After a thrilling and dramatic 2021 Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was crowned the champion after a last minute dash overtaking title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen left nothing to imagination after clinching maiden Formula 1 title as celebrations for his victory kicked off almost immediately after the race. It was very evident his teammates at Red Bull were very overjoyed as they carried the new champ on their shoulders chanting songs and the party started.
The team would later party all night and proved a little hard for Verstappen to leave early. The 24-year old found himself leaving the party at 0700 hrs local time as the sun was rising.
Talking on a video call on Monday, the sleepy and tired Red Bull champion talked about the party.
“All the emotions they come out… So it was a lot of fun. Of course when I woke up it wasn’t so fun. I maybe regretted that final drink,” Verstappen said.
Verstappen also talked on receiving a congratulatory message from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
“Toto sent me a text… congratulations on on the season and that I deserve to win it,” Verstappen said.
“So that was very nice of him, of course. Emotions run very high to that last lap from both teams. It is what it is. We will see.”
Mercedes lost its initial protests at the track on Sunday. One of the protests centered on whether Verstappen broke rules by passing Hamilton before the safety car period had ended, the other on the restart procedure itself, and the number of lapped cars that were given the green light to overtake the safety car.
Mercedes argued Hamilton would have won the race if all had overtaken the safety car due to the time required, making a final lap showdown impossible.
The confusion over the regulations and application of them has led to calls for greater clarity.
“You’re going to look into what can we do or what should have been done,” Verstappen said. “This is with all kinds of decisions, isn’t it? The same in football with the referee. Should it have been a penalty, shouldn’t it have been a penalty? What can we improve? Should we have had a different camera angle? All these kind of things, you’re going to bring up, for sure.”
