This has been a nightmare year for Lewis Hamilton. Not a single podium finish, fighting with the team and engineers, constant complaints about the car, Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton are off to a very inauspicious start.
Hamilton may have one more race left in the season, but mentally, he’s checked out. In every interview and press conference, you can just see he’s finished with the year and is ready to go on vacation.
But with one race left, Lewis Hamilton has a chance to extract a little bit of final revenge on an old nemesis. He could finally get his revenge on Max Verstappen for the debacle at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Here’s what happened then and how he could get revenge now.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The year was 2021—the place: Abu Dhabi, UAE. After a hard-fought season, which included multiple crashes, controversies, and more, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen entered the final race weekend of the year tied on points.
The race began, and Hamilton took the lead. Back and forths along the way, but Hamilton largely held on to the lead through the race. On lap 37, Verstappen changed his tyres, and Mercedes opted to keep Hamilton out to build a bigger lead and finish on the older tyres. Mathematically, Red Bull was not going to catch Mercedes even on fresher tyres.
But on lap 53, Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barrier. Debris was everywhere. The safety car was called out. As the cars bunched up against the safety car, Hamilton sat in first, five lapped cars sat behind him, and then Verstappen was behind them, although technically in second.
Verstappen pitted onto fresh soft tyres. Hamilton remained out. The gap was gone between the two, with just the five lapped cars between them.
Initially, Michael Masi in Race Control told the lapped cars to remain in position, but on lap 57, he went over the radio, telling only the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to go past the safety car and to rejoin at the back of the grid.
The safety car ended the next lap, allowing one lap of racing. With fresh tyres and no gap, Verstappen passed Hamilton around turn six and went on to win the race and the championship.
This was one of the most controversial finishes in F1 history, and a moment that scarred Lewis. He has not won a Drivers’ Championship since, and sits tied with Michael Schumacher with seven titles.
What can Lewis Hamilton do this year?
And while Hamilton will not win the Drivers’ Championship, there is the opportunity for the funniest thing to happen. Imagine this. Verstappen comes out ahead early on and looks set to take home the win in the race. Lando Norris sits further back, too far back to catch him without a miracle.
Then, Hamilton crashes his car. The safety car comes out. The drivers bunch up against it, with Verstappen’s lead now gone. McLaren, Hamilton’s old team, closes the gap to Verstappen, and one of Norris or Oscar Piastri can get out ahead of Verstappen and deny him the win.
Hamilton will have his revenge for Abu Dhabi 2021 on Verstappen. His old team at McLaren will take home the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship, and Hamilton gets to go out into the off-season with at least a small smile, and isn’t that what we all really need right now?
Is this even realistic?
Of course it’s not, but a man can dream, right? Nobody is suggesting Hamilton pull a Crashgate 2008 and do this intentionally, but just imagine the lore that would happen if it did. The story would write itself. Netflix would have a field day. Drive to Survive would be insane.
This is the quality storyline that Liberty Media is dreaming about. While it may be unrealistic, just imagine the possibilities if it did.
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