Doornbos on Latifi crash: 'If it was AlphaTauri you'd think differently'

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had an unprecedented twist in the closing stages of the race due to a safety car restart, with Max Verstappen able to overtake his rival Lewis Hamilton for the world title victory. For Mercedes there was no time to celebrate the constructors' championship, as they focused on visits to the stewards. Former F1 driver and Dutch F1-analyst Robert Doornbos thinks the team are bad losers.

In the end it was Nicholas Latifi who caused the safety car with his Williams, which incidentally runs with a Mercedes engine. "If that had been an AlphaTauri you might have started thinking something was going on", Doornbos told Qmusic.

Verstappen was given permission by the FIA to overtake lapped cars, so he ended up right behind Hamilton's car before the restart. Because the Briton had not made a pit stop, the driver had a huge advantage on his soft tyres.

'Hamilton did the right thing'

After the race Mercedes was very busy filing protests against the victory of Verstappen, so there was no celebration. For that matter, there is not a single word on their social media about winning the constructors' championship.

"They are very bad losers. Hamilton did the right thing by congratulating Verstappen and that's why I find it so bad that as boss of a big brand you go into protest." According to Doornbos, winning in such a way is the last thing a driver wants.