On 16 December, the F1 awards ceremony was held in Paris, France, but Lewis Hamilton, who regretted missing out on eight crowns, was not present. Toto Wolff, the leader of the Mercedes-Benz team to which he belongs, was also not present.
The day before, Hamilton had been officially knighted by Prince Charles at Windsor Castle in england, making him the fourth F1 driver to be knighted.
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held on the 12th, Hamilton was overtaken by Verstappen on the last lap of the last race, losing the 2021 World Championship, and the result of the competition was controversial. Outside the award ceremony on the 16th, there were also fans who played a sign in support of Hamilton.
Verstappen also responded positively to the controversial outcome at the awards ceremony. "The race is brutal and the drivers have to do their own thing because there are a lot of things we can't predict. What happens in the last minute can happen to anyone at any time, and Hamilton has won a championship in this way. So I think he should be able to understand me. He believes hamilton could still win the championship next year.
(Editor: Si Wen)