A dig at Hamilton? Red Bull tweet reminder of controversial finish
On Thursday evening, Red Bull’s official twitter account shared an image of Max Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a move that sealed the Dutchman’s maiden world title.
It followed a mishandled Safety Car period, with then FIA race director Michael Masi incorrectly applying the rules to rush through a green flag finish, which ultimately cost the Australian his job.
Hamilton had dominated the race and appeared on course to seal a record-breaking eighth world title until the late Safety Car dramatically swung things in Verstappen’s favour.
Hamilton was left on old hard tyres with Mercedes anticipating the race to finish behind the Safety Car, while Verstappen was on fresh softs after Red Bull gambled to pit him from second place.
When the race restarted for a final lap shoot-out, Verstappen capitalised on his significant tyre advantage to snatch the lead from Hamilton into Turn 5, handing him victory in both the race and the championship.
Turn 5, Yas Marina Circuit pic.twitter.com/wpr2FrKkT2
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 17, 2022
Hamilton claimed over team radio that the ending had been “manipulated” and later entered a two-month social media blackout as he considered whether to return to F1 ahead of this season.
The seven-time world champion insisted ahead of this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he has moved on from the events of last season.
The conclusion to last year’s world title has divided the F1 fanbase, with Red Bull’s tweet prompting plenty of angry responses.
It came on a day the team had released a statement condemning online abuse directed towards Verstappen and Perez following a team orders incident at last weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
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