Lewis Hamilton fought Max Verstappen for F1 world title with ‘one hand behind his back’
Mark Webber says the dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not the right way for the season to be decided
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.Lewis Hamilton was forced to fight Max Verstappen for the world championship with "one hand behind his back", says former F1 driver Mark Webber, who believes both drivers have "scars that need healing".
Hamilton and Verstappen fought a long and at times ferocious battle for the F1 crown which went down to the last lap of the last race, where a controversial application of safety car procedure cut Hamilton's lead and created a shootout between the pair, which Verstappen won on fresher tyres.
The 37-year-old Hamilton only re-emerged on social media last week, amid speculation that he has been considering his future in the sport before the new season.
The Australian former Red Bull driver Webber, now a pundit and analyst for Channel 4, says they need time to come to terms with the intense rivalry.
“It’s hard, I think we need a year off,” Webber told Wide World of Sports. “They need a year off. There’s still some old scars there that need some healing
“That might be done after their careers, they can have a red wine together. But while they are racing against each other they will be big rivals, and that’s what we want in the sport.”
Race director Michael Masi is the subject of an investigation into the final grand prix of the season after such an unprecedented conclusion, and Webber says it was not the right way for the season to be decided.
“For the sport, we were all disappointed it ended like that, it’s not how we wanted it to end. Both of them deserved to lift that trophy but we didn’t want it to finish like that at all,” he said.
“We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was one guy with his hand tied behind his back. Of course, in hindsight they would all agree we could have done something different. What happened wasn’t the ideal scenario.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments