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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The 2021 F1 championship finale in Abu Dhabi will live on long in the memory of everyone who witnessed the event. We saw arguably the most controversial moment in F1 history unfolded in front of our own eyes. The events led to factions of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fans mercilessly targeting each other on social media.

One of the high-profile athletes who supports the Red Bull drivers’ win was the Philadelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid. The basketball player celebrated Verstappen‘s championship and also posted his reaction on Twitter. But this has come back to bite him in the back.

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Embiid could not guide his team to NBA Playoffs as they lost the Eastern Conference playoffs to Miami Heat in Game 6. F1 fans who supported Lewis Hamilton mercilessly trolled him after his failure to make the playoffs.

 

The player has been receiving an outrageous amount of animosity for his support of the Dutchman; particularly at an unfortunate time after the playoff elimination. Despite a strong season behind him, one that pushed the 76ers to a respectable spot in the conference semi-finals, Twitter strikes again to take away from the player and his talents.

2021 champion Max Verstappen goes strong in 2022

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve mentioned that the Dutch driver is showing in 2022 that he is a worthy champion. In his column for Formule1.nl, the 1997 world champion mentioned that the Red Bull driver is operating at a top level.

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“Max has certainly shown in the last two races that he deserved the title. A car can always break down, but apart from that, it’s always competing for the win,” said the Canadian.

via Reuters

“He drives almost flawlessly, and when he makes one, he corrects it and he rides at the peak of his abilities on the border. He makes the best of what he can control. There is no race where he is less. We saw that again in Miami,” said the former world champion.

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Maybe it is time that F1 fans on Twitter accept the events in Abu Dhabi last season. Despite its controversial nature, Verstappen had proven himself to be a worthy champion. Thus, the focus should be on the season ahead: whether that’s the next season for Embiid, or the current one for the Dutch Lion.