'Class to the end': Lewis Hamilton act hailed after F1 heartache

Lewis Hamilton has been praised for his classy post-race gesture towards new championship winner Max Verstappen despite the drama and confusion surrounding the F1 finale.

Verstappen snatched victory off Mercedes' seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton after overtaking his fierce rival on an extraordinary final lap under lights at the Yas Marina Circuit.

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The lead-up to that move was one of two things Mercedes were scathing about, with the team filing for reconsideration to the International Court of Appeal.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 58 in thrilling style after a crash involving Nicholas Latifi brought out the safety car with just a few laps left and confusion surrounded the restart.

One of the lost protests was whether Verstappen had broken rules by passing Hamilton before the safety car period had ended, when they were jostling next to each other waiting for the restart.

Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo led the confusion on the final lap drama, unsure what the direction was from the race directors.

However, despite losing his world title in devastating fashion, Hamilton was all class following the race and quickly praised Verstappen for his maiden title.

“Firstly, congratulations to Max and to his team," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

“I think we did an amazing job this year. My team, everyone back at the factory, have worked so hard this whole year, it’s been the most difficult of seasons. I’m so proud of them and I’m so grateful to be a part of the journey with them.

“This last part of the season we gave it absolutely everything and never gave up.”

Lewis Hamilton's father's kind Max Verstappen gesture

While Hamilton was praising Verstappen, his father, Anthony made the journey over and congratulated the new F1 champion in person.

Many viewers were quick to praise the Hamilton's and said it was clear where Lewis gets his class from.

There was plenty of drama following the race as Mercedes argued Hamilton would have won the race if all had overtaken the safety car due to the time required, making a final lap showdown impossible.

Stewards ruled that it made no difference since the other three were not interfering with the outcome of the race, and also that race director Michael Masi had authority “to control the use of the safety car” in this case.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff could be heard on radio saying to Masi: “this isn’t right”.

There had already been one virtual safety car deployed earlier in the race for a smaller crash, but this time the real one came out with little time left to remove Latifi's car and clear debris off the track.

Verstappen's Red Bull team decided to pit him to switch to new tires while Mercedes stayed out to keep track position.

But it ultimately left Hamilton at Verstappen's mercy on far quicker, fresh tires than Hamilton's fading, slower ones.

They were supposed to take him over the line, but in the end they couldn't hold off Verstappen.

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