Was Lewis Hamilton ROBBED Of His 8th World Championship?!

One of the never ending discussions in the Formula 1 world, is whether Lewis Hamilton was robbed on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021. The Championship that year was decided on the very last lap, of the very last race of the season. If he would have won, that would have been Hamilton's 8th World Championship.
But, is there any evidence behind these claims that Hamilton was robbed at the end of the race?
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[@RacingwithRicu]

Was Lewis Hamilton robbed of his 8th Championship?

[@AlexTamayo.]

No :P

[@southerncomfort1339]

Y'all actually believe that!! If it was the others way around "ALL of You would be SHOUTING OUT LOUD MADMAX WAS ROBBED!!

[@AlexTamayo.]

@@southerncomfort1339 nah...

[@henkormel5610]

​@@southerncomfort1339 Massa was robbed by Cristian Klien, that handed over the trophy to Hamilton. Grow up, you win some you lose some.

[@qobikwezi656]

Yes he was robbed

[@prospectoscriollo]

I am a Red Bull fan but Lewis was robbed. Most drivers found the decision weird

[@AlexTamayo.]

Hey Patrick! Great breakdown, mate! It's true that the whole season counts, not just the last lap of the last race. That's a really good point that I'll bring out every time this topic comes up in the future :D

[@RacingwithRicu]

Thanks Alex! Ya it was interesting coming up with arguments for pros and cons, but at the end of the day, it comes down to more than just 1 lap 😅

[@OliverBlue-4463]

I'm sorry but what the acutally fuck are you saying Hamilton was undeniably robbed of his 8th world title. He was going to win that race and his 8th title if the race Dictator had followed the rules correctly. I hate to break it to all those people who didn't want the race to end anticlimactically but it should have ended behind the safety car this is evident because not all of the laped cars were able to unlaped themselves and the ones that were told to weren't able to catch the back of the pack before the race restart unlike how it had been done during other races that season. It also just so happens that those select cars were the ones that were separating Hamilton and Verstappen. That whole race was fucked up in Verstappens favor all because Hamilton was winning to much, they made it so fucking obvious to I mean come on if your going to be the Dictator at least try to hide it. Even when Mercedes tried to change the the result the FIA said that it was fair because the race Dictator can basically do whatever he wants which is undoubtedly extremely fucked up and obvious. Next time you make a video you should research the topic to get a better understanding of what happened so that you learn the truth and don't say all this shit that the FIA would say.

[@RacingwithRicu]

Cash is king and there’s no denying Liberty Media were pushing for a last lap showdown. But again, all drivers and teams had the same information, RB were just willing to risk more for a chance at the last lap win

[@OliverBlue-4463]

@@RacingwithRicu If you are going to side with the fucking FIA on this one that at least find something that is actually a point. Because If the best thing that you can say is that liberty media wanted a last lap showdown then that just proves that the FIA did things differently so that that could happen. Like when has there been a f1 race that has restarted before all of the laped cars had reached the last cars. Many of the other drivers and teams (INCLUDING Red Bull) where also confused. That race was undoubtedly a shit show for the FIA and it should never happened.

[@removechan10298]

no verstappen better

[@qobikwezi656]

As a season yes Mercedes strategies were poor. But in the last race, Massi overruled the regulations and allowed the lapped cars through. On top of that Max overtook Lewis briefly before the safety car was in. Explain why Massi was dropped then. If what he had done was correct he would have stayed as director

[@RacingwithRicu]

All very valid points! I'm sure the FIA might play out those final few laps differently today. Here's to hoping Lewis gets another shot at the 8th title with Ferrari!

[@qobikwezi656]

@@RacingwithRicu Mercedes is not a good team; they lurk in the shadow of Ross Brawn’s 2009 success. What saved them from 2014 onwards was their preparation with the hybrid engine and the dual-axis system. Toto is not a good team principal, which is why he has failed to provide a competitive car after the new regulations.

[@wimboformula]

You can't be robbed of something you haven't won yet. I always love being reminded of that race. 😊

[@RacingwithRicu]

Couldn’t have worded it better myself! 🤩 Thanks Wimbo! 😎

[@kevinmorales715]

A rule got manipulated to benefit max.

[@MrSimonyong]

The pinnacle of motorsports has been tinted by "ill" and corrupted people, Christian Horner for example, is the most sickening and shameful team leader still roaming around the sport...!! FIA officials Michael Masi and some current officials too should be ban from this sport. Lewis Hamilton was literally Rob of his career 8 championship win..

[@RacingwithRicu]

I do agree that there definitely should have been much more transparency at the end. However, I hope Lewis will have another chance at a World Championship with Ferrari!

