As Max Verstappen rode to his third straight Drivers’ Championship coronation at the Abu Dhabi GP — setting multiple records along the way like winning 19 races in a season, scoring 21 podium finishes, and becoming the first driver to lead over 1000 laps throughout a season — his one-time arch rival Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes limped past the chequered flag in ninth spot.
It’s been a humbling season for Hamilton, who may have finished third in the drivers’ standings but was a stunning 341 points behind Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion sent a pointed message to his team via an interview with Sky Sports.
“At this moment, I don’t really know (about next season). For Red Bull to win by 17 seconds — and they haven’t developed their car since August — is definitely a concern,” said Hamilton. “We have learned a lot about the car and it’s just down to the team now. They know what they need to do. Whether or not we will get there, we will see.”
Could Lewis Hamilton end up at Red Bull?
Ahead of the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi, rumours swirled that Hamilton has been angling for a move to Red Bull. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told a newspaper that Hamilton’s representatives had approached him earlier in the year to ask whether there would be any interest to sign Hamilton — who inked a two-year-contract with Mercedes in August — for the team.
Hamilton, though, dismissed the claim, saying that neither he nor his team representatives had contacted Horner.
(24 नवंबर से 30 नवंबर) राष्ट्रीय हिन्दी साप्ताहिक न्यूज़पेपर में प्रिंट इस सप्ताह की ख़बर…
“I’ve not approached Christian. I haven’t spoken to him for years, no one from my team has,” Hamilton said before adding that he had checked with everyone in his team to confirm if anyone had reached out on his behalf.
The British driver then claimed it was Horner who had approached him about meeting up at the end of the season.
“I switched it (an old phone) on and obviously hundreds of messages came through. I realised there was one message from Christian, (asking) to get together and have a chat at the end of the season. It was quite late on I found the message, it was from earlier on in the year. It was months after he had sent it. I just said ‘Congratulations on the amazing season and I hope we are able to compete with you soon,’ and he (Horner) replied repeating the same thing,” revealed Hamilton.
Irrespective of who made the approach, the rumour cast a shadow over the final race of the season. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, Verstappen was asked if he fancies Hamilton as a teammate at Red Bull.
“What would it add to know? It’s not happening. There is no point to make up stories if it’s not happening. I wouldn’t mind, it doesn’t matter, anyone can be my teammate. I don’t want to particularly put it on Lewis, there are so many great drivers as well,” he said.
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