Dutchman was handed a title lifeline on the final lap and then Mercedes’ legal challenges came to nothing
Shortly after the most chaotic and enthralling finish to a Formula One title in the sport’s history, Max Verstappen stood on top of his Red Bull car, fists pumping and shaking as if a lightning bolt was surging through him, before making a flying dismount, Frankie Dettori style. Who could blame him? Somehow, against the odds, he had muscled past Lewis Hamilton during a dramatic final lap shootout in the last race of 2021. A first world title was secured. Yet this thriller of an F1 season still had one final vicious twist to come.
While the Dutch driver was celebrating, Hamilton’s Mercedes’ team had spotted two apparent breaches of the rulebook. An appeal went in. Barristers were consulted. Suddenly this was no longer a sporting contest, but a legal one.
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