Red Bull had to hope these compounds had stronger pace if he was to catch up with Hamilton. He waited until Lap 13 to change to hards, coming out behind Lando Norris in sixth. He had gone out on the softs, but by Lap 9 was struggling with rear tyre degradation. Lap 13: After struggling with his soft tyres, Verstappen was forced into early change. All through this, Hamilton's lead was slowly increasing. They said it was simply hard racing - Verstappen was ahead at the apex and made the corner. The stewards' review decided Verstappen gained an advantage by forcing Hamilton off, which Hamilton simply neutralised by cutting the corner. Lap 3: The controversy continued as the stewards confirmed no investigation was necessary for the Lap 1 incident. 'He has to give that back,' Verstappen said over the radio, but the stewards do not note the incident until two laps later. Hamilton, however, was forced wide and cut the corner at the chicane before retaking the lead. His move was late, but his braking timed well enough to make the corner and stay on the track.

Verstappen had closed in and attempted to go up the inside of Hamilton. Hamilton jumping ahead of his title rival was a huge moment, but the biggest event of the lap came at Turn 6. With so much at stake, it was inevitable to see drama from lights out. Lap 1: Hamilton made a much better start than Verstappen to lead into Turn 1, but the controversy began at Turn 6. But in the end, 24-year-old Verstappen claimed the race and the championship title. There was controversy from the first lap, with both title contenders having their own share of the luck. It was winner-takes-all.Īnd after all the excitement and buildup, the race did not disappoint. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton entered the race level on points - a feat that has only happened once before in the sport's 71-year history, when Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni entered the 1974 finale level. In a season full of drama and controversy, it almost feels fitting the championship title was decided on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. How Max Verstappen won the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser

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