"One hand tied behind his back" - Former Red Bull driver claims Lewis Hamilton was denied a "clean fight" against Max Verstappen

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber claims Lewis Hamilton was denied a fair fight against Max Verstappen at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Australian showed his support for Hamilton despite himself being a former driver for the Austrian team.

The Briton was on course to become the first ever eight-time world champion, having led the race from Turn 1. A mismanaged late safety car, however, suddenly turned his luck on its head, allowing Verstappen to lunge down the inside on fresher tires. Webber believes the seven-time world champion was treated unfairly by race director Michael Masi and the FIA, saying:

“Both of them deserved to lift that trophy, but we did not want it to finish like that at all. We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was one guy with his hand tied behind his back. Of course in hindsight they would all agree we could have done something different, what happened wasn't the ideal scenario.”

Masi's decision to let the five lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen un-lap themselves has been a major source of scrutiny since the finale, with thousands of angry fans and critics stepping up in support of the Briton.

---

Lewis Hamilton fans lash out at leaked Red Bull-FIA footage

Lewis Hamilton's fans have reacted to leaked footage of Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley conversing with race director Michael Masi during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. Many fans and pundits are now convinced that the result at Yas Marina was manipulated to favor Max Verstappen over Hamilton.

Fans took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction towards Red Bull and Masi, claiming the entire F1 finale was rigged from the start. One fan on Twitter wrote:

“It’s incredible that some ‘fans’ are saying that the Horner/Wheatley/Masi #AbuDhabiGP radio isn’t anything new, implying it should be ignored. Sorry, what? It’s irrelevant how old it is. It’s the content that’s important. How can they possibly excuse it?”

It is, however, still unclear whether Masi acted out deliberately in favor of the Austrian team. Some fans pointed out that Masi's decision could have been his own and not influenced by Wheatley's remarks about the race procedure.

F1 managing director Ross Brawn has now come out to say that teams will no longer be allowed to talk to the race director during key moments of a race. He said:

“We will stop this contact next year. It is not acceptable that the team bosses put Michael under such pressure during the race. Toto Wolff cannot demand that a safety car should not come, and Christian Horner cannot demand that the cars have to lap back. That is at the discretion of the race director.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton is seemingly back to his cheery self ahead of the new season. Fans are now hoping the Briton has made peace with the season finale and is ready to take the fight once again to Verstappen and Red Bull.