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Verstappen won the F1 world title after defeating Hamilton.
A late safety car allows Max Verstappen to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the last lap. (0:27)
Max Verstappen won his first F1 world championship by beating Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen became the first Dutch champion in history and the first Red Bull driver to win a title in five years. Hamilton has won four straight titles, but Verstappen's title ended his run.
One of the most dramatic F1 seasons ever came to an end with the finish of the race.
The Safety Car was activated on Lap 52 of 58 after a crash by Nicholas Latifi. Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the race to win the race and the world title, as the Mercedes of Hamilton was struggling on worn tires.
The decision to restart the race was controversial, with Michael Masi seeming to crumble under pressure from Red Bull boss Christian Horner to let lapped cars overtake the Safety Car in order to move Verstappen behind Hamilton for the restart.
"Why aren't we getting these cars out of the way?" asked the man. We only need one lap.
The Safety Car would be able to pass the lapped cars, bringing Verstappen right up behind his rival.
Hamilton was powerless to stop Verstappen when the race resumed after the Safety Car came in.
Verstappen exclaimed "Oh my God, oh my God" on the radio as he won, and later said to his Red Bull team, "Can we do this for another 10 or 15 years together?"
After they climbed out of their cars, Hamilton embraced Verstappen.
As Verstappen and Red Bull celebrated the incredible final lap, Mercedes boss Wolff was screaming at Masi over the radio.
"Michael!" Michael! Wolff said that the results should count from the lap before the Safety Car came in.
Masi said, "Toto". This is a race.
Red Bull was upset with Masi after a controversial first-lap incident when Verstappen tried to pass Hamilton, who went off track and appeared to gain an advantage. Race control decided against further investigation.
The season was marked by a number of disagreements between Hamilton and Verstappen.