[@peteclarkson3247]

It all came down to this single race, equal points and nothing that had happened in the season mattered. It was down to this one race. Lewis drove the race of his life and was 15 seconds ahead and was going to be the 8th time World Champion, the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time barring unforseen circumstances. And there we go... for the sake of you and me and the rest of the TV viewing audience, the rules got changed, not greyed out, actually changed mid-race. Michael Masi wanted a TV spectacular finish. But that's not sport, it should never be the point of sport. We are simply spectators enjoying (or in the case of me, an England football fan), suffering the disappointment of it all. Sport should and must be above this. Regardless of what the record books show Lewis is the 8x world champion. Roll on Red 2025.

[@RacingwithRicu]

I really appreciate the comment! I totally understand where you are coming from and in a sense you are right. I would have loved more clarity at the end of the race, making sure that we wouldn’t be able to have these discussions years later. Hopefully we won’t have any more opportunities in the future to be in this situation again. Thanks again for commenting! Make sure to stay subscribed for weekly F1 videos 😊

[@wcads623]

Liberty media and Sky wanted a spectacular finish to the season so that meant a safety car finish was not what they wanted. So Masi was under enormous pressure bring Red Bull back into play which he did in spectacular fashion🤬🤬

[@skylarkn8701]

STOP INVENTING!! A lot of your spin is exactly that. You won’t convince me that if Hamilton pitted and ended up behind Verstappen that the last lap shoot out would have happened….RB would never have suggested it and therefore it wouldn’t have happened.

[@RacingwithRicu]

The end of the race will forever remain a mystery, but the fact of the matter remains that a championship is won over the course of a season, not a single lap… I do hope Lewis gets another chance with Ferrari!

[@jahbee110]

Mercedes-Benz F1 the championship from Lewis Hamilton and give it to Nicola Rosberg rasbe

[@RacingwithRicu]

Nico Rosberg worked hard for that championship in 2016 😅

[@kevinmorales715]

A Rule for bent and manipulated to benefit max. Regardless of how the season went. If FÍA followed the rules how they were supposed Lewis would’ve won therefore he was robbed. I swear max fans love to play gymnastics with the rules.

[@RacingwithRicu]

It was a very difficult decision to make at the end but either way there would have been controversy. I hope Lewis will get another chance at a WDC soon!

[@southerncomfort1339]

Yes HE WAS! But it started in 2020! When the maFIA change the FLOOR rules for 2021 to slow the low rake cars. Madmax wasnt penalise for NOTHING ALL SEASON!!!

[@wimboformula]

The 2021 floor regulations were brought in because the Ground effect regulations were postponed due to Covid-19. With the cars gaining downforce each season Pirelli was afraid that tyres wouldn't cope which would be a hazard. There was a vote 8 months prior to the 2021 season where 8 out of 10 teams voted in favour of the cuts in the floor and the removal of any furniture on them. It was believed that cars with longer floors and low rake would benefit. That includes Mercedes. When at testing it turned out high rake cars had a bigger benefit Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff flipped the story and said they were pegged down. This was to rile up the fanbase which worked in your case. I made a video about it to educate people. I can drop the link here if you want to learn more about it.

[@RacingwithRicu]

Wimbo said it best, can’t be robbed of something you never had in the first place 🥶

[@henkormel5610]

​@@wimboformula Magnificent explanation Wimbo!

[@wimboformula]

​@@henkormel5610 haha I researched this for my video about the topic. 😅

[@henkormel5610]

@@wimboformula I told several people the same story. After that it gets silent.

[@user-vk3dv3mi6h]

I'm both Max and Lewis fan but Lewis was robbed. I'm ok for either side to win but for Max to win it that way it will be overshadowed by this incident forever.

[@RacingwithRicu]

I agree that looking back, it probably isn’t the way he would have liked to win his first WDC. Although I do think and hope Lewis will have another chance with Ferrari

[@rpsnider85]

