Lewis Hamilton missed out on his eighth F1 World Championship title in the final two laps of the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday. After the race, the Briton congratulated the 2021 crown-bearer Max Verstappen, further adding that he was proud of Mercedes. 

“Firstly, a big congratulations to Max and to his team. I think we did an amazing job this year. My team, everyone back at the factory, all the men and women we have and here have worked so hard,” Hamilton said immediately after the race.

Also read: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton light up F1 finale; Kimi Raikkonen bids farewell

Verstappen’s Red Bull passed Hamilton in the last lap of the race. The 36-year-old was five laps away from passing Michael Schumacher in the record books with an eighth championship until a crash gave his rival one final chance.

Whatever Hamilton said over his radio when Nicholas Latifi crashed to bring out the safety car was only played as one long beep to cover the expletives.

“This whole year has been the most difficult of seasons, and I’m so proud of them, so grateful to be a part of the journey with them. We gave it everything this last part of the season. We gave it absolutely everything, and we never gave up and that’s the most important thing,” the seven-time champion said. 

Also read: Watch | F1 community pays tribute to ‘Iceman’ Kimi Raikkonen

He said that he is looking forward to a well-deserved break before returning to the fray in 2022.

“I’ve been feeling good. [Feeling] great in the car these past couple of months, particularly at the end. If I’m honest, we’re still in the pandemic and I just really wish everyone to stay safe, and have a good Christmas with all their families, and we’ll see about next year.”

Mercedes filed two protests after the race.

Also read: Kimi Raikkonen’s F1 career comes to an end with braking issue at Abu Dhabi GP

Verstappen and Red Bull celebrated in a champagne soak, received hugs from his fellow competitors — including Hamilton and Hamilton’s father — and made his way to the DJ stand at Yas Marina Circuit and jumped wildly up and down to the music.

“It’s just insane, I mean, my goal when I was little was to become a Formula One driver and to go for wins, to be on the podium,” said Verstappen. “When they play the national anthem, you want it to be yours and when you stand here and they tell you that you are the world champion, it’s something incredible and special.”

Also read: Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton: Moments that defined F1 2021

Hamilton received a long hug from his father, who then went to the Red Bull garage and hugged both Verstappen and Verstappen’s father. Jos Verstappen was himself a former F1 driver and raised his 24-year-old son to become a world champion.

Mission accomplished and Red Bull celebrated by playing “We are the Champions” in its garage.

With inputs from the Associated Press