Williams team principal James Vowles has shared an insight into how Lewis Hamilton reacted to the heartbreak title loss at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton saw the title slip from his grasp on the final lap of the race as a controversial safety car restart allowed Max Verstappen to complete an overtake to win the championship.
It has long been labelled as one of the most controversial moments in F1 history, as the FIA was found to have not followed standard procedures to resume the race.
At the time, Vowles had a leading strategy role within Mercedes and insisted he felt most sorry for Hamilton, who came agonisingly close to bagging a record-breaking eighth F1 title.
“My biggest feeling is for Lewis, because he is such an incredible character,” Vowles told Frankie Langan's YouTube channel.
“He fought tooth and nail for it, and that's where my feeling is - not for me personally, but for him.
“As a result of it, my life has moved on, I'm not with Mercedes anymore, I'm with Williams.
“It's a part of my history, and if you let it take over too much, you will dull your future.
“I don't want it to do that. It's just a line in the sand for what happened five years ago.
“But I feel for Lewis, out of all of it, because to him, it was something that was right there in front of him.”
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Hamilton was 'strongest leader' after Abu Dhabi pain
Hamilton was not in a position to regularly fight for race wins in the years that followed with Mercedes before he made the switch to Ferrari in 2025.
The 2021 fallout delivered grief throughout the entire Mercedes squad, despite the team managing to secure the constructors' championship ahead of Red Bull.
Although Hamilton was the figure who was central to the drivers' title loss, Vowles revealed the seven-time champion ensured the motivation and spirit of the team was kept high in the weeks that followed.
“Here's the biggest takeaway - not the change in result, but how he dealt with it as a sportsman,” Vowles said.
“I'm sure you've done things in your life - I definitely have - where you just can't come to terms with what's happened. That wasn't him after the race.
“In fact, he ended up being one of the strongest leaders within the team that brought us all together at the time it was the hardest for all of us.
“That's a true champion, irrespective of what happens on track, that's a true champion.”
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