After such a tantalisingly close battle all season between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the season finale in Abu Dhabi, although thrilling, was perhaps the worst ending we could have witnessed for the sport.
Max Verstappen is a deserved Championship winner, but the way in which the crown was won has arguably tarnished both the sports reputation, and the legitimacy of the championship.
Despite having more bad luck than Lewis with Max suffering from a tyre blowout in Azerbaijan that led to him crashing out of the lead, a first lap clattering in Silverstone and of course the infamous Monza crash that took both Lewis and Max out of the race, Max still managed to enter the season finale on equal points with Lewis, who only suffered one DNF in Monza.
If that was not enough, Max managed to secure the most podium finishes within a single seater championship with a total of 18. He also managed to lead 652 laps throughout the season, compared to Lewis' 303.
In no way does this make the final race justifiable, but perhaps it will bring to light that both Lewis and Max were worthy winners, but as the sport goes there can only be one.
Lewis had dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leading for almost the entirety of the race, but a mistake from Nicholas Latifi brought out the safety car and perhaps sparked one of the most controversial decisions and series of events all season.
Michael Masi, the Race Director, called for a safety car and then proceeded to allow the five lapped cars between the then championship contenders, essentially creating a last lap shootout between Hamilton and Verstappen. This decision subsequently sparked huge controversy and investigations from Mercedes, as a further three cars behind remained lapped, and the usual procedure of an additional lap was not followed.
However, these investigations and appeals lodged by Mercedes have subsequently been dropped. With the benefit of hindsight, a red flag would have neutralised the race allowing for a similar event to occur, but giving both contenders the opportunity to have fresh tyres.
That being said, the blame can not simply be placed on Masi, as both Red Bull and Mercedes' Team Principles - Christian Horner and Toto Wolff - had a direct radio to the Race Director throughout the race. A radio communication which should be stripped from the sport, as both parties were guilty of lobbying Masi.
In addition to this, all ten teams along the gird had agreed to finishing the race under 'green' conditions, essentially end the season racing and not behind the safety car. After all, Formula 1 is a spectators sport.
Despite the controversial ending to the season, we must not forget the season we as fans have witnessed, we were treated to a titanic battle all season - Max Verstappen was unleashed and managed to challenge the seemingly unbeatable Lewis Hamilton, a feat some thought would never happen.
We can only hope the 2022 season sees more of the same battles... but with perhaps less controversy from the Stewards.
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