Day: December 17, 2021

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Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to clinch the F1 world title in a remarkable conclusion to the season.

Hamilton had seemed on course for victory and an eighth world title in total, but a late safety car allowed Verstappen to pit for fresh tires as he snatched the lead from the Mercedes man on the last lap. 

Verstappen, 24, wins the world title for the first time while Hamilton remains on seven championships alongside German legend Michael Schumacher.

After a season of twists and turns, Hamilton and Verstappen had headed into the conclusion at the Yas Marina circuit level on points, meaning it was winner-takes-all on Sunday.

However, after Verstappen’s victory Hamilton fans will be left asking questions over the contentious circumstances at the end of the race.

Mercedes will surely demand answers over a messy denouement when the safety car was deployed following a crash by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi with five laps to go. 

Verstappen pitted and the field bunched up. Crucially, race director Michael Masi made a late call to permit some drivers to overtake the safety car, having previously said they couldn’t.

That put Verstappen directly behind Hamilton on fresh soft tires rather than with stragglers to overtake, and he took full advantage by sweeping past his rival on turn five of the final lap.

Mercedes were left raging as boss Toto Wolff fumed on the radio that the situation was “not right”.

But when the dust had settled, it was Verstappen who had broken Hamilton’s streak of four successive F1 titles, also ending Mercedes’ run of seven successive wins.  

“It’s unbelievable,” said the Dutchman, who is the son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen.  

“I don’t know what to say, my team deserve it, they are unbelievable.” 

STUNNING FINALE TO REMARKABLE SEASON

Verstappen and Hamilton were locked on 369.5 points heading into the season finale in the UAE, and the tone for yet another controversial showdown was set as early as the first lap.

Starting from second on the grid, Hamilton had made a blistering start by beating pole-starter Verstappen to the first corner, but the Red Bull driver attempted to recapture his position at turn seven, leading to the Brit heading off the track.

Hamilton rejoined in first place but a review was launched into whether Verstappen had been in the wrong by braking too late and “pushing” the Mercedes man off the track, or whether the Brit was beaten fair and square to the corner.

But race stewards decided not to investigate, meaning the places stayed as they were.

That drew fury from Red Bull and Verstappen, who described the decision as “incredible.”

Following the controversial opening Hamilton soon opened up a healthy lead as Verstappen struggled on his soft tires before swapping to hards.

Hamilton followed into the pits to swap his mediums for hard tires, and emerged behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, whose team were hoping he could somehow hold up the Brit to get Verstappen back into contention.  

Perez duly obliged by tussling with Hamilton, cutting his lead over Verstappen from five seconds to around two before the Mercedes driver finally found a way past.

Perez then made way for Verstappen to pass as the race returned to a straight shootout between the two championship rivals.

Hamilton had seemed in control of the race before the late drama. © Reuters



Hamilton again opened up a big lead but Red Bull seemed to be offered another glimmer of hope when the virtual safety car was deployed on lap 37 of 58 when Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo came to halt trackside.

Red Bull used the chance to bring Verstappen in again while Mercedes and Hamilton opted to stay out.

By that stage the Brit’s lead was touching 18 seconds, although the fresher tires meant Verstappen could attempt an unlikely a last-ditch charge for the title.

Hamilton still seemed set to hold on in relative comfort, but there was one last twist on the cards when Williams driver Latifi crashed with five laps to go.

The yellow flag came out which gave the chance for Verstappen to pit yet again in one last roll of the dice.  

When the safety car was removed the Dutchman pounced, speeding past Hamilton to take the checkered flag just over 2.5 seconds ahead of his rival, with Carlos Sainz Jr of Ferrari finishing third. 

Verstappen celebrated his win wildly. © Reuters



Hamilton, 36, was initially stunned at missing out on a record title but was gracious to Verstappen and Red Bull despite tensions often simmering over during a fiercely contested season. 

“Firstly, congratulations to Max and his team,” said Hamilton.

“I think we did an amazing job this year. The team, everyone back at the factory, all the men and women we have, worked so hard all year in a difficult season.

“I am so proud of them, and so grateful to be part of the journey with them. We gave it everything this last part of the season and never gave up, that’s the most important thing.”

Mercedes at least had some consolation in the form of the Constructors’ Title, which they won for the eighth time in a row.  

But for the first time since 2013, it was a Red Bull racer who ended the season as F1 world champion. 

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Germany star Kimmich ‘expresses regret’ as he reverses Covid vaccine stance

Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich has relented in his opposition to the Covid-19 vaccine as he pledged to take the jab as soon as possible after experiencing lung problems following a positive test for the virus.

Kimmich was one of several high-profile holdouts within German football and had initially announced his hesitancy in taking one of the several available vaccines against Covid-19, claiming concerns about the lack of long-term studies into potential side effects of the shots – but had stressed that he didn’t consider himself a so-called anti-vaxxer. 

