FIA steward claims 2021 title 'gifted' to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton look on in a composite with an Abu Dhabi flag behind them — Photo: © IMAGO

FIA steward claims 2021 title 'gifted' to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen snatched championship success from Lewis Hamilton in 2021

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Friday 16 January 2026 17:03

A former FIA steward has said that Max Verstappen was 'gifted' the 2021 world championship title.

Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went into the last race of the season level on points in 2021, but the actual race was clouded by one of the most controversial incidents in F1 history.

Hamilton led the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the majority of the race, but a late safety car saw the Dutchman claiming championship success on the final lap of the final race of the season.

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However, the race was clouded in controversy, after Masi had opted to let some lapped cars overtake the late safety car but not others, leaving Verstappen on fresh tyres directly behind Hamilton.

Now Danny Sullivan, who served as an FIA steward during two race weekends that season but not in the season-ending race, has said that Masi got his decision to let the lapped cars through wrong.

"The stewards never had a call on any of that stuff," Sullivan told the Epartrade YouTube channel. "People were yelling at him that they didn’t want to finish under yellow because it didn’t look good.

"So he let the five by, and then he put Max right behind Lewis. Max had stopped for tyres - Lewis had not - he’s on qualifying tyres, he’s on reds. Lewis’ tyres had 44 laps on them. There was not a chance in hell that he wasn’t going to pass him at that stage. He [Masi] basically gifted him the world championship on that decision."

Abu Dhabi 2021 repercussions

In the aftermath of the race, Masi was removed from his position after it was adjudged that he had not abided by the guidelines.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff recently called him a 'lunatic' when talking about the race, but none of that would've been any consolation to Hamilton, who is still stuck on seven titles rather than a record eight.

Since that race, Hamilton has only secured two grand prix victories across four full seasons, and in 2025 was a shadow of the driver that had competed so fiercely for the 2021 title.

Sullivan did opt to defend his former colleague Masi, however, saying that the demands of the F1 calendar are tough: "To be fair to Michael, he’s 23 races into the season. These guys are travelling non-stop, they’re being beat up all the time by teams, everybody, there’s all kinds of controversy. A lot of pressure, lateness, last five minutes of basically the season.

"And again, that’s my viewpoint. If you’re a Max fan - and I’m a Max fan, don’t misunderstand me - but if I’m Dutch and I am leaning more towards Max, I would say ‘but that was the call’. And it was, Max didn’t do anything.

"But it was not for me a good call. That’s my opinion and everybody can debate that and we will until we all stop."

F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Michael Masi Abu Dhabi 2021