Former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone says claims Lewis Hamilton was robbed of the world championship are “complete and utter nonsense.”
The F1 world remains divided over a controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, that saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crowned champion, after a last-lap pass for the lead.
That came after a safety car period, where Mercedes claims the correct restart procedure wasn’t followed.
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Lost in all the drama was a first-lap incident between Hamilton and Verstappen, which left the Red Bull camp furious at the lack of any penalty for Hamilton.
Verstappen had attempted to pass the Mercedes driver, who left the track and kept the lead. Officials ruled that he gave back any advantage he gained by taking the short-cut, while Red Bull felt he should have had to cede his position to Verstappen.
“About being robbed – it’s complete and utter nonsense,” Ecclestone told Sky UK.
“If you want to think about it carefully, on the first lap of that race he (Hamilton) went off the circuit and came back on again and Verstappen stayed on the circuit and did absolutely nothing wrong.
“Lewis wasn’t punished at all for this so he shouldn’t be complaining too much. These things happen all the time in sports. We shouldn’t blame the race director, he did exactly what was the right thing to do.’
A radio message has emerged in the aftermath of the race, where Hamilton tells his Mercedes team that the result was “manipulated” in a reference to the restart procedure employed following the late-race safety car.
“I’d like to know who has been manipulating and is clever enough to do that,” Ecclestone said.
“This was just a set of circumstances that happened and it ended an incredible world championship that I’m sure everyone was more than happy to watch.”
Mercedes is yet to confirm if it will push ahead with an appeal, with the deadline for doing so just three days away.
It’s a move Ecclestone says would win them few friends.
“I think an appeal would be the worst thing they (Mercedes) could do. It would look like they are bad losers,” he said.
“It was very level. Two guys racing each other and one was quicker than the other one. It’s a lot of nonsense. It took them four hours to decide if they had a case or not so it couldn’t have been that clear.
“Max won it fair and square which is a good thing to do. People are just as happy to see a new face win it. I personally was happy that Lewis didn’t win an eighth championship because of Michael Schumacher. I wouldn’t like to see that broken.”
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