However, speaking to German outlet ZDF in an interview scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday, the 26-year-old now says he is willing to receive a vaccine, and reportedly indicated that he wishes that he had done so sooner.

“In general, it was just difficult for me to deal with my fears and concerns, that’s why I was undecided for so long,” the German international said.

His change of mind comes after Kimmich’s positive test for the virus in November, after which he experienced debilitating symptoms, including damage to his lungs, which are expected to keep him out of football until next year.

That came after Kimmich was one of several unvaccinated Bayern players to have their wages docked after being forced into isolation after coming into contact with a confirmed positive case.

That was in line with German law, which stipulates that an employer, in this case Bayern Munich, can withhold payments to unvaccinated employees who are forced into quarantine.

The other Bayern Munich players reported to have fallen foul of these rules were  Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance.

It was reported recently that Choupo-Moting had also experienced severe symptoms when he contracted Covid-19.

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Joshua Kimmich is out until 2022 © Leon Kuegeler / Reuters
Star unvaccinated footballer has a lung problem weeks after catching Covid

“I’m happy my self-isolation caused by the coronavirus has ended,” Kimmich told Bayern’s website after his period of self-isolation came to a close.

“I’m doing very well, but I’m not yet able to train fully due to slight infiltrations in my lungs. 

“I’ll therefore do some rehabilitative training and can’t wait to be fully back in action in January.”

Germany’s Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has praised Kimmich for announcing his intention to receive the vaccine.

“It’s a good decision,” she wrote on Twitter. “As a professional footballer and national player, he is a role model for many people. More vaccinations are the way out of the pandemic.”

Roughly 70% of the German population are currently vaccinated against Covid-19. Statistics indicate that Germany has recorded in excess of 6.5 million Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, along with 106,00 fatalities.

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‘Unacceptable’: Mercedes file protest amid outrage over Verstappen F1 title win

It was one of the most dramatic finishes to a Formula 1 season ever but Max Verstappen’s astonishing last-lap victory against reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi has left a bad taste in the mouths of some fans.

One of the most fractious seasons in recent F1 history got the type of box office climax it deserved when Verstappen took full advantage of the late introduction of the safety car to zoom past multiple-time world champion Hamilton on a dramatic final lap, clinching a maiden world title and breaking the hearts of Mercedes and British racing fans in the process.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

The conclusion promises to be poured over by fans and officials alike, particularly after Mercedes lodged an official protest with the FIA over the decisions surrounding the safety car which ultimately cost Hamilton the title. 

But it isn’t just the higher-ups in the Mercedes camp that are angered by the race’s conclusion, as more than a few angry F1 fans have taken to social media to vent their frustrations at what many are seeing as a ‘robbery’ against Hamilton authored by Formula 1 themselves.

The online allegations include suggestions that the F1 hierarchy engineered the chaotic last lap sequence in a bid to provide a glitzy, Hollywood-style finish to the most contentious campaign in years – and that Hamilton was the unfortunate victim of a conspiracy.

Others, though, just maintain that racing fans witnessed a good, old-fashioned ‘robbery’.

Either way, Twitter seems to be in agreement that all wasn’t quite right in the final stages of the thrilling race in Abu Dhabi.

“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!” Formula 1 driver George Russell wrote on Twitter soon after the conclusion of the race.

“Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot believe what we’ve just seen.”

“I don’t know what I’ve just watched but it can’t be right. Hamilton’s been robbed, surely?” added controversial British talking head Piers Morgan.

“That was incredible,” added another. “Doesn’t seem fair. Lewis Hamilton will feel robbed, so far ahead, then penalised due to the safety car and seemingly arbitrary decisions (feels a bit like politics right now) Unbelievable.”

“A hint of the constructed reality with Michael Masi’s rule bend to ensure a Hollywood finish to the season. Netflix will be pleased,” came the thoughts of another fan, referring to the popular F1 series ‘Drive to Survive’ on the subscription platform. 

“But either way Verstappen a true champion and Red Bull smart in how they threw the kitchen sink at it, and got the reward from the gods.”

“The FIA’s decision was abnormal and I’d be fuming if I was Hamilton but I absolutely cannot be arsed with the conspiracy theories that the sport wanted Max to win. [FIA race director Michael] Masi and co would’ve done the same thing if the positions were reversed, they just wanted an exciting finish,” said another.

Some, though, weren’t quite so upset at the conclusion.

“Does this mean I won’t have to listen to Lewis Hamilton getting of a private jet and telling me about climate change this winter? I think we are all winners in that case. The horror on Sky is so good,” wrote sports writer Ewan MacKenna, obviously reveling in the result.

“My personal favorite was Hamilton’s comments about racing in Saudi Arabia, if you honestly believe that much in what you’re saying then why didn’t he boycott it, it far more powerful than words,” agreed another. 

Another summed it up much more plainly: “The Hamilton fan meltdown is fantastic.”

