“I have achieved my life goal, what I still achieve is only a bonus,” the 24-year-old Dutchman said cheerfully.
Mercedes was represented in the French capital by technical director James Allison. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and team principal Toto Wolff let the festive evening pass. The absent Briton was still named personality of the year.
Controversial race ending
The two leaders of the German racing team are still angry about the conclusion of the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes feels robbed by race director Michael Masi, who played a decisive role in the title fight in the last rounds with a few decisions. Not Hamilton, but Verstappen took the world title as a result.
After Mercedes announced yesterday that it would not file an appeal against the course of events in Abu Dhabi, the final classification for 2021 in Formula 1 was definitively determined.
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The champions in other classes were also honoured, including the Dutch Nyck de Vries, who won the world title in Formula E with Mercedes.
Verstappen over Hamilton
Verstappen also responded in Paris to Wolff’s suggestion that Hamilton may not return to Formula 1 because of the dramatic denouement in Abu Dhabi. “I see no reason for him to give up or stop now.”
“I can understand that you are not happy the first days after such a race, but you also have to know that this is racing. I think he should just look back on what he has already achieved. That should give him a lot of comfort and should also be the drive to just keep going, because he still wants to fight for that eighth world title and he can certainly do that again next year.”
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