"Lewis is a great sportsman" - Max Verstappen believes reports that claim Lewis Hamilton asked Mercedes to stop the protest

Max Verstappen believes Lewis Hamilton took his title loss graciously. The Dutch driver believes if it was just down to the Englishman, there wouldn’t be any protests against his title.

Speaking to Sky News in an interview post the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the newly crowned F1 world champion said:

“Of course, it helps that you already have seven titles, I think that comforts him a bit. It would have I think (if it's the other way around) been more painful for me because I didn't have one yet. But, you know, Lewis is a great sportsman. And he came up to me and congratulated me and it must have been, of course, very tough in that last lap."

Verstappen added:

"It also shows the respect we have for each other in general. And of course, we had our tough times throughout the season, but in the end, you know, we respect what we were doing and we're pushing each other to the limit the whole season. So, it has been really enjoyable racing against them (Mercedes)."

Mercedes filed two protests with the FIA challenging the final race classification at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Media reports claimed that Hamilton asked Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to withdraw the protests immediately after they were lodged.

Dutch site f1maximaal.nl reported the same news confirming that it was Hamilton who asked for the protests to be retracted.

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Max Verstappen not surprised that Mercedes protested the Abu Dhabi results

Max Verstappen made the most of the late safety car intervention to pip Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to the title. The latter lodged two protests with the FIA soon after the final race classifications were published.

Although both protests were later rejected by stewards, Max Verstappen has said he was not surprised with Mercedes’ actions. Verstappen feels the close nature of the championship this year made everyone competitive.

Speaking to the media after his title victory in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen said:

“It’s quite typical looking at the season that it happened. It is what it is. We were still happy and enjoying and we as a team didn’t do anything wrong. We raced and there was a green light, green flag so we went for it, and we did it on track. So that, for us at the time was alright, we were just enjoying.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes have notified the FIA of their intention to appeal the stewards ruling in Abu Dhabi. They intend to take the matter to the International Court of Appeals.