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Valtteri Bottas has shed light on the atmosphere in the Mercedes team following the dramatic manner in which Lewis Hamilton lost the 2021 drivers' championship to Max Verstappen.
Both Verstappen and Hamilton were locked in a tight battle for the Formula 1 title heading to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi in 2021. The Mercedes driver started the race strong, taking the lead on the first lap and controlling it for the most part.
He looked to be on course for his eighth F1 title when Nicholas Latifi, with just five laps remaining in the race, hit the wall at Turn 14 and turned the script on its head.
Race control decided that a virtual safety car wasn’t sufficient as a crane was needed to remove Latifi's car, and the safety car was deployed. With Hamilton not having a big enough lead on Verstappen to make a pit stop, he couldn't risk giving up track position as it was unsure if the race would restart.
Red Bull, however, brought Verstappen into the pits and put him on a new set of soft tires which would be extremely quick, if the race restarted. When he rejoined with a fresh set of tyres, there were five lapped cars between him and Hamilton.
It was at this point that the race was engulfed in controversy, as race control decided to let only those five cars un-lap themselves. They then decided to bring the safety car in immediately, which Mercedes did not expect.
With fresher, quicker tires, Verstappen drove down the inside of Hamilton at Turn 5 to take the lead on the final lap of the race, and with it his maiden F1 title.
Bottas, who was then Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes, said that the atmosphere in the team was extremely low following that race. Speaking on an episode of the "F1 Beyond the Grid" podcast, he said:
“I had a headache the next day, that's what I remember. The aftermath was painful, the whole team was really suffering. Yeah, Lewis was down, Toto [Wolff] was down.
“Even though we won the constructors’ [championship], when you lose the drivers’ title like that on the last lap, it was unreal.”
He added:
“Just big, big disappointment for everybody and took a while to recover for everyone in the team. And not great. It wasn't my greatest memories [with Mercedes].”
F1 safety car driver was left scratching his head as Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to 2021 title in Abu Dhabi
Bert Mylander has worked as Formula 1's safety car driver for almost two decades. However, even he was left astounded by the events that unfolded at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton in controversial fashion to win the race and the F1 title.
Speaking to auto motor und, Mylander stated that he had to take some time to process the events that unfolded on the final lap in Abu Dhabi. He said:
"I walked through the hospitality area with my helmet on [my head] and sat down at the back of the harbor first. I had to be on my own first, think what just happened?"
