Max Verstappen won the 2022 F1 Italian GP on Sunday. He led the race for most of the laps and was easily going to win when Daniel Ricciardo's car suffered a failure and was stranded trackside with three laps to go. The Safety Car was deployed and since the stranded car could not be recovered in time, the race ended under Safety Car conditions, handing Max Verstappen the win.
But the decision drew criticism from fans all around the world. Many expected to see a last-lap battle between the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull of Verstappen.
The ruling also drew similarities to the one made at the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Lewis Hamilton was leading the race and almost won the championship when Nicholas Latifi crashed. The Safety Car was deployed on that occasion as well, but one lap of racing was given the go-ahead. With Max Verstappen on fresher tires, he easily passed Hamilton with the gap between the two reduced due to the Safety Car.
Fans believe Hamilton was robbed of the championship by the FIA. They expressed their disappointment on Twitter and 'F1xed' was trending on the platform late Sunday night. Here are some of the tweets:
Max Verstappen not affected by booing after winning the Italian GP
Max Verstappen was booed on the podium after winning the 2022 F1 Italian GP. In the post-race press conference, he was asked how he felt about being booed after winning a race. He replied:
"When it happens, of course, everyone speaks to me about it, with the booing and stuff. But at the end of the day, I'm here to try and win the race which done. It's not going to spoil my day. I'm just enjoying the moment."
The Dutchman has now won five races in a row. He is 116 points clear of second-placed Leclerc in the championship, who many believe has little chance of catching up. Meanwhile, the Monegasque faces a bigger issue with Sergio Perez looming a close nine points behind him in third.
Bar any major blunders, Verstappen is on-track to win his second drivers' world championship.
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