Max Verstappen won his first World Drivers’ Championship, overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the final round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
With five laps left in this final phase of the 2021 season, a Torontonian Nicolas Latifi (Williams) crash forced the Safety Car onto the track.
Verstappen and Red Bull then decided to stop an extra pit to put in new tyres. At Mercedes, Hamilton was asked to stay on the track, he is the one who took the lead.
Hostilities resumed just one lap before, resulting in a stunning end to the race.
The Dutchman took advantage of his new tyres, and beat Hamilton as soon as he had the chance. He then resisted the seven-time world champion’s attempts to cross the finish line in first place.
Thus, Hamilton missed the opportunity to become the first driver in history to win eight titles.
“This is crazy, I finally got lucky! I want to relive that with this team for the next 10 to 15 years,” Verstappen reacted after his victory.
Remember that before the race started, the two men tied for the standings with a similar score of 369.5 points. As for the constructors’ title, it went to Mercedes.
