The 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi will go down as one of the most exciting races in F1’s history. We saw a last-lap showdown between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the championship. In the end, it was the Red Bull driver who prevailed with a last-lap overtake over the 7-time world champion.

In his conversation at the Cambridge Union, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed Verstappen did not mean to pass Hamilton on Turn 5 at the last lap. But it was because of his physical pain he had no other option.

“While they were going around the safety car because of the way drivers sit in the car, their feet are six inches higher than their backside. Sometimes the blood drains out of their legs if they don’t keep them busy and you could get really bad cramps.

He got a massively bad cramp in his left leg and he said, ‘I couldn’t feel my braking foot’. So he said, ‘I didn’t really mean to overtake Lewis there, but I just went for the gap. And I hope I could feel the brakes,” explained Horner.

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Verstappen had explained the same in his interview after becoming world champion.

Max Verstappen talks about the pain he felt while overtaking Lewis Hamilton

The world champion revealed that the pain was unbearable, especially after the safety car restart. But he revealed the situation was such that he had to make the overtake.

“But there was no option; I had to. So I was just keeping it full throttle, and I could feel my leg hurting more and more. Luckily, turn five arrived, and I went for the [overtaking] move. I had like three seconds off the throttle,” said the Red Bull driver.

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It is fascinating to hear that the overtake at Turn 5 might not have happened if he did not have the cramp. But it was a scintillating move that took Hamilton and the fans by surprise as everyone saw Verstappen take the chequered flag.

It will be an iconic image in the history of the sport and will be talked about for years to come.