"Without Safety Car, Lewis Hamilton was champion": Fernando Alonso claims Max Verstappen got "lucky" with Nicholas Latifi's crash

Fernando Alonso feels Lewis Hamilton would have won the 2021 World Drivers' Championship if not for the Safety Car intervention in the dying stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, he also believes the result was justified for Max Verstappen. Commenting on the final-lap tussle between the two title contenders, Alonso told Ziggo Sport:

"I guess without the Safety Car, Lewis was champion, and with the Safety Car, Max is champion. It was a pure luck thing today, we have to be honest with that. But all the times he [Verstappen] was unlucky, if you take the 22 races [of the season], it was balanced, so maybe it's a little bit of justice."

It wasn't the first time the Spaniard spoke of Max Verstappen's worthiness for the 2021 title over Lewis Hamilton. In a press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he had said:

"Max is driving – in my opinion – one step ahead of all of us. We saw the [qualifying] lap in Jeddah, until he touched the wall at the last corner, that lap was coming from Max, not the Red Bull. Mercedes deserve the constructors’ championship because the car is superior and Max, maybe overall in the year, was driving one step ahead of everyone."

Alonso ended the season with an eighth-place finish in the season finale. With it, the Alpine F1 driver secured 10th place in the drivers' standings, ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon in 11th.

---

Lewis Hamilton will bounce back, feels David Coulthard

Despite losing to Max Verstappen under controversial circumstances, Lewis Hamilton was graceful in defeat. The Briton embraced the first-time champion in parc ferme despite losing a race that he had dominated until the final lap. Hamilton's father Anthony was also seen congratulating Max and his father Jos Verstappen behind the Red Bull garage.

Former driver-turned-pundit David Coulthard feels Hamilton will bounce back after the defeat, certain that the seven-time world champion knows how to deal with loss. He said:

'He's a phenomenon and he's an incredible sportsperson. He's already committed to another two years. He's a team person, he's committed to that team and he'll be there next year trying to win his eighth world title."

All wasn't lost for Lewis Hamilton and and his team, however, as Mercedes comfortably beat Red Bull to secure their eighth constructors' title in a row.