'That really shows Verstappen's fighting spirit'

Lewis Hamilton seemed to be going home with victory in Abu Dhabi in mid-December. The Briton was leading for almost the entire race and seemed to be driving gloriously to victory, until Nicholas Latifi crashed hard. After the safety car came onto the track, race control decided to race one more lap. It was in favor of Verstappen who took the victory.

Big compliment for Verstappen

Since Verstappen was driving on the faster red tire and had fresher tires at his disposal, the Dutch driver seemed to be able to take it easy to catch up with his competitor. Nevertheless, he chose to immediately take the first chance he got. According to Coulthard, this proves the extreme qualities that the Red Bull Racing driver has.

"I knew he would crash and become champion or overtake and become champion," states Coulthard. "But I didn't expect him to go past so quickly. That really shows his fighting spirit. If there's a gap, even if it's not really a gap, he goes for it. That's why he's a worthy champion."