Fresh Close-Up Footage Shows a Desperate Toto Wolff Pleading to Michael Masi as Lewis Hamilton Lost the F1 Title

The 2021 F1 finale was nothing short of a thriller that kept giving one twist after another through the course of 58 laps. However, the final lap adventure was a treat for Red Bull and a misfortune for the Mercedes team. The decision of the race director to let the 5 cars between the two title protagonists to unlap themselves and overtake the safety car was not taken very well by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Recently, a video has surfaced which shows Wolff’s reaction to the contentious last lap. The Austrian looked frustrated and helpless, calling out his disappointment to race director Masi. Lewis Hamilton led the better part of the Abu Dhabi GP before losing his place to Verstappen towards the end.

Toto Wolff was furious with the decision

There were several incidents during the race where FIA stepped in. Initially, Lewis Hamilton got a green flag from FIA when his turn 7 incident was investigated. However, the Silver Arrows were left dejected after the safety car incident where Lewis had no chance but to cede his ground to Max.

The Austrian boss had a few outbursts this season; this was arguably the most crunch situation of all. Wolff was anguished while sending a radio message to Masi. “ No Michael, that’s not fair! Michael, what was that?” said Wolff as reported by Autohebdo.

Lewis Hamilton believes that the last lap was “manipulated”

Seven-time world champion fell short of reaching a milestone that no other driver has achieved in the history of F1. It looked like a solid win for him until the race was disarrayed by Nicholas Latifi’s crash. The Briton was understandably furious with the outcome. When Verstappen passed him to take the lead, he sent an outrageous message on the radio.

“This has been manipulated, man,” said Hamilton as reported by BBC.

The two protests by Mercedes have been rejected by the Stewards. The team is thinking of appealing against the decisions but nothing is official as of now. As it stands, Max Verstappen is the F1 champion of the world for the 2021 season. Tell us what you think about this controversy.

Read More- REVEALED: The Amounts F1 Charged Mercedes for Their Official Protests in Abu Dhabi