Max Verstappen will be ‘unsatisfied’ with how he won the F1 world title, according to Damon Hill.
The Dutchman won his maiden championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month in controversial circumstances after Lewis Hamilton was denied a record eighth title.
The Mercedes driver was cruising to victory when five laps before the conclusion, a late Nicholas Latifi crash 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, Masi later controversially changed his mind, allowing the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves before ordering the safety car off the track.
Therefore, the 24-year-old could get on the British driver's tail before overtaking him in a one-lap shootout, benefiting from driving on far 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 likely have finished behind a safety car as it was the final lap, and as Hamilton was in the lead, he would have been crowned champion.
Since then the 37-year-old has been radio silent leading to speculation he may retire, and Mercedes launched protests into the outcome of the race, which were refuted by the FIA.
The silver arrows are also keen to see Michael Masi removed from his post as race director and an enquiry into the contentious events that transpired at the Yas Marina circuit last month is underway.
Now 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill believes the aftermath of Verstappen's title win will have left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I think ultimately the Lewis Hamilton fans feel very aggrieved because, and Lewis Hamilton may well do and Mercedes do, the way the decision went disadvantaged them and they feel robbed,” the former driver told Sky Sports.
“So there is a lot of ill feeling obviously. But in the Dutch camp, was it a satisfactory way of deciding a championship? You have to say it was unsatisfactory.”
The Brit also acknowledged that the way the championship was decided was unfair and the rules were not applied in the correct way.
“I think it might have even been unfair because if you look at it from the point of view of how the decision was made, it allowed some cars to unlap themselves and not others. That in itself is unfair,” he added.
“What it resulted in was a focus on the two title protagonists and I don't think you can run a motor race or a championship like that – you have to apply the rules equally to all competitors.”
The new F1 season is set to commence with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.
