Watch: Lewis Hamiltons Father Congratulates Max Verstappen, Hugs His Dad Jos In Classy Post-Race Gesture

Despite missing out on a record eighth Formula 1 world championship title in controversial circumstances, Lewis Hamilton showed pure class and grace after the dramatic race. The 36-year-old kept a straight face on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix podium and also congratulated Max Verstappen after the race. With the Dutch driver winning his first F1 world championship, many fans felt that Hamilton had poor luck especially in the final lap. One of the biggest post-race highlight was when Hamilton's father congratulated Verstappen and also gave a big hug to his father Jos. Formula 1 shared a video of the moment on social media and captioned it as, "Pure class". 

Here is the video:

Pure class

Anthony Hamilton #AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UvQ0tZplxL

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 13, 2021

After finishing second during qualifying, Hamilton grabbed the early lead at the Yas Marina Circuit and was on course to finish the race in first position. 

However, it all changed after Nicholas Latifi crashed on the 54th lap. Verstappen took advantage of the safety car to put on fresh soft tyres and overtook Hamilton on the final lap to win his maiden title.

After the crash, while Verstappen pitted for fresh tyres Hamilton didn't and continued on his old hard tyres, making him a sitting duck on the final lap.

The pair had entered the race level on points with the Red Bull driver having an advantage due to a countback rule. 

Verstappen was also helped by some terrific teamwork from Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to claw himself back into the race for a dramatic final lap. Such was Perez' help that Verstappen even screamed in the team radio, "Checo is a legend".

Topics mentioned in this article

Red Bull Mercedes Max Verstappen Sergio Perez Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas Yas Marina Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1