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Valtteri Bottas reacted to Lewis Hamilton's dramatic last-lap title loss at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Bottas was heard cursing on team radio upon hearing about the incident which occurred on the final lap of the race, which also happened to be the championship decider.
A late safety car provoked by Nicholas Latifi's crash in the dying stages of the championship decider caused significant confusion between teams and drivers. Race control initially ruled that lapped cars would not be allowed to unlap themselves, but changed their minds on the penultimate lap.
The confusion led to Max Verstappen being on Lewis Hamilton's tail at the restart with only one racing lap to go. Verstappen lunged at the Briton, stealing his eighth world title opportunity in a few turns. Valtteri Bottas finished a few seconds later. Upon being told of the news, he responded in surprise.
The Finnish driver responded by saying Hamilton and he needed new tires, but was cut off abruptly by his engineer. He said:
"Well, S***! F***! I knew, you know, that we needed new tires, cause..."
Williams driver George Russell will star alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2022 for the German team after Valtteri Bottas announced his move to Alfa Romeo, replacing fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who retired at the end of the year.
Watch the clip here:
Lewis Hamilton finally received knighthood on Wednesday
Lewis Hamilton received the ultimate consolation prize after he was finally knighted at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. The announcement of his knighthood was made in December 2020, but the ceremony finally took place on Wednesday, just three days after his heart-breaking loss to Max Verstappen in the 2021 season finale. The Briton was knighted by the Prince of Wales and is now a knight bachelor.
The 36-year-old has joined an elite bunch as he becomes only the fourth F1 driver to receive the honor after Sirs Jackie Stewart, Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham. Lewis Hamilton is statistically the most successful among them, with seven World Drivers' Championships (WDC), 103 race wins, and as many poles and 182 podiums to his name.
