Hakkinen thinks we're going to be talking about this championship for a long time
F1 News
- GPblog.com
A championship which is decided in the last lap of the final race is something we don't often see, Mika Hakkinen writes in his column for Unibet. The Finn could actually not believe the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Significant advantage for Verstappen
The 1998 and 1999 world champion thinks we will be talking about the outcome of the championship for a long time to come. Hakkinen thought that Lewis Hamilton, after his fantastic start, would easily win the race and with it the championship. Five laps before the end everything changed.
After Nicholas Latifi' s crash, the safety car allowed Verstappen to make an extra pit stop, putting him behind Hamilton on newer, softer tyres. Verstappen had a significant advantage because of this, Hakkinen agrees. "He had much more grip than Lewis on his heavily used hard tyres." The Dutchman's overtake was therefore inevitable. "Lewis defended as best he could, but Max did what he had to do."
Hamilton and Verstappen perfect ambassadors
Hamilton and Verstappen also seemed totally shocked by the denouement in Abu Dhabi, according to Hakkinen, but both drivers remained respectful of each other after the race. "Their words after the race were wonderful to hear. Perfect ambassadors for the sport."
Right decision by Masi
The race control decisions surrounding the safety car situation were very controversial. Nevertheless, Hakkinen thinks that race director Michael Masi made the right decision, because finishing the race behind the safety car would have been much worse. "That really would have been such an anticlimax," he said. The former Formula One driver then has uncle understanding for Masi who has to find the balance between ensuring safety and promoting racing.