Lewis Hamilton says he still thinks of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Image: twitter @MercedesAMGF1EN
‘Hamilton will rather claim 2021 title and lose 2008’ ex-F1 manager
Peter Windsor said the final lap in Abu Dhabi 2021 shouldn’t have counted and Hamilton should have won that race and the title.
Lewis Hamilton says he still thinks of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Image: twitter @MercedesAMGF1EN
Former Formula One team manager Peter Windsor claims Lewis Hamilton would rather exchange his 2008 title with the 2021.
The seven-time F1 champion was controversially denied his eighth championship in 2021 after Safety Car rules were misinterpreted.
Two years later, former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa took legal against Formula One and the FIA over his lost F1 title in 2008.
Hamilton was denied 8th F1 title in Abu Dhabi 2021
The Brazilian alleged there was a conspiracy that denied him the 2008 championship which Lewis Hamilton ultimately won. Massa wants the 2008 Singapore GP results cancelled after former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone ‘admitted’ that he knew Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to help then-Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win the 2008 race.
Windsor believes if Massa is successful, Hamilton and Mercedes will also protest 2021’s Abu Dhabi race.
“In my opinion, the final lap in Abu Dhabi 2021 shouldn’t have counted. Lewis should have won that race and become world champion,” he said on his podcast.
“Deep down, if you were to ask Lewis Hamilton to lose his 2008 title to give it to Felipe Massa, and reclaim the 2021 championship, I think he would be willing to do it.”
Hamilton was leading the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, the last race of that season.
With six laps remaining, a crash from Nicholas Latifi brought in a Safety Car.
This allowed Red Bull to bring Max Verstappen in for fresh tyres hoping the race to resume. A brake fire from Latifi’s car meant the marshalls would take a little longer to remove the car.
With three laps remaining, and five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen, the then-race director Michael Masi told teams that if racing resumed, no cars would unlap themselves making it difficult or near impossible for Verstappen to win the title.
After hearing the message, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner jumped on the radio and called for “one racing lap.”
Windsor says Hamilton was robbed in Abu Dhabi
Red Bull’s sporting director, Jonathan Wheatley also chipped in and ordered Masi to go ‘motor racing’.
“Those lapped cars, you don’t need to let them go right the way around and catch up with the back of the pack,” he said.
“You only need to let them go, and then we’ve got a motor race on our hands.”
Motor racing was called and motor racing is what we got. Masi allowed only lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to unlap themselves, leaving the seven-time champions a sitting duck in the last lap.
Verstappen passed Hamilton shortly after the restart to be crowned the 2021 F1 champion.
Masi’s unprecedented call to speed up the end of the safety car procedure was met with negative reactions.
Many fans and pundits felt Hamilton was robbed and deserved the 2021 F1 title over Verstappen.
In 2022, he was relieved from his duties as F1 race director.
