“Cheating Runs in the Family”: Fans Lash Out at Max Verstappen’s Biggest F1 Achievement After Bernie Ecclestone’s Damning Nelson Piquet Confession

There are a couple of similarities between the 2021 and 1981 F1 seasons. In both instances, the championship battle went right down to the wire, with the result coming in only in the final race. Also, the final races of both seasons were embroiled in controversies. While F1 fans eventually forgot about the battle of yesteryear, it made a comeback in their memory after Bernie Ecclestone’s recent confession. Moreover, the crusade against Max Verstappen and his first title’s legitimacy has gained momentum because of the inevitable Nelson Piquet connection.

To this day, the controversy of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP refuses to die down. Despite admitting to the “human error” on race director Michael Masi’s part, the FIA decided to maintain the status quo on the result. Ever since then, many fans and pundits have had a divided opinion on whether Verstappen’s maiden title holds any legitimacy.

Fans go hard on Max Verstappen after Bernie Ecclestone spills the beans on Nelson Piquet’s first title

Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann were in the hunt for the championship, with Reutemann ahead by only 1 point. As the final race in Las Vegas came to a finish, Piquet won the championship by securing P5, while Reutemann could only manage P8. However, before the race, Ecclestone, who owned Brabham (Piquet’s team) back then, went a little more than the extra mile for his driver.

In the Discovery+ documentary ‘Lucky!’ Ecclestone revealed, “There was a lot of g force in the way the corners were put together.”

“After the first day’s practice, it was obvious the drivers were in trouble. Carlos got hold of the masseur who used to look after the boxers.”

“I went to see this person, and after some financial discussion, they decided to favor Nelson. I don’t know whether I ever told Carlos.”

Have a look at how fans reacted to the development.

Read More: F1 Mogul Bernie Ecclestone Reveals the Missing Piece in Mick Schumacher’s Struggling F1 Career: “With All His Experience…”

One fan went as far as tagging Interpol to investigate the 1981 Las Vegas GP and the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.

Another fan made the Piquet-Verstappen connection to take a dig at their first championship titles.

Given how long it took for the truth for the ’81 season finale to come out, one fan tried to predict how much time it will take for any possible confession on the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP to come out.

Watch This Story: Max Verstappen: ‘Is my title tarnished? Not at all. I really deserved it’

Do you think there was some kind of foul play in the 2021 championship decider?