Lewis Hamilton lost the 2021 championship in devastating fashion. Max Verstappen passed the 7-time world champion on the last lap of the race after a late safety car caught him out. FIA Race Director made the call to bring in safety car and lap drivers between Verstappen and Hamilton controversially. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was a witness to the chaos that ensued during the last lap of the 2021 season.

In a recent interview, Sainz mentioned he was impressed by how Hamilton conducted himself after losing the title. He also gave his view on how FIA handled the situation.

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Carlos Sainz revealed how Lewis Hamilton impressed him in Abu Dhabi

Carlos finished P3 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix behind Verstappen and Hamilton. He had a clear view of all the things that were going in front of him. He mentioned that Lewis was upset when they spoke at the podium.

“Very bad. And I was surprised how he avoided making a mess at the end of the race. Losing the title on the last lap like that is really hard to accept. I respect him more than before for how he managed to behave. On the podium, we exchanged a few words. He was really in trouble,” said Sainz when asked about how Hamilton must’ve been feeling then. 

(Quotes have been translated using Google Translate)

But despite the controversy, Carlos made an optimistic comment about the FIA. “It is necessary not to repeat the same mistake. Every football match generates controversy. Here, we must avoid that F1 approaches those tensions. But the situation does not seem disastrous to me. I am convinced that we are moving towards an improvement,” said Sainz.

Well, it is interesting to hear Carlos Sainz’s positive comments on the FIA as most of the other responses has been negative. But let’s see if the situation around the decision-making process of the FIA changes in the future.

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