No, if you want to get into the details, perhaps don't intentionally forget to mention the fact that Lewis himself and his teammate both intentionally crashed Max out of a race each so Max would get 0 points and Lewis could make up the gap. Intentionally wrecking someone is an automatic black flag. Yet despite the blatant intent and result, nothing was done and no warnings given to Lewis or Mercedes. Had Lewis and Valteiri not crashed Max out of 2 GPs, Lewis wouldnt have even been able to eveb have a chance. The championship would have been decided at least a race before probably 2 races from the end kf the calender with a Max win. Add in the ridiculous amount of favoritism for Lewis by the stewards all year long and even during that final race. Getting away with breaking track limits despite doing it more often than Ocon and KMag combined. Was that final decision weird? Yes AND No. Was it intentionally done to thwart Lewis? Obviously not. Here's the context everyone seems to want to ignore in favor of crying whatever they happen to be making their personal hobbyhorse that day...the race director had 2 choices and BOTH were bad. The choice he made, allowing the lapped cars to overtake the safety car to get them out of the way or he could have simply just left them out there. Here's why he DIDNT leave them out there, the rules state that when drivers are shown a blue flag they MUST move out of the path of the cars about to lap them in order to provide additional safety for themselves AND the car doing the lapping. There were MULTIPLE lapped cars between Lewis and Max, the second they crossed the start line for the final lap, going almost flat out, the cars would ALL have been REQUIRED to yank their cars off to the side to allow Max to pass, and that would create a very dangerous situation for everyone on the track, and anyone even around the track in that area should a massive accident occur...which was likely given the speeds they'd have been moving at and immediate need to get out if the way with little time to maneuver. Had the director not removed them and there was a massive accident causing even one injury or maybe even without any injury, he'd have been fired for making such a blunder on safety....which is F1s mission statement. The thing they care about more than everything else outside of money. So the decision that was made was the BEST one he could have made in the circumstances. Was it FAIR to Mercedes and Lewis? Not really. But it also wasn't favoring Red Bull and Max either. And if you want to play the fair card, see the above statements about Lewis not even technically being in contention if the rules had been applied properly to him before this race. Even during the race he broke track limits many times and never received a penalty for doing so. As for Max being on Fresher tires and Lewis not...that was entirely on Mercedes and Lewis himself. THEY chose not to pit TWICE when it made absolute sense to do so. They arrogantly believed it wouldn't matter. They were wrong. They KNEW they had the better car, it'd be impossible to argue otherwise and not be lying through your teeth to suggest that RB was actually as good as that monster Merc. But even with EVERYTHING that went on, it was still ultimately Lewis's fault Max passed him. He left the door wide open, not expecting Max to take the chance and Max dove in there and snatched first place like a man hell bent on winning, while Lewis took that corner as if he were 2 laps up on Max and had nothing to worry about. He STILL almost passed Max twice more just because his car was so much better than the RB. But unlike Lewis. Max didn't allow Lewis any opportunities to successfully overtake him. Overtaking has never been Lewis' strong suit anyway, he's really only ever won when his car is the best on the grid. Yet all year he was being hounded by Max in an inferior Machine and eveb surpassed simply because Max is more skilled and outperformed his car so often. Lewis's greatness, and anyone saying he isn't an all time great is fucking insane, is MOSTLY wrapped up in his alien like ability to deliver a baseline performance almost every race no matter what, that insane consistency. To drive the car to its base specs every race with few missteps. But he's never been a driver who gets more out of the car than the base level. He benefitted massively from team orders throughout his career, nothing particularly wrong with it in many instances, that had teammates getting out of his way so he could win despite the teammate being just as fast and being ahead of him. The guy is still an all timer no doubt, but he's not NEARLY as skilled a driver as his record makes him out to be, there was A LOT of things going on that boosted that record. Still, I'm not saying it to detract from his greatness, just saying that it's insane to pretend he was the beneficiary of MASSIVE amounts of help and favoritism. Honestly I can't think of, off the top of my head, even a single year where he was the most talented and skilled driver on the grid. Alonso is more skilled, Kimi was more skilled, Max is clearly more skilled, and there were others that were more skillful drivers, but didn't have his advantages in teams, stewards, cars, etc. But that's not Lewis's fault mostly. But it DOES mean that people tend to think he's far better than he actually is. Like it's somehow a failing if he's not the GOAT, which he clearly isn't, despite the undisputable fact that he's an incredible driver and easily one of the best ever. But they act like if he's not the best that something is WRONG or it's racially motivated, or whatever else, instead of using their brains and seeing WHATS THERE for everyone to see should they actually take the time to LOOK. So no, Lewis wasn't robbed. He shouldn't have even been in a position to win the championship as it should have been sewn up a race or two earlier by Max had Lewis been DNF'd for his intentional wrecking of Max earlier in the year at Cobbs. And that's 25/26 points just by himself that he'd have lost and therefore Max would have needed to finish outside the top 10 to not win it. The decision was the correct one, despite it being a shitty situation all around.

[@RacingwithRicu]

Wow! Thank you for this incredibly detailed comment! I agree with everything you said and I think it’s one of the most down to earth, realistic outlooks on the situation that I’ve seen so far. Hats off my friend 🫡 Make sure to subscribe for more F1 content weekly 😊

[@evertonnixon5881]

Bro, you should stop commenting on F1.

[@RacingwithRicu]

Make sure to subscribe to see if I stop in the future! 🥳

[@vanentertom]

yes hamilton was robbed at every race sof 2021 Max would get his elbows out and force Hamilton to AVOID a collision gifting Max the wins At Silverstone Hamilton did it to Max Gave Max the choice toAVOID A COLLISION OR NOT HE CHOSE TO CUT IN FRONT AND CRASH

[@RacingwithRicu]

Younger drivers with nothing to lose will always go for more aggressive moves. I think looking back, they will both admit they pushed too hard at certain points throughout the season