Crofty: 'Season has a sour aftertaste'

Nobody will take the worldtitle away from Max Verstappen, after Mercedes decided not to appeal. Especially in the UK there is still a bitter aftertaste about the way Verstappen took the title while Lewis Hamilton missed out on everything.

Balancing

David Croft, the Sky Sports commentator, once again takes up for his countryman Hamilton. Although Crofty thinks Verstappen is a worthy champion, he is disappointed with the 'sour aftertaste' the season has left him with. "Hamilton would've been a very worthy World Champion had he won that race he dominated for so long," he reports on Sky.

"Did he deserve to lose that race? Not in the situation or circumstances that he did. I am not surprised he feels the way he does, I am not surprised Toto Wolff feels the way he does nor the rest of the Mercedes team. They feel they've been robbed of a drivers World Championship, and in doing so it's stopping them celebrating an amazing, historic eighth consecutive constructors title."

Confidence gone

According to Crofty, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton have lost faith in the sport. "They are bewildered by the decision making that went on at the end of the race," the commentator states. "Yes, the FIA put out a statement yesterday but they haven't said enough. They haven't given enough reasoning and explanation behind the decision making process so that we're all still making up our minds and opinions. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone feels strongly about what happened."

In any case, Crofty says the season has produced something beautiful: the start of a great rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton. The journalist wants to see Hamilton continue in Formula One. "I don't want to see him quit the sport in this controversial fashion at the end of a brilliant season."