F1 cameras missed ‘brilliant’ moment between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi
The rivals had a friendly moment together before the final race of the season
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.There was a “brilliant” moment between Formula 1 rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen during the Abu Dhabi race weekend but cameras failed to capture it.
Before their press conference, journalist Tom Clarkson said Hamilton entered the room and gave Verstappen a fist bump and asked how he was doing. Clarkson remarked it was the perfect shot between the title rivals instead of a staged handshake.
However, it didn’t pan out how Clarkson imagined it. He told the F1 Nation podcast: “I thought ‘brilliant, that’s the shot, I don’t need to worry about this cheesy handshake thing anymore’. We had a Netflix camera in there. We had the two cameras we have in the press conference room anyway. There was even a photographer in there as well.
“So the press conference happens and they have a good natter. And then at the end, I said to the Netflix guy ‘ah, you must have enjoyed the fist-bump’. And he goes ‘oh, I missed it, mate, I missed it’.
“So nobody knows about this fist-bump except for me and the people in [there], about three others in the room!”
Despite the final race of the season ending in controversial circumstances both Hamilton and Verstappen have been respectful of one another in the wake of the event.
Verstappen picked up his first world championship after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton had been leading for the majority of the race but a safety car was deployed after Nicholas Latifi crashed. The race director Michael Masi restarted the race with a lap to go but allowed some cars to unlap themselves and others not.
This meant Verstappen was right on the British star’s tail and had the speed to overtake and hold the lead.
After the race Hamilton was dignified in defeat, saying: “A big congratulations to Max and to his team. I think we did an amazing job this year.
“My team, everyone back at the factory… all the men and women… have worked so hard this whole year. It’s been the most difficult of seasons. I’m so proud of them, so grateful to be a part of the journey with them.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments