The Formula 1 title-deciding race in Abu Dhabi was so insane that it won’t be an exaggeration to say that everyone lost their minds for a while. It doesn’t matter if you were an F1 fan or a NASCAR fan or anyone else, everyone was in disbelief at what transpired over the last lap. So much so, that for a moment, someone thought Dale Earnhardt Jr. was crowned as the F1 champion.
Yes, you read that right.
People magazine posted a picture of the iconic NASCAR driver on their F1 race report piece.
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Not sure who I should be congratulating on the @F1 title, @Max33Verstappen or @DaleJr according to People. 😂🤦♂️
Nice catch by @SteveAuffant.#NASCAR #F1 #WTF1 pic.twitter.com/TzieysXez4
— Seth Eggert (@SethEggert91) December 12, 2021
And fans on Twitter had a lot of fun with this mistake from the globally known magazine.
Max Verstappenhardt Jr
— Jason Walker (@jwalker55) December 13, 2021
you damn well know dale jr drove his ass off to win that.
— marshall dye (@snackgod) December 13, 2021
They literally just googled "race car driver" and said "good enough"
— Holly Jolly Bowman Fan (@_JayRabid_) December 12, 2021
And Mercedes Is Trying to take that from him?
— (Johnny) ANNE WAYBLIGHT BUZZTKO (@AnneBUZZTKO) December 12, 2021
Even Dale Jr is in that picture like “wtf”
— {TPwn} Daniel Soto (@Dannydevito90) December 12, 2021
Dale Earnhardt Jr urges NASCAR to join hands with Formula 1
Last month, in one of his podcast episodes, Dale Jr. suggested that both racing leagues join hands for a joint event. But he also suggested that NASCAR may have to bow down a little to F1 for obvious reasons.
He said, “In this situation, for an F1-NASCAR double-header to ever happen, no way ever is F1 going to be second fiddle, they’re never going to be the opening act. Not going to happen, so NASCAR would have to be willing to be that opening act. I think that would be okay.”
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“It’s kind of like having a concert. Somebody has to be the headliner, and both bands think they’re the top band. Nobody wants to open for the other, and if you’re the first race, you’re looked as maybe the lesser of the two. So the egos of the series, between NASCAR, IndyCar and F1, or whoever has these companion events, you have to put those aside.”
Only time will tell whether NASCAR and F1 hold a joint event together. But for now, for the sake of banter, let’s just hope that the FIA gives Dale Earnhardt Jr. the championship trophy at their awards in a few days.
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That may not top the drama that was created in Abu Dhabi, but still, wouldn’t that be something?