De Vries shocked by race rule: 'Title taken away from Hamilton'

Where many Dutch people could not believe their luck when Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the last lap, Nyck de Vries could not. The Mercedes reserve driver feels sorry for his colleague Lewis Hamilton.

In the last few laps of the Abu Dhabi GP, some dubious decisions were made by the stewards (read: race director Michael Masi), which made Mercedes feel robbed. De Vries, who is active as a reserve driver for the F1 team, states that he was not very happy for his fellow countryman.

De Vries not cheering for Verstappen

''I think Lewis has been deprived of it a little bit because the rules have not been followed in the way they are described in the regulations. In sport, you assume that things are done fairly and honestly. With me there was mainly a lot of surprises because I could not understand what happened'', says De Vries to the NOS.

The driver who became world champion in Formula E for Mercedes and was present at the FIA gala to receive his trophy on Thursday night, says Verstappen deserves the title. He was only shocked by the way the race control handled the situation.