After 22 high-octane races, countless dramatic moments and a finale that left a bitter taste, Max Verstappen finally let his hair down following his world championship triumph as he partied until the early hours in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen, 24, snatched the world championship from rival Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of their shootout in the desert, although the manner of his victory left Mercedes fuming with FIA race director Michael Masi.
German newspaper BILD lifted the lid on the inside story of Verstappen’s title celebrations, while his girlfriend – Kelly Piquet – shared photos of the Dutchman basking in his championship glory on Sunday night.
The Dutch ace was pictured with Piquet – daughter of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet – as well as friends Stan Pex and Gianpiero Lambiase.
One image of Verstappen and Piquet was posted alongside the caption: ‘My world champion’.
BILD say the celebrations truly kicked off three hours after the race’s conclusion in Abu Dhabi, when at 11.03pm local time Verstappen had been confirmed as the new world champion after Mercedes’ two complaints were thrown out by the FIA.
After a thrilling 2021 season, Max Verstappen has let his hair down following the F1 finale
Verstappen, 24, pictured with girlfriend Piquet, alongside the caption: ‘My world champion’
The Dutchman basks in his title triumph during a party that moved onto a yacht and came to an end at 7am, according to reports
Verstappen pictured with Geri Halliwell – former Spice Girl and wife of Christian Horner
Horner and Halliwell share a moment together after Red Bull finally usurped Mercedes
Red Bull chief Christian Horner relayed the news to Verstappen himself, at which point the duo embraced after a tireless campaign together.
At 11.10pm, ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen was heard blasting out of the Red Bull garage as Verstappen posed with his team for photos, wearing specially-designed t-shirts and caps to celebrate the achievement.
The contingent then moved from the garage – which was at this point plastered with confetti, Red Bull and Heineken cans – to the race track, where Verstappen was carried over the Yas Marina finish line to renditions of ‘campeones, campeones, ole, ole, ole’.
BILD has lifted the lid on Verstappen’s afterparty, where Helmut Marko was soaked in booze
Verstappen also received a congratulatory phone call from Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz
At 11.14pm, Verstappen received a phone from Red Bull Director Helmut Marko, with Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz waiting to speak to the new world champion, who drifted away from the party to speak with the boss. Elsewhere, Marko was drenched in champagne and Red Bull by the jubilant team.
Roughly five minutes later, Horner spoke to the media whereby he lavished praise on Verstappen in front of his wife, Gerri Halliwell, and the Dutchman’s father, Jos Verstappen. Moments later, Hamilton was seen leaving the venue.
By midnight, Verstappen was in a Red Bull polo shirt and partying in the Red Bull hospitality section at Yas Marina. This is where he was photographed celebrating with girlfriend Kelly Piquet and his friends.
Sky Sports also report that the party continued until 7am on Monday morning on a yacht in Yas Marina.
A hugely controversial final race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday saw the Dutchman overtake his title rival Hamilton in the last few seconds after a safety car was brought out with just a few laps to go.
With Hamilton seemingly easing his way to the title, Nicholas Latifi’s crash bunched the field, before the late FIA decision to take lapped cars out of the equation enabled Verstappen to make his move on the Mercedes man on the final lap.
Masi had originally said that the lapped cars would not be allowed to unlap themselves but after a word from Red Bull chief Horner, Masi changed his mind, allow the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves, wiping out the Brit’s 13-second advantage.
Hamilton was unable to defend, given he was on much older tyres, while Verstappen was on fresh, new soft tyres after he pitted during the safety car, leading to the Dutchman pulling off a dramatic overtake and winning his first ever world title.
Mercedes lodged two complaints with the FIA after the race, but both were rejected to confirm Verstappen’s place at the top of the sport. Reports on Monday suggested that Mercedes will scrap plans to pursue a further appeal against the controversial finale to the race.
Verstappen won his maiden world championship after seeing off rival Lewis Hamilton
Verstappen benefited from a hugely contentious decision from race director Michael Masi
Elsewhere, Mercedes also partied after the finale in Abu Dhabi, despite the disappointment of missing out on the Drivers’ Championship.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was seen crowdsurfing as the team celebrated winning the Constructors’ Championship – which is far more lucrative to win financially.
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas was also raised aloft by the team as the Finn waved goodbye following five years with Mercedes. He will join Alfa Romeo next season and Williams’ George Russell is replacing him.
Verstappen found time to take to social media to reflect on his ‘unbelievable’ first world championship.
He wrote: ‘World champion!!!! This is just unbelievable. I started racing with my dad many years ago. We dreamed of becoming a World Champion and now we are.
Mercedes saw two appeals denied after the race and are set to scrap plans for a further appeal
‘Thank you everyone at @redbullracing and at @hondaracingf1 for an amazing car, you guys were amazing once again. @SChecoPerez, you were an animal today.
‘To all my family and friends-thank you so much for all your support over the years. Couldn’t have done it without you!
‘Now, I’m going to enjoy this. Orange Army-you were amazing once again. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do.’
Red Bull chief Christian Horner described Mercedes’ complaints to the FIA as ‘a little desperate’ following the controversial finale in Abu Dhabi.
‘It obviously felt a little bit desperate but we didn’t want it to finish in front of the stewards,’ he said. ‘We never wanted to end up in front of the stewards, there was obviously a lot of debate before the race.
The Dutchman is pictured with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winners’ trophy and girlfriend Piquet
Red Bull chief Christian Horner said that Mercedes’ protestations were ‘a little desperate’
‘As it turns out it was obviously very different after the race, we don’t go racing with barristers and so on – it was a shame it ended up there but the stewards made the right call.
‘We have talked about ‘let them race’, Niki Lauda was the guy who pushed hard for it and we’ve always talked about not finishing racing under safety cars, the race director in difficult circumstances made absolutely the right call and strategically we got it right.
‘If they appeal, they appeal. We’ll fight them in the appeal court and then in the legal court after that if they were to go that route.’
