Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drama as "s***house" Latifi causes nail-biting F1 finale
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Nicholas Latifi was slammed by racing fans after the Canadian's late crash set up a remarkable finish to Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen clinched his first-ever F1 World title after pipping Lewis Hamilton in a final lap shootout between the pair.
Hamilton had led for pretty much the entire race after overtaking Verstappen in a dream start.
But Latifi's late crash turned the race on its head – with the introduction of the safety car proving pivotal for Verstappen's dramatic late win.
And fans online slammed the Williams Racing driver following his mishap with the barriers in lap 54.
One fan tweeted: "Oh Latifi, you s***house," in reaction to the wild scenes in the desert.
Another reacted with: "imagine telling someone at the beginning of the year that Nicholas Latifi will define the 2021 world champion".
Latifi's unfortunate collision was just one of a clutch of talking points from a dramatic season-ending race in Abu Dhabi.
After overtaking Verstappen early, Hamilton and his title rival almost collided in the first lap – with Red Bull incensed that stewards refused to penalise Hamilton for the clash.
What did you make of the dramatic conclusion to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments section.
But Verstappen rebounded from that disappointment to take advantage of Latifi's late mishap; taking the opportunity to pit for another fresh set of tyres for a one-lap shootout with Hamilton.
Race director Michael Masi made the controversial call to allow lapped cars to pass the safety car, despite originally ruled they should remain behind.
And former World champion Nico Rosberg admitted that he understood the frustration from team Mercedes over Masi's remarkable decision.
"First they said they're not allowed to un-lap themselves, then they changed their message once they saw that the track was safe to do so," Rosberg told Sky Sports after the thrilling finale.
"But the thing is, in the written document all cars will be required to un-lap themselves and yet they only let those five cars that were between Lewis and Verstappen un-lap themselves, the others not.
"That's why Mercedes are thinking, is that ok?
"I guess it's just going to be in the end Michael Masi can decide what he wants, he's the director. He wants to go racing, they go racing, in a safe way, and they did that."
- Lewis Hamilton
- Max Verstappen
- Formula One
- mercedes
- Red Bull Racing
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