Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has advised fans of Sir Lewis Hamilton to “get over” his 2021 championship defeat to Max Verstappen.
Hamilton and Verstappen entered the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi level points following an enthralling season of adrenaline-filled racing, and the Red Bull driver started the grand prix on pole position.
Hamilton overtook the Dutchman at the start, before contact into Turn 6 on the opening lap led to the latest in a long line of controversial moments over the course of the season.
Both came out unscathed, but it was the late drama that caused ire within the Formula 1 community.
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When Williams’ Nicholas Latifi collided with the barrier with a handful of laps remaining, race director Michael Masi deployed the Safety Car, prompting a pit stop from Verstappen.
Mercedes kept their driver out on older tyres, conscious that losing track position that late in the race could cost them the title.
This left five lapped runners between the pair, and Masi initially decreed that none of the lapped cars would be permitted through.
However, following a back-and-forth with Red Bull and Mercedes, Masi decided only to allow only the five drivers between the title protagonists to un-lap themselves, leaving Verstappen to overtake his rival on the final lap and claim his maiden championship.
It sparked anger from many fans – Hamilton supporters in particular – and one even started a petition to have the championship result changed in favour of the Briton.
On Thursday, Hill grew irritated at a comment from a fan on Twitter regarding the late Abu Dhabi drama.
Initially, the 61-year-old posted a tweet about the tragic passing of singer Ronnie Spector, sharing one of her songs named “Try some, buy some.”
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In a rather inappropriately timed response, an F1 fan replied: “Is that song about Sky Sports F1 and F1 ‘journalists’?! Or [the FIA]? Asking for a friend #SkyF1xed #F1xed #Shame.”
Unsurprisingly, the Briton took issue with this and told Hamilton fans still voicing their displeasure at the events of last month’s season finale to move on.
“If you are a Hamilton fan, do yourself a favour and get over it because it’s not coming back. Ever,” he replied.
Continuing, he said he wants Hamilton to return and bounce back with his record-eighth championship success in 2022.
“[I] look forward to seeing Lewis Hamilton sock it to ’em in 2022. Winners don’t constantly bleat on about how unfair it all is. Show some backbone. Queue hate….”
In an amusing turn of events, Hill then apologised, but it was not for his snapback at the comment he received, but rather a grammatical error he had made during his reply.
“I’d just like to apologise to everyone for the last Tweet. It’s ‘cue’ not ‘queue’,” he quipped.
READ: #MasiOut: Hamilton fans launch fresh push to oust race director
“My mistake. Although there will probably be a queue forming soon…”
Hamilton is rumoured to be considering retiring from Formula 1 following his heartbreak last month, and fresh reports say that the longer he leaves his decision, the worse his position with Mercedes becomes.
New FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who replaced Jean Todt at the end of 2021, has stated he believes that the 37-year-old will be on the grid in 2022.
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