Lewis Hamilton graciously congratulates Max Verstappen as he reflects on amazing F1 season

After 22 enervating races filled with incidents and controversies, Max Verstappen became the first Dutch driver to be crowned F1 World champion. The 24-year old pipped Lewis Hamilton to his maiden title by defeating him at the Abu Dhabi GP 2021, another race marred by controversy.

While Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff refused to indulge in any interviews after the race, Hamilton was gracious enough to congratulate Verstappen on the title win in his post-race interview. Meanwhile, the Dutchman expressed how delighted he was in winning the championship and thanked the team for a fantastic season.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen reflect on championship battle

While speaking in his post-race interview, Lewis Hamilton said, "Firstly, congratulations to Max and to his team. I think we did an amazing job this year. My team, everyone back at the factory, have worked so hard this whole year, it's been the most difficult of seasons. I'm so proud of them and I'm so grateful to be a part of the journey with them. This last part of the season we gave it absolutely everything and never gave up."

Even though Hamilton did not end up winning the championship, the Brit will be extremely proud of his and the team's efforts, having won 8 of the 22 races in the season. The Mercedes F1 driver was on course to win his ninth race of the season and the championship before a safety car incident swung the title in Verstappen's favour.

On being crowned the new F1 world champion Max Verstappen said,

"It's unbelievable. Throughout the whole race, I kept fighting then there was the opportunity in the last lap, it's incredible. I don’t know what to say. My team deserve it. Finally a bit of luck for me. I also want to say thank you to Checo [Perez], he's been a brilliant teammate.

My team know I love them I hope we can do this for 10, 15 years together. I don't want to change ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life if they will have me. I'm so happy. Our goal was to win this championship when we came together and now we have done that."