“If Horse Excrement Was a Team”: Returning to the Scene of the Crime, Red Bull Faces Immense Backlash From Lewis Hamilton Fans for Risky Social Media Move

The race at the Yas Marina Circuit is back, and so is the last year’s controversy. One of the most divisive topics of the modern F1 era is whether Lewis Hamilton was “robbed” of his 8th world title in Abu Dhabi in 2021. Or was it a fair and square title win for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen? Well, Red Bull is certainly refusing to let go of it as their latest Twitter post invites fans’ fury.

2021, arguably one of the most thrilling seasons in F1’s history, ended in the most controversial fashion. In the title decider finale in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton walked in with equal points. Hamilton was in a comfortable lead after starting P2 on Sunday, but what happened in the latter stages of the race broke his heart.

Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers at turn 14 in Lap 53. The race control got the safety car out and Red Bull played a gamble. They called Max Verstappen in for a soft tire fitting. As he came out, he had 5 lapped cars between him and Lewis Hamilton. As the race control’s message prohibiting lapped cars to unlap themselves flashed, the victory looked inevitable for the Briton.

However, on lap 57, race director Michael Masi allowed only 5 lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves. The other two lapped cars back in the grid weren’t allowed to do that. And as the race restarted, Max overtook Lewis and won his first world championship title.

Red Bull’s latest social media post does not go down well with Lewis Hamilton fans

The wounds are still fresh for Lewis Hamilton fans and Red Bull’s latest post didn’t do any favors.

Max Verstappen has earlier called for a ban on toxic comments on social media. One fan reminded Red Bull of that.

Another fan reminded Red Bull of last month when they boycotted Sky Sports after Ted Kravitz’s “robbed” comments for Lewis Hamilton.

FIA later released a report on Michael Masi’s decision and termed it a ‘human error’. Masi was later removed from the race director’s job.

Read More: “Has Something Against Max”: Verstappen Ally Lashes Out at “D*ck” Lewis Hamilton in Furious Rant

The unusual decision to only allow certain cars to unlap divided the fans. Moreover, the safety car is always expected to come into the pits in the following lap once the cars unlap themself. But here, to have a last-lap shootout for the title, the safety car was called in during the same lap.

How Lewis Hamilton reacted after the race?

Lewis Hamilton looked devastated after the race. For a long time, he did not come out of the car, pondering what had just happened. Mercedes appealed against the decision, which was rejected by the FIA.

Hamilton later spoke, “So only one time, in the history of the sport, that they haven’t done the rule.”

“What really was breaking was to just believe that the sport would do something like that. That that would happen, given that there are so many people you rely on. You expect that the job would be done right.”

“An outcome of a world championship which so many people have worked so hard for would come out through a wrong decision from somebody, you know?”

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

While Max Verstappen’s 2021 championship came under heavy scrutiny following this incident, his 2022 title was embroiled in the cost cap controversy. Do you think Verstappen’s deserved the 2021 title? Is Red Bull’s latest post a dig at Lewis Hamilton and his fans?