It was claimed that Lewis Hamilton, the British driver of the Mercedes team, who lost the championship after the final stage race in the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, said that manipulation was done during the race.
Hamilton, who has 7 world championships in his career, was overtaken by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held at the weekend and lost the championship to his Dutch rival.
“This race has been manipulated, my friend,” said the British driver after being overtaken by his opponent. It was claimed that his statements were not broadcast by the live broadcasting F1 radio, but only heard on his own channel, which received the live audio recording of Hamilton. Formula 1 did not respond to the allegations.
Due to the accident at the end of the race, the safety car entered the track and the time gap between the leader Hamilton and the second Verstappen was closed after the F1 cars slowed down in a convoy. Contrary to protocol, only cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to reverse their order, rather than all laps, so that the final lap of the race could be run. Making good use of this opportunity, Verstappen, with his tire advantage, passed Hamilton on the last lap and reached the first F1 championship of his career.
Mercedes, whose two objections to the International Automobile Federation (FIA) were rejected, emphasized that it could take the issue to court.
–
