“Nothing’s Fair in Formula 1”: Lewis Hamilton Given a Blast of Harsh Reality as His Past Accomplice Betrays Him for Max Verstappen

The miracle, or as Lewis Hamilton fans like to call it, the nightmare of Abu Dhabi was one of the most controversial nights in F1’s history. Max Verstappen won his maiden title in dramatic fashion as he denied Hamilton the opportunity to become the driver with the most world championships. But while it’s hard for many to accept the result, Hamilton’s former accomplice believes he was happy to see the Dutchman win the title.

Paddy Lowe is one of the most experienced F1 personnel out there. He’s been involved with 4 different championship-winning drivers like Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg. The former Mercedes Executive Director revealed he was quite content watching Max Verstappen lift the WDC ahead of his old colleague, Lewis Hamilton.

The former Mercedes and Williams director gives his reasoning for his belief. Lowe shared with PlanetF1, “I love jeopardy in racing, so I like to see different things happening and people struggling through but succeeding.” He continued, “Good to see Max secure a championship without any argument.”

He also added, “I was quite happy that he won it last year, actually – which is probably controversial, but Formula 1 is a sport of jeopardy. It always has been. Nothing’s fair in Formula 1. I’ve been on the wrong side of fairness many, many times and then [on] the right side of good luck as well.”

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Verstappen went on to win his second successive title this season. Red Bull capitalized on the new F1 regulations and build a big gap to 8-time WCC champions Mercedes.

George Russell is thankful for learning from F1 great and his Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes had anything but an ideal season this year. Their W13 car was a wreck and didn’t live anywhere near their high standards. But George Russell’s emergence in his first season has been a big positive for them. Moreover, the former Williams driver claimed he learned a lot from the 7-time champion.

The Mercedes driver told Sky Sports after the Abu Dhabi GP, “I think having this season next to Lewis has been huge for me personally to learn some of the little details, how to get more out of my car, more out of my team, and extracting everything out of the package when it truly matters.”

George also became just the third driver to beat Lewis as a teammate after Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. The Briton was deservingly proud of the achievement.

Talking to Martin Brundle, Russell shared, “I guess if you told me that at the start of the year, I would have been extraordinarily happy because if you beat Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, most of the time that means you be a world champion.”

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Mercedes and boss Toto Wolff have vowed to fight back next season. Do you think George Russell can beat Hamilton and become first driver ever to beat Hamilton as teammate twice?