F1 champion Max Verstappen delivers SHOCK Abu Dhabi 2021 admission after Lewis Hamilton controversy

Lewis Hamilton talking with Max Verstappen in Singapore — Photo: © IMAGO

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Verstappen delivers SHOCK Abu Dhabi 2021 admission after Hamilton controversy

The Red Bull star beat Lewis Hamilton in hugely controversial fashion in the race

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 31 December 2024 19:57

Red Bull star Max Verstappen has made a shock admission regarding the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The final race of the 2021 season has gone down as one of the most controversial in F1 history, with Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton having entered the event on equal points as they vied for the drivers' championship that year.

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Whilst the Dutchman eventually claimed his first title, Hamilton was close to chasing down a record-breaking eighth world championship.

For a majority of the race, Hamilton was on track to claim that accolade as he dominated from the lights out, but a late safety car and controversial call from the stewards' room ended all hopes of winning the title.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP was a controversial race

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Verstappen discusses Abu Dhabi 2021 title battle

A crash from Nicholas Latifi brought out a late safety car, and Hamilton stayed out on his older tyres whilst Verstappen crucially pitted for fresh rubber.

The controversy arose after the FIA race director Michael Masi allowed one more lap of racing, despite the fact not all cars had un-lapped themselves which appeared out of kilter with the race regulations.

Verstappen went on to take the title in a race that made F1 history, but the now four-time world champion has said that whilst it is a nice race to look back upon, surprisingly, he would not want to re-experience that day.

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“For me, reliving my first title, like that day, I think I would die of a heart attack,” he said on The Talking Bull Podcast.

“Because I remember people that saw me that day, especially my girlfriend Kelly, she came into my room before the race - and normally before a race I’m not that nervous.

“I mean, you’re well prepared and there might be some nerves about wanting to do well…but she said that my hands were ice cold. So again, you really don’t want to relive this kind of moments.

"I mean they’re amazing to look at but not to relive.”

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix