F1 news LIVE: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen controversies evened out in Abu Dhabi, Nico Rosberg claims

The controversy between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix evened itself out over the course of the race, according to former world champion Nico Rosberg. Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth championship when a series of incidents, combined with some questionable decisions from race director Michael Masi, led to Verstappen overtaking him on the final lap of the season.

But Rosberg, a former teammate of Hamilton, has said the Mercedes driver benefitted from a favourable decision earlier in the race when he cut the corner, following a wheel-to-wheel battle with Verstappen. “It was good what they [the stewards] did in the incident at the beginning of the race, but actually there I think it went Lewis’ way and he should have let him past,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “So it’s really one-one in terms of fundamental decisions during the race.”

Amid the continuing uncertainty over Hamilton’s future in Formula One his teammate for the 2022 season George Russell has said he is preparing for the “most intense” season of his life as he gets ready to make the step up to Mercedes. The 23-year-old is replacing Valtteri Bottas after three seasons at Williams and will go straight into a 23-race campaign in 2022, the longest in Formula One history. “I think 2022 will be the most intense year of my life in terms of racing schedules, but also from an off-track and marketing side of things,” Russell said.

Elsewhere, Formula One drivers including defending champion Verstappen are continuing their off-seasons as teams tease their cars for the 2022, which will see the most significant change of regulations since 2014. There is hope that the changes, which are designed to increase overtaking opportunities and reduce the gap between teams, will make it a more open fight for the title next season, with Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali tipping several drivers to challenge Hamilton and Verstappen for the championship.

Follow all the latest news below.

F1 news live

• Russell preparing for ‘most intense' season

• F1 boss predicts open fight for 2022 title

• Vettel tipped with Red Bull return

• F1 teams offer glimpses of 2022 cars

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12:48 , Jamie Braidwood

Charles Leclerc has revealed what it is like to drive the 2022 Formula One car, ahead of the biggest change in regulations in the sport since 2014.

The Ferrari driver said: “It’s quite a bit different. It makes it quite tricky, I mean, it’s challenging for us drivers and I think it will be more challenging... to drive those cars overall.

“It has probably a bit of a bigger window to work in and in cold conditions it feels quite good, but it’s quite tricky when you use the car in the high-speed, especially.”

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12:10 , Jamie Braidwood

Carlos Sainz has said he will go into his second season with Ferrari with more confidence. The Spaniard finished fifth in the standings, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, and has said his performances in his debut year with the team will put him in good standing to challenge for more podiums in 2022.

“My expectations would have been to finish a little bit higher. But, honestly, for what I was facing with a new year at Ferrari, the fact that I adapted so quickly and, above all, finished the season much better than how I started it gives me the confidence that it has been a positive year,” Sainz told DAZN.

“A year in which I have gone ‘in crescendo’. This is important for 2022 because I have gained a lot of confidence. I feel ready for whatever comes next season.”

Sainz added: “The best is yet to come.”

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11:50 , Jamie Braidwood

Marko added that he believes George Russell still has to “prove himself” following his move from Williams to Mercedes and is not yet a championship contender.

“Russell will certainly be a bigger challenge for Hamilton,” he said. “Just rhetorically and politically, because he’s also English.

“He is an incredibly fast driver in qualifying. In the race, however, the gap to [former Williams teammate Nicholas] Latifi was no longer so great. Russell has to prove himself first.”

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11:30 , Jamie Braidwood

The excitement around Ferrari Charles Leclerc has been “debunked” following Carlos Sainz’s arrival at the team.

That’s according to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who was giving an assessment of rival teams ahead of the new season.

Sainz was a hit at Ferrari following his move from McLaren and finished ahead of Leclerc in the standings.

“Mercedes and [Red Bull] have the potential, the people and the continuity. That again speaks for a duel at the highest level,” Marko said. Especially as with Hamilton and Verstappen, no other driver is coming along.

“The closest to them is [Lando] Norris. Leclerc was, so to speak, debunked by Sainz.”

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11:10 , Jamie Braidwood

Nico Rosberg has said the controversy between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix evened itself out over the course of the race.

Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth championship when a series of incidents, combined with some questionable decisions from race director Michael Masi, led to Verstappen overtaking him on the final lap of the season.

But Rosberg, a former teammate of Hamilton, has said the Mercedes driver benefitted from a favourable decision earlier in the race when he cut the corner, following a wheel-to-wheel battle with Verstappen.

“I said it was good what they [the stewards] did in the incident at the beginning of the race, but actually there I think it went Lewis’ way and he should have let him past,” Rosberg told Sky F1.

“So it’s really one-one in terms of fundamental decisions during the race, so I think it’s okay.”

