JEREMY CLARKSON blasted F1 stewards for the safety car decision that robbed Lewis Hamilton of an eighth world title – even though he was happy with the result.
The Mercedes superstar had been heading for victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when a Nicholas Latifi crash resulted in the safety car being deployed.
Stewards said lapped cars would not be allowed to pass under safety car conditions, before reversing that call to allow a handful of backmarkers through.
That cleared the way for championship rival Max Verstappen to attack Hamilton on a fresher set of tyres, with the Red Bull man taking victory and his first world title.
A fuming Clarkson wrote on Twitter: “That stewards’ decision is wrong.
“It’s like the VAR handball (on Saturday). What is the point of these idiots?
“Delighted with the result but the stewards need to be banned. We’ve had enough of them.”
Chelsea fan Clarkson was referring to the dubious decision to award Manchester City a penalty against Wolves.
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The Blues’ Premier League rivals were awarded a spotkick after VAR replays failed to overturn a dodgy handball call against Joao Moutinho.
Furious Merc chiefs immediately appealed the safety car decision at Yas Marina Circuit and vowed to take their case to the FIA’s appeals court after their pleas were rejected.
But a classy Hamilton refused to be drawn on the controversial call as he praised Verstappen in his post-race interview.
And Clarkson approved of his approach, tweeting simply: “Very very dignified from @LewisHamilton”.
