“My worst fears came alive. I figured there’s no way they’re going to cheat on me. No way. That will not happen. Certainly not.”
Hamilton was on track to win his eighth world title until Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi crashed into the guardrail with four laps to go, prompting the safety car to be called.
Former F1 race director Michael Masi allowed the race to restart on the final lap and Verstappen was allowed to start almost alongside Hamilton, despite the Mercedes driver having previously held a sizeable lead.
Verstappen eventually overtook Hamilton on fresh tires to win his first F1 world title.
Hamilton said after the race he remembered sitting in his car “in disbelief”.
“I don’t know if I can really put into words how I felt,” he added.
“I remember just sitting there in disbelief. And I realized I need to unbuckle my belts, I need to get out of there, I need to climb out of this thing, I need to find the strength,” he added. “I had no strength. And it was one of the toughest moments, I would say, that I’ve had in a long, long time.”
“Something was wrong”
The outcome of the race drew mixed reactions on social media.
Asked if he felt betrayed by Masi’s decision and the controversy that followed, Hamilton told the magazine, “I knew what had happened. I knew what decisions were being made and why. Yes, I knew something was wrong.”
After a feverish end to an intense season, Hamilton said he found solace in his father’s arms.
“He hugged me and I think he said, ‘I want you to know how proud I am of you.’ For your dad to hug you like that is one of the most profound things,” he said.
“Especially since you didn’t grow up with it much.”