Memes galore as Max Verstappen denies Lewis Hamilton record 8th F1 world title in dramatic finish
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Max Verstappen won his maiden Formula One World Championship title after beating Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday in one of the most thrilling finishes ever. Social media exploded with memes soon after Verstappen's win.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen pulled off a thrilling last-lap win against Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to clinch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and win his maiden Formula One World Championship title on Sunday (December 12). It was a sensational race that went down the wire with Verstappen overtaking Hamilton in the final lap to emerge victorious after a nail-biting finish.
Hamilton dominated the proceedings for the most part of the race and looked close to bagging his record eighth Formula One title but was beaten by Verstappen towards the end. The momentum shifted towards Verstappen after Nicholas Latifi's crash led to the appearance of the safety car. While Hamilton decided to continue and keep his track position, Verstappen pitted for new tyres.
Verstappen zoomed past Hamilton in the final lap with his fresh tyres and pulled off a miraculous win which left the entire sporting fraternity in awe. The 24-year-old became the first Dutch driver to win the Formula One title and brought an end to Mercedes' dominance. Mercedes has won seven back-to-back F1 titles since 2014.
The grand finale to a season that had everything #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WpjPhhoeQY
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 13, 2021
Also Read: From Sachin to Rosberg: How sporting fraternity reacted to Max Verstappen's thrilling maiden F1 win
As Verstappen won his maiden title under controversial circumstances, social media exploded with memes. While some took a dig at the officials and the Dutch driver, some celebrated the underdog's memorable triumph at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Here are some of the best memes on Max Verstappen's Formula One win:
Explaining in football terms how Max Verstappen won the 2021 F1 World Championship: pic.twitter.com/eLXLXKtozF
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) December 12, 2021
Verstappen to Hamilton when he overtook him in the last lap pic.twitter.com/oe7Zdz1lFc
— Naughty PT (@fpl_pt) December 12, 2021
“Latifi, now crash the car so we can get the safety car out” #F1 pic.twitter.com/YTUX2O8znY
— Alex SHAQ Shafiq (@InkedUpSHAQ) December 12, 2021
Red bull and max fans rn after latifi’s crash #AbuDabhiGP #MaxVerstappen33 #WTF1 pic.twitter.com/cYptEAEitS
— Tushar (@TusharShandilya) December 12, 2021
everybody watching the abu dhabi gp pic.twitter.com/o9by6VUVLk
— sam (@rbrseb) December 12, 2021
Max Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton: pic.twitter.com/gjJqrc4qvS
— ً (@utdrobbo) December 12, 2021
Latifi walking into the red bull garage after the race #latifi #Verstappen #Hamilton #f1: pic.twitter.com/YMh9qB05Lt
— Ed blythman (@Ed_Blythman) December 12, 2021
Also Read: Verstappen's maiden Formula One World title Red Bull's biggest achievement so far: Christian Horner
Regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time, Hamilton was gunning for his record eighth world title having won seven straight titles since 2014. A win would have taken the British star past F1 legend Michael Schumacher's tally of seven Formula One World Championships.
However, Verstappen denied the Britisher a record win with an unbelievable effort in the final lap which brought a fitting end to what had been a stunning Formula One season.