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10:50 , Jamie Braidwood

McLaren team boss Zak Brown hopes the introduction of new regulations in Formula One ahead of the 2022 season will make the fight for the drivers’ championship a more open competition this year.

Changes to promote closer racing and increase overtaking opportunities will come into force ahead of the start of the new campaign in March, in the first major shake up of F1’s rules since 2014.

“My hopes are that we go into Abu Dhabi next year with three or four cars who can compete for the championship, I think that’s the ultimate goal,” Brown said.

“I think this year has been spectacular, up and down the grid, and I hope with what has been put in place and the new car designs, and the intent of the new aerodynamic package, that what we’re seeing now is just a taste of the future.”

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10:30 , Jamie Braidwood

Pierre Gasly is frustrated he isn’t being recognised by big teams after an impressive 2021 season.

He had a brief spell with Red Bull in 2019 but hasn’t been welcomed back as he thought he may be with Sergio Perez favoured. Gasly will drive for AlphaTauri in 2022.

“My desire, my will to fight for World Championships is very strong. I’m in Formula 1 to fight at the top,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “That motivates me to keep improving.

“I won’t lie, it’s hard to deliver a season like that. And then when I compare myself to those who got the opportunity for a Red Bull seat, it’s disappointing. Based on the numbers and results, I have delivered a better performance than anyone else in this team.

“But at the end of the day, I don’t get the recognition and reward for that. That’s hard to swallow. It disappoints me, of course.

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10:10 , Jamie Braidwood

Max Verstappen has admitted that luck turned in his favour at exactly the right time after he clinched his maiden Formula 1 world championship in such controversial circumstances.

He overtook Hamilton in the last lap in the final race of the season.

“It’s always difficult to really use the right word for it but you need a bit of luck in your life, and I think up until that point I didn’t really have a lot of luck in the season – otherwise I think the championship would have been decided way earlier,” Verstappen told Sky.

“Luck came at the right time for me and then of course you still have to take the opportunity, which we did as a team.”

Max Verstappen admits ‘luck came at right time’ in F1 title-winning season

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09:50 , Jamie Braidwood

Sebastian Vettel has been tipped to finish his career with a remarkable return to Red Bull.

The German won four championship titles with Red Bull before moving to Ferrari. Now 34, Vettel is driving with Aston Martin and spent last season battling in the midfield, but former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has backed Vettel to return to Red Bull to show the sport how fast he still is.

“We don’t know how quick he is any more because he’s not in a competitive car – so it’s not easy to say he’s not as quick as he used to be,” Ecclestone said. “He needs to be back in Red Bull actually.”

F1 latest news

09:48 , Jamie Braidwood

And Russell’s hopes are matched by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who welcomed last season’s battle between Hamilton and Verstappen as one of the most exciting the sport had seen while also predicting that there could be more contenders this year.

“Of course I very much hope that the duel [between Hamilton and Verstappen] will continue,” Domenicali said, as quoted by Sport1.de. “But I also hope that other drivers can get involved in the title fight.

“We have so many young and talented drivers at the moment, an extremely strong field.

“That’s why the focus at the moment is on whether the new cars will allow more drivers to fight for victories and the title with them.”

F1 latest news

09:45 , Jamie Braidwood

Russell is also preparing for the fight for the drivers’ championship to be wide open in 2022.

Russell, who has joined Mercedes, says there are as many as five times who can challenge for the title this year.

“A team like Ferrari that have been through a difficult period for the last two years are going to be so hungry, especially with this new rule change, to come back fighting, similar to McLaren as well,” Russel said.

“These teams have got the infrastructure, the talent within the engineering department, with the drivers as well, to really fight.

“I truly believe there are five teams all capable of really doing something special next year, so you’ve got to be absolutely on it, and I think development is going to be absolutely key.”

F1 latest news

09:36 , Jamie Braidwood

Amid the continuing uncertainty over Lewis Hamilton’s future in Formula One his teammate for the 2022 season George Russell has said he is preparing for the “most intense” season of his life as he gets ready to make the step up to Mercedes. The 23-year-old is replacing Valtteri Bottas after three seasons at Williams and will go straight into a 23-race campaign in 2022, the longest in Formula One history. “I think 2022 will be the most intense year of my life in terms of racing schedules, but also from an off-track and marketing side of things,” Russell said.

“Going from Williams, where I have been pretty fortunate in a way not having to do so many marketing activities just because of the nature of the position we’ve been in, to Mercedes where we’ve got tons of sponsors and lots of commitments that drivers need to attend to. From a racing side and off-track side, it is going to be incredibly intense.”