Lewis Hamilton was denied the 2021 Formula 1 title in one of the most controversial races the sport has ever seen.
Hamilton, then a Mercedes driver, entered the season finale in Abu Dhabi level on points with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. It was effectively winner-takes-all.
After passing Verstappen at the start, Hamilton dominated the race. But a late safety car, caused by a crash for Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, wiped out his lead.
It also allowed Verstappen to pit for new tyres, which gave him a huge advantage over Hamilton when the racing resumed on the final lap. The Dutchman executed a spectacular overtake into turn five to snatch the victory and win the championship by seven points.
Samuel L Jackson regards Max Verstappen as an ‘incredible’ driver
Mercedes protested the result of the race, partly on the grounds that FIA race director Michael Masi had not followed the rulebook when implementing the restart procedure.
These protests were rejected, and Mercedes withdrew the appeal they had lodged with the FIA court. The sport’s governing body later acknowledged that Masi had made a mistake, but Verstappen was declared the champion.
The recognition of Masi’s error only added to the sense of injustice for many of Hamilton’s fans. He would have become the first eight-time world champion in F1 history.
Hollywood A-lister Samuel L Jackson was among those to allege that the English driver had been robbed, even though he accepted that Verstappen is an ‘incredible’ driver.
He wrote on his Instagram story: “For a full season. We watched Lewis compete with Max for this title fairly and aggressively.
“Max is an incredible driver. He deserved all his wins this season. But he did not win this championship.
“Lewis. Our Brother. Was Robbed. For 57.5 laps. He dominated. Sometimes he even led by 16 secs according to Red Bull’s own status cards.”
Lewis Hamilton has a ‘very cool’ friendship with Samuel L Jackson
Hamilton has made a number of public appearances alongside acting legend Jackson, who has received an Honorary Academy Award, over the past 15 years or so.
After winning the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed that Jackson had texted him to pass on his congratulations. He said it was ‘very cool’ to receive the message, adding that ‘it never gets old’.
Hamilton himself has become involved in the movie industry in recent years. He founded his own production company, Dawn Apollo Films, in 2022 and was involved in last year’s smash-hit F1 movie, starring Brad Pitt.
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