen had left no space for Hamilton. Race director Michael Massey confirmed later on that Hamilton was asked to reduce his speed and reduce some of the advantage he might have gained.
When it comes to defending, Verstappen was not the only one who did a great job. His teammate, Sergio Perez, led the race for the brief moment when Hamilton was in the pits. It was Perez, Hamilton, and Verstappen The Mexican defended ferociously, causing the seven-time world champion to lose a lot of time. Unfortunately for him, Red Bull decided to retire the Mexican’s car right at the end and he could not finish the race.
Mercedes made a crucial error when they decided to not bring in Hamilton for a second pit stop. The Brit did over 40 laps on the same hard compound tyres. Red Bull, however, decided to put the softs on Verstappen for the last few laps and that gave the Dutchman just that extra bit of pace to win the world championship.
It was a great day for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who managed to get on the podium in P3. He was followed by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda who managed to record his best ever finish in his Formula One career so far. Pierre Gasly came in fifth.
It was a bad last day at the office for Valterri Bottas who finished in P6. He will be racing for Alfa Romeo next season. Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Charles Leclerc rounded off the top 10 in the final race of the 2021 season.
2023 Formula E Hyderabad ePrix: Preview, Dates, Tickets, Live Streaming, all you need to know
