Only four corners from the checkered flag, after realizing that he would not be able to pass again Max Verstappen and win his eighth World Cup, Lewis Hamilton he shouted, “This has been manipulated, man.”
The comment was not broadcast on the TV feed, but F1 TV viewers who were following the race on the onboard of the TV could hear it. Mercedes #44.
During his time on the Safety Car, Hamilton’s chat with his engineer focused primarily on his frustrations with the Safety Car’s apparent slowness as it retrieved the Williams from Nicholas latifi.
As the restart of what had become a one-lap race before the checkered flag approached, Lewis’s track engineer Peter Bonnington said: “The Safety Car comes back this lap, prepare the tires, will try to overtake you on each straight, one lap at the end “.
After the green flag and Verstappen’s winning overtaking there was no comment from Hamilton with the short wall, until he let go of that brief message a few corners from the finish.
Immediately after the checkered flag, Bonnington replied: “I’m speechless Lewis, absolutely speechless.”
Hamilton did not add anything else on the return lap, but even the wall remained silent, at least until Bonnington reminded him (too late) that he would have to park his car on the starting straight.
After stopping in a parc fermé, Hamilton sat in the cockpit for two full minutes to collect his thoughts before getting out of the car.
It was a scenario similar to that of Baku, where he had remained in the car in silence for several minutes after a mistake at the restart on the last lap that cost him precious points.
In Abu Dhabi, after the race, he spoke briefly with Jenson Button, who took care of the usual television interviews, but then skipped the FIA press conference and subsequent interviews in the ring.
His team principal, Toto Wolff, refused to speak to the media after the two Mercedes complaints were dismissed late in the evening. As he was leaving the paddock, he limited himself to: “I don’t want to say anything”.
In addition, the key men of the Mercedes garage, Andrew Shovlin and James Vowles, have also given up their traditional meeting with the media at the end of the race.
Mercedes’ silence seems destined to continue at least until a decision is made regarding a further appeal, as it has notified the FIA of its intention to appeal against the rejection of its protest regarding the restart procedure. The team has 96 hours from this notification to decide what to do.
As runner-up in the World Championship, Hamilton should in any case speak to the media on Thursday, at the FIA Awards Gala in Paris, which Wolff will also be present as Mercedes representative for the conquest of the Constructors’ title.
–
