Lewis Hamilton has claimed that Max Verstappen’s 2021 title win was “rigged” into a further dig at the Red Bull star. Hamilton even suggested that someone had “made the decision” for the Dutchman to win the championship after Hamilton lost the last lap of the race.
The seven-time champion made the comments in an interview with Sky Germany when asked if losing the title in 2021 was similar to losing it in 2007. Hamilton said: “No, it was different because nobody tampered with this one. Someone made the decision that that result was basically what it was.
“There are similarities in the pain of losing 2007, by 17 seconds losing that championship. The last three laps I had basically lost and then I went across the line for another 17 seconds or whatever and I still lost the championship.”
Hamilton enjoyed a commanding lead in the closing stages of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before a late crash by Nicholas Latifi upended his title hopes. A safety car allowed Verstappen to pit for soft tires with just one lap remaining.
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“I don’t know if I can really put into words the feeling I had. I remember just sitting there in disbelief and realizing I have to unbuckle, I have to get out of there, I have to get out of this thing, I have to find the strength. I had no strength.
“And it was one of the hardest moments, I would say, that I’ve had in a long, long time. He knew what had happened. He knew what decisions had been made and why. Yeah, I knew something wasn’t right.”
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