- Lewis Hamilton claimed the ending to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was "manipulated" by officials.
- The Brit lost the title in contentious fashion Sunday after a late safety car and an unusual call from race control.
As the Formula One world title slipped through his fingers on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton said that the ending of the season-defining Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had been "manipulated."
Hamilton missed out on a record-breaking eighth world title after he was overtaken by Max Verstappen in the final lap.
The Dutchman was given the opportunity to do so because of a controversial late call involving the safety car.
As Hamilton attempted to chase after Verstappen during the final lap, he took to the radio to complain to his race engineer Peter Bonnington.
"This has been manipulated man," Hamilton said in a message that was not aired during the TV broadcast of the race, but was shared on Twitter, and later reported by the BBC.
—SirLewis Hamilton Updates (@SirLewisUpdates) December 12, 2021
Hamilton's complaint appeared to relate to the handling of the ending of a safety car period, which started when Williams' Nicholas Latifi crashed five laps from the end. Hamilton was 12 seconds clear of Verstappen at that point and looked to be coasting to victory. However, the pack bunched up under the safety car, erasing that lead.
With Verstappen on fresher tires any race to the end was highly skewed in his favor, and it transpired that way, with Verstappen overtaking the Brit on the final lap of the race to take the title. The restart itself was marred by controversy as a number of cars who had previously been lapped were allowed to overtake the safety car.
The cars were previously stuck between Hamilton and Verstappen, and had they not been allowed through, Verstappen's path to victory would have been nigh on impossible.
Drivers split on the season's contentious end
The 36-year-old was not the only one who questioned the decision as his future teammate George Russell tweeted it was "UNACCEPTABLE."
"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!" Russell posted.
"Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot believe what we've just seen."
—George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) December 12, 2021
Another British driver, Lando Norris, said the last lap drama was "for the TV."
"I didn't actually know it was only the first few [lapped cars allowed to overtake the safety car] , up to Max," he told the Race.
"So it was obviously made to be a fight, it was for the TV of course, it was for the result.
"Whether or not it was fair, it was not up to me to decide. I just have to say congrats to both drivers."
One man in support of Verstappen was two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
"That was pure luck, we have to be honest about that," the 40-year-old told Dutch TV station Ziggo Sport.
"On the other hand, he [Verstappen] was unlucky so often this season, now it's more balanced. So it's a little bit of justice."