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MAX VERSTAPPEN has revealed what was going through his mind during the final laps of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.The Dutchman’s title chances were ebbing away, with rival Lewis Hamilton having expertly built a seemingly unassailable lead.
Lewis Hamilton looks on in the immediate aftermath of his controversial defeatCredit: Reuters
Verstappen would be handed the latest of lifelines in the form of the safety car, however.
Former race director Michael Masi, since sacked for his blunder, then ordered Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel to unlap themselves behind the safety car – leaving Hamilton at his Red Bull rival’s mercy.
In a new documentary for streaming service Viaplay, Verstappen has revealed what he was thinking during the race’s closing stages.
He said: “At that moment I tried to close the gap.
“I knew I wouldn’t close an eleven-second gap in five laps, but I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to give up now and drive slowly to the finish line. I’m going to give it my all to make it not look easy’.
“I wasn’t really happy at that moment.”
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Having seen Nicholas Latifi’s crashed car first hand, Verstappen realised he may have a slim chance after all.
He added: “I was hoping for a restart. That car was at a tricky angle to get out of there.”
Having nipped in for fresh tyres, Verstappen felt the nerves of his team, revealing: “They were very quiet (over the radio).
“They were I think also very nervous for the last lap.”
On old tyres Hamilton was a sitting duck, with Verstappen blitzing past him to seal his first world championship triumph.
The pair will do battle once again later this month, when the new F1 season gets underway in Bahrain.
And fans have been getting pumped, after the first trailer for the new season of the hit series Drive to Survive dropped yesterday.
⚽ Read our Football News Live blog for breaking news, transfer gossip and must-read stories
Max Verstappen is gearing up for a return to actionCredit: Splash More

THE racing world is mourning the passing of American star Danny Ongais who has died at the age of 79.Known as the ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’, Ongais’ long career saw him excel in Indy cars, F1 and drag racing.
Danny Ongais has passed at the age of 79Credit: Getty
The Hawaiian was hugely successful in the 1970s and 1980sCredit: Getty
He was known as ‘On Gas’ and the ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’Credit: Getty
Born in Kahului in 1942, the racing star started a long journey that would ultimately lead him to the most famous circuits in the world.
Following a spell in the US Army, he returned to his native Hawaii and became the state’s 1960 motorcycle champion.
That success would see him migrate from bikes to cars, kickstarting a phenomenal career that lasted more than five decades.
Ongais could seemingly turn his hand to any discipline and made eleven starts in the iconic Indy 500.
He made a foray into the world of F1 in 1977, racing for Interscope and briefly Team Tissot Ensign.
His best racing season came in 1978, where Ongais won five races and eight poles en route to an eighth-place finish in the USAC standings.
And that led to CART in 1979, where he would stay for the next eight years.
In 1981 he cheated death after a horrendous crash in Indianapolis, which left him with multiple leg, arm and internal injuries.
Ongais retired in 1988, but was convinced to return at the age of 54 in 1996 after the tragic death of Scott Brayton in Indy 500 practice.
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Putting on a racing masterclass, Ongais guided his car from its starting place of 33rd to an eventual seventh position.
He had one last shot at the famous race in 1998, but failed to qualify in a Team Pelfrey car.
Ongais was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the Drag Racing category.
Despite his flamboyance on the track, Ongais was notoriously camera-shy and spent much of his later years with his family in California.
He passed away aged 79 at his California home due to congestive heart failure.
Onglais raced for Interscope in Formula OneCredit: Getty More

BRITISH F1 duo George Russell and Lando Norris have both voiced concerns that overtaking may have become more difficult for the upcoming campaign. F1 chiefs implemented a host of new rules for the 2022 season that were designed to make races more exciting.
Russell and Norris tried out overtaking in the new F1 cars at testing in BarcelonaCredit: Getty
Norris (L) and Russell both voiced concerned that overtaking may not be as easy this yearCredit: Alamy
The shake-up included tweaks to allow cars to follow each other more closely, which would in theory result in more overtakes.
But while Mercedes new boy Russell and McLaren man Norris reported that following was indeed better, they didn’t have much luck overtaking.
Russell revealed that he had difficulty trying to get past Norris during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
He admitted to reporters: “I think following has been improved but the slipstream effect has been reduced quite substantially, so I don’t really know.”
He continued: “We can follow closer but from what we have seen, the slipstream effect is definitely less effective. We will have to wait and see.
“I got right up behind Lando, I was a car’s length or two behind him and didn’t catch the straight so that was slightly concerning. Let’s see.”
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Norris too was quick to back up Russell, as he admitted he purposely held up Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate in order to see if he could pass him.
He said: “Me and George had a perfect demonstration of it.
“I didn’t want to let him past while he was on a quick lap, so I screwed him over and held him up a bit. That’s what you do in testing.”
He added: “We can follow closer but then the slipstream is worse, so a positive and a negative from it. We don’t know which is the bigger effect at the minute, so we will have to see until the first race.”

🏁 F1 2022 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
Norris had topped the timesheets after the first of three days testing in Barcelona.
Meanwhile Russell admitted Mercedes were ‘not fully happy’ with the car in Spain, with plenty of work to do before the start of the campaign.
More testing will be held in Bahrain from March 10-12, where drivers will have the chance to get to grips with their new vehicles again.
Both though admitted nobody will know exactly how hard overtaking will be until lights out in the F1 2022 season opener, also in Bahrain, on March 20. More