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F1 fans claim Schumacher conspiracy as Hamilton beaten to title (VIDEO)

F1 fans have gone into conspiracy mode by claiming that the son of Michael Schumacher played a huge part in Max Verstappen’s thrilling championship win over Lewis Hamilton.

Pipped to the post on the final lap by his Dutch rival, the Brit’s loss in the last race of 2021 in Abu Dhabi meant that he did not surpass Schumacher in all-time world titles.

The pair are tied on seven wins each as things stand, and in the aftermath of what has been widely dubbed the most thrilling season finale ever, detectives have gone to work in trying to ascertain how events unfolded in the way they did. 

READ MORE: Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

One theory is that Schumacher’s son Mick, in his maiden campaign at Haas, “protected” or “saved” Michael’s record. 

This was done by pushing Nicholas Latifi wide and forcing him into his dirty air, which then caused the Canadian to crash into the barrier with five laps remaining at the Yas Marina circuit. 

With the safety car brought out, Verstappen was able to come to the pits for fresh tires and also took advantage of some confused decision-making by race officials to overtake Hamilton.

The stunning finale handed Verstappen, 24, his first championship while Hamilton denied the chance to clinch his eighth and surpass Schumacher’s record.

“The man was playing 4D chess today,” was a popular assessment of Mick’s move on Twitter.

“Mick Schumacher really said ‘This one’s for dad’ when he took out Latifi,” joked someone else.

But such posts triggered further discussions that inconsistent F1 officiating had influenced events the most. 

This aside, Hamilton’s former arch-nemesis Sebastian Vettel and Mick were the first to console the tearful 36-year-old after he had come up short. 

Last year, Mick also touched Hamilton by presenting him with one of his father’s crash helmets after he equalld Michael’s tally of 91 F1 victories, which is now broken by 103 overall GP triumphs. 

Ahead of Sunday’s race, Mick couldn’t tell the F1 official website how he felt about Hamilton potentially surpassing his father – who is still recovering from a 2013 ski accident that saw him put into an induced coma – in world championships.

“Whoever wins will win,” he said. “I can’t do anything about that.”

Yet plenty believe he did.

READ MORE: ‘Unacceptable’: Mercedes file protest amid outrage over Verstappen F1 title win

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‘Lucky charm’: Stunning F1 princess embraces lover Verstappen after title win

Brazilian model Kelly Piquet could not hide her joy as she embraced boyfriend Max Verstappen after his stunning victory in Abu Dhabi, where he overtook rival Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to seal the Formula 1 world title.

Verstappen triumphed in remarkable scenes at the Yas Marina circuit as the late deployment of a safety car derailed Hamilton’s seemingly serene progress towards an eighth world title.

Red Bull driver Verstappen was handed a last roll of the dice by a late tire change and some controversial decision-making by race officials.

But the Dutchman, 24, kept his cool to rip past Hamilton on the last lap to clinch a first-ever F1 title.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

Among those to congratulate the star in chaotic scenes trackside was Verstappen’s lover Pique – who is the daughter of Brazilian F1 legend Nelson Pique, himself a three-time world champion.

German-born Kelly, 33, was seen hugging Verstappen tightly amid wild celebrations after the last-gasp conclusion to an incredible season in which the title battle had ebbed and flowed between the Dutchman and his British rival. 

Piquet watched on as Verstappen claimed a maiden world title. © Twitter



The moment was picked up by the cameras, with one fan gushing: “Thank you for blessing us with your presence, Miss Kelly Piquet, the most beautiful lucky charm in the world.”

Verstappen and Piquet are thought to have been in a relationship since October 2020, although the model and media personality previously dated Russian racer Daniil Kvyat.

Piquet and Kvyat have a daughter together, Penelope, who was born in July 2019, although the pair are said to have split in December of the same year.

Kvyat, 27, previously raced for the Red Bull F1 team, but was replaced by Verstappen in 2016 as the Russian was shunted to affiliate team Toro Rosso.

Verstappen has never looked back, while Kvyat is now a reserve driver for F1 team Alpine.

Capping his remarkable title triumph, Verstappen paid tribute to his team on Sunday. 

“To my team, I think they know I love them. I hope we can do this for 10 to 15 years together,” said the Dutchman, who is the son of former F1 racer Jos Verstappen.

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Verstappen took the title as Hamilton settled for second. © Reuters
‘Unacceptable’: Mercedes file protest amid outrage over Verstappen F1 title win

“There’s no reason to change, ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. They love me. Yeah, it’s insane!

“I’m so happy, and also [Red Bull team boss] Christian [Horner] and [Red Bull advisor] Helmut [Marko] trusting me to be in the team in 2016.

“Our goal, of course, was to win this championship, and now we have!”

While there was unbridled joy for Verstappen, his partner Piquet and the Red Bull team, Mercedes confirmed that they had filed a protest against the decisions made by officials surrounding the safety car in the closing stages.