F1 legend Lewis Hamilton declares last laugh over Max Verstappen as X-RATED Red Bull controversy concludes

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton declares last laugh over Verstappen as X-RATED Red Bull controversy concludes

Lewis Hamilton has been handed an F1 win over rival Max Verstappen

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 11 January 2025 12:58

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been handed a final verdict over an X-rated Red Bull saga that concerned his sporting rival Max Verstappen.

The 2024 season saw Hamilton slip further down the order than he had become accustomed to over his past legendary seasons with Mercedes, but things weren't always plain sailing for Verstappen either despite taking home a fourth consecutive drivers' title.

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GPFans have recently been asking for your answers to a variety of 2024 award categories, aiming to reward some unsung heroes of last season.

Although the Dutchman eventually proved himself as the one to beat after stealing yet another championship title in 2024, Red Bull's performance woes clearly got to him, with Verstappen taking his frustrations out over team radio on multiple occasions last year, often landing in hot water over his choice of language in the process.

Hamilton on the other hand often came across as rather emotional over Mercedes' team radio, but who can blame him given every race throughout the 2024 season brought him closer to his final round with the Silver Arrows, having chosen to leave the team for Ferrari for 2025.

Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase often had to endure sweary outbursts in 2024

Lewis Hamilton bid an emotional farewell to Mercedes F1 team

Hamilton awarded victory in Mercedes F1 tribute

Following the conclusion of the 2024 season at the Abu Dhabi GP last month, the GPFans Poll for the best team radio quote has swung away from the Dutchman's fiery outbursts, instead crowning Hamilton the winner for his final message across Mercedes comms at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The 40-year-old's emotional farewell to the team which he has achieved record success with over the past 12 seasons won the hearts of GPFans voters, with 43 per cent choosing his final team radio message to Mercedes as the best of 2024.

This result isn't the only win Hamilton can take away from our poll either, beating Verstappen to the top of the vote with only 22 per cent of participants opting for the Dutchman's X-rated rant at engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, which occurred after an on-track incident with Hamilton.

The Hungarian Grand Prix saw plenty of action last season, but Verstappen lost it over team radio when he was investigated by the FIA for a collision with Hamilton.

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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton made contact at the 2024 Hungarian GP

The Red Bull star fumed at Lambiase with the engineer responding: "I'm not even going to get into a radio argument with the other teams over this Max. It's childish, it's childish."

The now infamous 'childish' claims triggered controversy, with Red Bull stating that their star race engineer was not in fact aiming the dig at Verstappen, as it was initially believed.

Hamilton can now enjoy his winter break knowing that our readers preferred his heartwarming radio message to Mercedes over Verstappen's sweary saga, but the pair will no doubt find themselves in many more heated on-track encounters this year as the Brit hopes to fight for his first championship with Ferrari.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes FIA