Verstappen wins first F1 title in last lap drama

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Formula One championship, denying Lewis Hamilton a record eighth, with a last-lap overtake to win a season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday amid controversy and high drama. (Source: AP)

Hamilton's Mercedes team took the constructors' title for an unprecedented eighth year in a row but their run of double dominance was ended by the 24-year-old Dutch driver, his country's first champion. (Source: AP)

The safety car had been deployed after Canadian Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams with five laps to go and Masi then decided not to demand all lapped cars pass it before resuming racing. That allowed Verstappen -- on fresher, faster tyres after strategic stops -- to close and go wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton for the lead. Just when it seemed the race would be finishing behind the safety car, which would have handed Hamilton the title, it turned into a sprint finish. (Source: Reuters)

Two post-race protests, which might have overturned the outcome, were dismissed but Mercedes refused to drop the matter and said they had filed notice of intention to appeal. (Source: Reuters)

Max Verstappen of Red Bull racing celebrates winning the 2021 F1 drivers' title in Abu Dhabi.(Source: Reuters)

Verstappen's hopes had soared when he qualified on pole position, sunk when he lost the lead at the start and rose again as the safety car came out and race director Michael Masi decisively pushed the boundaries late in the race. (Source: Reuters)

The floodlit race at Yas Marina avoided the collision many had feared, with Verstappen sure to be champion if Hamilton failed to score, but instead left arguments raging long after the finish. (Source: AP)