From Sachin to Rosberg: How sporting fraternity reacted to Max Verstappen's thrilling maiden F1 win

On Sunday (December 12), the Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen edged past the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in a nail-biting end to the Formula One season. The race was thoroughly dominated by Hamilton in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, however, the 24-year-old Belgian-Dutch racing driver Verstappen went ahead of his competitor in the final lap to prevent Hamilton from claiming his eighth F1 World title.

For the unversed, Hamilton was on the cusp of lifting his eighth title before Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams just four laps before the last one, leading to the appearance of the safety car.

Verstappen chose new tyres, however, the veteran 36-year-old Hamilton didn't. Verstappen managed to move past his arch-rival -- courtesy the fresh wheels -- to clinch his maiden Formula One title at the Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi.

ALSO READ | Max Verstappen's maiden Formula One World title Red Bull's biggest achievement so far: Christian Horner

Following Verstappen's thrilling win, many from the sports fraternity reacted to the dramatic turn of events in the Abu Dhabu Grand Prix. From Sachin Tendulkar, Nico Rosberg, Rohit Sharma to Harry Kane, here's how sports personalities reacted to Verstappen's triumph:

Sachin wrote, "What a race! Congrats to Max for becoming the World Champion for the 1st time & there will be many more. However, my heart goes out to Lewis. What a season he’s had too. If not for the safety car, the trophy would’ve been his. Sheer bad luck. All the best for the next season."

Rohit tweeted saying, "1 ball 6 required and guess what, Max Verstappen hits it. Unbelievable win #AbuDhabiGP #F1TitleChampionship"

Nico Rosberg said, "Hats off to Max...big congrats & respect!!! Also an awesome performance by Lewis...it's been an epic F1 season!"

Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain, stated, "I’m new to F1 and it’s been amazing to watch Lewis and Max battle it out. I’m no expert on it but I feel like there’s some bizarre rules that give an unfair advantage like today ? Why should Hamilton be penalised for somebody else’s crash?"

"He literally raced the perfect race under the highest pressure and gets the World Championship taken away from him. Seems like common sense to keep the lead that you’d raced so hard to gain. Shame it had to end like that," he added.

ALSO READ | Abu Dhabi GP: Mercedes protest after Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to win F1 title

On the other hand, India's first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan opined that it was Hamilton's race and the decision was unfair. "How the entire situation unfolded, it seemed like they wanted Max to win. It was a great battle for the championship but what happened yesterday it wasn't sport. You need close battles in Formula 1 but it has to be fair at the same time," Karthikeyan told PTI.