Petition to make Lewis Hamilton the 2021 F1 World Champion by overturning Abu Dhabi GP result crosses another milestone

The petition for Lewis Hamilton to be declared the winner of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, started by a fan, crossed another milestone with over 100,000 signatures.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was one of the most controversial races in the history of Formula 1 when Lewis Hamilton fell one lap short of his eighth world title. After a safety car in the final moments of the race, Max Verstappen, his rival, had the chance to pit for fresher tires. This saw him defeat the Briton on the very final lap of the race.

The decision made by the stewards was challenged by many. This was because there were five lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton, which would have made it almost impossible for the Dutchman to overtake his rival.

However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner got on the radio with race director Michael Masi and called for the lapped cars to overtake the safety car. But only the cars that were between the two championship contenders were allowed the overtake.

Fans believed that this was done deliberately to support Max Verstappen to win his maiden world championship, which he did. But even after 18 months, fans are still disputing the decision and feel that Lewis Hamilton should be given his eighth title.

The petition, which has now crossed 100,000 signatures, was started for this sole purpose. They now have a new target of 150,000 signatures, however, it seems unlikely that it will affect the decision that was taken on that day.

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New reasons to fuel fans' expectations for Lewis Hamilton's 2021 title victory

Recently, after the Saudi Arabian GP, the stewards gave Fernando Alonso a 10-second time penalty post-race which made him lose his P3 finish. However, after the team challenged the decision, the stewards accepted their mistake and the decision was reversed a couple of hours after the race.

The fact that the stewards changed a decision hours after a race had ended fueled fans that the authorities could do it for the previously held races as well. This includes the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, with the smallest of possibilities of it happening, Lewis Hamilton might still not have his eighth title. This comes as former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is also exploring ways of abandoning one of the races from the 2008 season -- the Singapore Grand Prix, which saw the infamous Crashgate Scandal.

According to the Brazilian, the race should have been canceled by the FIA. It couldn't happen, however, because it was more than a year after the scandal was revealed.

If the decision to cancel the race had been made, Massa would have been the world champion that season and not Hamilton, who won that race. So, if the Abu Dhabi decision is reversed, the authorities might as well do the same for Massa and the Briton will have to lose his first title to win his latest one.