Max Verstappen reportedly received congratulatory message from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

Max Verstappen has reportedly received a message from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after the Dutchman narrowly clinched the title from rival Lewis Hamilton. The congratulatory message came as a shock after Mercedes heavily protested against the late safety car incident which gave the young driver the winning chance.

As per a tweet by F1 journalist Ben Hunt, Toto Wolff has put the differences aside and sent a congratulatory message to Verstappen, telling the Dutchman that he deserves the victory.

Lewis Hamilton was more than 11 seconds in front of Max Verstappen when a Nicholas Latifi crash provoked a late safety car at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. It was initially decided by race control that lapped cars would not be allowed to unlap themselves, but with less than two laps to go, race control changed their minds, allowing drivers such as Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso to unlap themselves.

Verstappen suddenly found himself on the rear wing of Hamilton on fresher and softer compound tires. He successfully lunged at the Briton and took the lead in the race with less than 10 turns to go, winning his maiden drivers' title in the sport.

A furious Toto Wolff was heard yelling at race director Michael Masi throughout the final lap chaos, claiming that safety car regulations had been breached. Mercedes then proceeded to lodge two protests against the race decisions and used Paul Harris as the QC in the case. Unfortunately for the German team, both protests were dismissed by the stewards, leaving Verstappen as the 2021 F1 world champion.

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Max Verstappen is the first Dutch F1 world champion

Max Verstappen became the first Dutchman to win a world championship in the sport after he overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Max was the most successful Dutch driver in the sport even before he won the world championship, with his father Jos in second place.

The entire country of the Netherlands was rooting for Max Verstappen before the final race. The race was even broadcast free of cost in the country. Verstappen said of the support:

"It's great for the people to be able to watch it. I think for us, it's even more special because it is the first time a Dutch driver has [had] a chance of winning a championship, so hopefully, a lot of people will tune in."

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