Valtteri Bottas has been told he cost Lewis Hamilton a fifth successive Formula One title, after the Englishman dramatically missed out at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton looked destined to secure a record eighth world title with six laps to go in the season finale, however he was pipped on the final lap by title rival Max Verstappen following a controversial call by FIA director Michael Masi.
As a result, many within the F1 world have blamed Masi for the controversial finish that played out in Abu Dhabi, after he allowed a number of lapped cars to contentiously pass a safety car following a Nicholas Latifi crash.
This allowed Verstappen to crawl up alongside the seven-time world champion despite being nearly 12 seconds behind his title rival just five laps prior, leaving the pair to battle out a final lap shootout which the Dutchman prevailed in.
Despite this, former driver Jolyon Palmer believes it was not the fault of the officials but instead the Englishman’s teammate Bottas, who he insisted the Finn had a ‘shocker’ in Abu Dhabi.
He told the BBC ’s Chequered Flag podcast: “Bottas had a shocker.
“Now, did that cost Hamilton the title? If Bottas is within a pit-stop window of Verstappen, Verstappen is not having "free" stops willy-nilly.”
Bottas’ outing in Abu Dhabi was his final drive for Mercedes, after departing for Alfa Romeo ahead of the 2022 season.
And whilst the Finn has no doubt been a good servant to the former constructors’ champions, Palmer believes he let his teammate date on the most important moment.
He continued: “A great driver for the team for so many years, his last race he went missing and it meant Verstappen had a free stop at the Virtual Safety Car, free stop at the Safety Car.
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“If you've got another Mercedes there within 23 seconds of him, in a car that's quicker with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel, he can't do it and Hamilton is the champion.
“Bottas has been solid but when it counted he couldn't help his team-mate, and (Sergio) Perez did everything he possibly could, and he was in contention to do so.”
Whilst the Finn was unable to help his teammate secure a record breaking title, after the race he revealed that he felt Hamilton did deserve to come away with an eighth F1 championship.
He told F1’s official website: “It hurts that Lewis didn’t get the Drivers' [Championship], I feel like I lost the championship because he lost it.
"I really feel gutted for him because I feel like he deserved it. Lewis had a great race and then things change like this.
