Webber: Hamilton-Verstappen have old scars that need healing

Saturday, 12 February 2022 at 07:35

Three months between seasons is not enough to heal the scars on Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, in the wake of their titanic battle for the 2021 Formula 1 world title suggests Mark Webber.

The tale is well told how Verstappen beat Hamilton in such a contentious manner that, despite the launch of the all-new F1 cars for this season, December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains a red hot topic.

Webber predicts that there is still unfinished business between Verstappen and Hamilton, as well as their two teams Red Bull and Mercedes.

The Australian told Channel 9: "It's hard, I think we need a year off. They need a year off. There's still some old scars there that need some healing," speaking to Wide World of Sports.

"That might be done after their careers, they can have a red wine together. But while they're racing against each other they'll be big rivals, and that's what we want in the sport."

Webber: It was a really tough finish for Lewis mentally at the end of last year

The rivalry hit top gear last year from the first race, culminating in the finale, with so many twists and turns throughout the race, living up the billing as the Greatest F1 Race of the Century, until bungled FIA officiating on the night - headed by Michael Masi - made a mockery of the sport.

Verstappen deservedly won his first F1 title but, the paradox of a manic season was that Hamilton did not deserve to lose that race that way after his stupendous late-season surge; the fact he did not make a single mistake that night at Yas Marina and yet lost was tough to accept.

Likewise, Verstappen also did not put a foot wrong. During a season of the tiniest margins, in the end, it was a smattering of luck - which was not always his friend in the campaign - during those crazy last five minutes of the race that decided who won and lost.

Webber recalled: “It was a really tough finish for Lewis mentally at the end of last year. He led 99 per cent of that race. To lose it the way he did, it doesn’t matter who you are, it’s a big pill to swallow.

For the sport, we were all disappointed it ended like that

“He felt he was robbed on the last lap because he couldn’t fight. He had nothing to fight with, and it wasn’t through his own doing. He was fighting against something that was an outside force. When it’s Max Verstappen on fresh tyres, it’s a real challenge.”

Masi has been made the scapegoat, all but lynched by a putrid social media mod crazies who have no right calling themselves F1 fans, and inhumanely abused him since he made the decisions he did.

Webber said of his fellow Australian: “For the sport, we were all disappointed it ended like that, it’s not how we wanted it to end. Both of them deserved to lift that trophy but we didn’t want it to finish like that at all.

“We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was one guy with his hand tied behind his back. Of course, in hindsight, they would all agree we could have done something different. What happened wasn’t the ideal scenario," added Webber.