Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's epic F1 world title battle came to a controversial end on Sunday.
Hamilton was cruising to an unprecedented eighth world title on at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having led arch title rival Verstappen by 11 seconds going into the remaining laps.
But a last-gasp crash to Nicholas Latifi dramatically changed the landscape of the race and the title battle.
The safety car was brought onto the track and Verstappen opted for a change in tyres.
FIA race director Michael Masi initially instructed that lapped cars could not overtake the safety vehicle until it left the track, meaning there would not have been time for Verstappen to get behind his rival.
However, under pressure from Red Bull boss Christian Horner, Masi then controversially changed his mind, allowing the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves before ordering the safety car off the track.
Therefore, the Dutchman could get on the British driver's tail before overtaking him in a one-lap shootout, benefiting from driving on newer tyres.
There were still more cars that should have been able to unlap themselves, according to the rules.
If these rules had been followed, then the race would have finished under a safety car as it was the final lap, and as Hamilton was in the lead, he would have been crowned champion.
As result, many feel Hamilton was robbed of winning a record eighth championship, while many believe Verstappen deserved to win his maiden F1 world title irrespective of the circumstances.
However, a comparison of stats show just how the drivers fared against each other this season.
The Dutchman recorded 10 wins to Hamilton’s eight, while Verstappen also recorded double the amount of pole positions as Hamilton, 10 to 5.
The pair were very tight in the battle for the number pole positions, with Verstappen finishing the season with 18, while Hamilton had 17.
The 24-year-old led for an impressive 652 laps across the season, which is over double how many laps the seven-time champion lead races for.
Wins: Verstappen 10 - 8 Hamilton
Pole Positions: Verstappen 10 - 5 Hamilton
Fastest laps: Verstappen 6-6 Hamilton
Podiums: Verstappen 18-17 Hamilton
Laps led: Verstappen 652-297 Hamilton
KM led: Verstappen 2989-1582 Hamilton
Laps raced: Verstappen 1211-1269 Hamilton
KM raced: Verstappen 5908-6250 Hamilton
Despite many of the stats being in Verstappen’s favour and they illustrate his impressive performances through the season, this does not overshadow the controversial nature of the final Abu Dhabi GP, which denied Hamilton his fifth title in a row, but they do offer a broader perspective of their intense and compelling rivalry.
