Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he has forgiven Michael Masi for the mistake that gave Max Verstappen the F1 title last season. Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable lead in the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before a late-race safety car piled into the field.
This allowed Verstappen to put on fresh tires and close the gap to the Mercedes star with just a couple of laps to go. The race seemed about to end behind the safety car as not all of the lapped cars had made it to the back of the field.
However, Masi restarted the race, allowing Verstappen to overtake Hamilton before the end of the race to clinch his first F1 title. Speaking about the drama at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Hamilton admitted he didn’t feel “attacked” by Masi’s mistake.
He explained, “I think it was just poor decision-making. I’m sure there is ego involved and then there are also the moving parts. There are people talking in his ear. I don’t feel like it was a particular target.”
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“When you hold on to some negativity, when you hold on to hate or whatever, it’s just holding you back. I am going up AND I am going forward, regardless of what has happened in the past. I chose not to insist on it. There’s nothing I can do about it then. I gave everything. Like, I gave everything, and I sacrificed.
“But I am willing to do it again. So that’s what I’m trying to work on.” Hamilton has struggled to replace last year’s success as Mercedes struggles to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari.
But the Mercedes star came close to taking his first win of the season at Austin last weekend as the team’s further improvements almost paid off.
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