BY GEORGE DICKIE
At the '21 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,
the cars between race leader Lewis Hamilton's No. 44
Mercedes and Verstappen's No. 1 Red Bull were pulled
from the track on the last lap. This enabled Verstappen, on
fresh tires, to execute a pass of defending series champion
Hamilton, on bald tires, and win his first F1 title.
That led to accusations by Hamilton and Mercedes
that the outcome had been manipulated by then-FIA race
director Michael Masi, who was then fired following an
investigation into the Abu Dhabi decision-making, and
calls from F1 fans that the 24-year-old Dutch driver be
stripped of his championship.
But a look at the season stats bolsters the argument that
perhaps Verstappen was deserving of the title. He had
more wins than Hamilton (10 to eight), poles (10 to five),
far more laps led (652 to 297) and a better average finish
position (1.84 to 2.76). And as Red Bull Team principal
Christian Horner asserts,
Verstappen was the victim
of bad luck in Azerbaijan,
Hungary and Silverstone.
He and Hamilton will
again duke it out when they
vie in the Saudi Arabian
Grand Prix – a race that
Hamilton won last year
– the morning of Sunday,
March 27, on ESPN.
Verstappen out to prove
2021 F1 title was no fl uke
• FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 28 - APRIL 3, 2022 •
Pete Holmes stars
in "How We Roll,"
premiering Thursday
on CBS.
YOUR WEEKLY GUIDE TO TV ENTERTAINMENT
