"Lewis seemed to have a 2-3 tenths advantage on us" - Red Bull claims Lewis Hamilton was faster than Max Verstappen during Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest car out on track at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to some. One of the many supporting that thought was Red Bull's Chief Technology Officer, Adrian Newey.

Speaking immediately after the end of a thrilling season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit, Newey said that Hamilton's Mercedes was the car to beat in the race. He said:

"As you said, it looked as though it was slipping away from us. Lewis (Hamilton) seemed to have a 2-3 tenth advantage over us and was just eeking it out. We obviously gambled to then go for a two-stop. We had nothing to lose. It looked like we would run out of laps and then the Safety Car changed the whole race."

Lewis Hamilton was rapid out of the gates when the lights went out. Despite his title rival Max Verstappen starting on the quicker soft tires, Hamilton got the jump on the Dutchman and was able to carry enough speed to steal the lead going into Turn 1.

Hamilton also looked to be stretching his advantage over Verstappen in the first stint, and even after the latter pitted for fresh hard tires, Hamilton seemed to be out of arm's length.

All that changed when Nicholas Latifi drove his Williams into a wall and brought the Safety Car out. Verstappen chose to pit for softs while Hamilton opted to hold onto to track position in a gamble that backfired on the Briton on the final lap of the race.

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes unhappy with Safety Car recall

Lewis Hamilton was gracious following a scintillating end to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After coming second in a race he seemed destined to win on the last lap, Hamilton was quick to congratulate Max Verstappen on his triumph.

But Mercedes and Hamilton felt hard done by after the Safety Car was quickly recalled without allowing all backmarkers to go around the track.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was clearly irate on the radio, complaining to Michael Masi as the Safety Car came in but to no avail.

The move left Lewis Hamilton vulnerable to Max Verstappen, who was on fresher, faster soft tires and ultimately cost the Briton what could have been his eighth drivers' world championship.

While there are reports that Mercedes have protested this, it remains to be seen if this will make any difference to the outcome of the season that has just transpired.