Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019) s04e10 Episode Script
Hard Racing
1
Oh fuck.
The last race.
At least we're almost at the end.
Have you fallen asleep there? Yeah, I know.
- No.
It was very good.
- "Very good, yeah.
" Best yet.
Save the best till last.
- Right.
- Testing, three, four.
Nutsack, five, six.
Action.
- Ciao.
Buongiorno.
- Grazie.
Grazie! Happy for me to do this with no shoes on? I've not had my laundry back since Saudi.
I have no socks.
Morning.
- Trendy T-shirt.
- You bet! It's Ferrari.
I feel like I have something in my teeth.
Hope I've nothing in my teeth.
You never know.
You have a bit of, like, carrot here from from lunch.
Now, you can't talk dirty to me, because they're recording everything.
They love this content.
But they don't pay enough to get it though.
Has been just insane.
I I can't remember a season which was more exciting than the one we are seeing this year.
Muchas gracias.
Danny.
Do you wanna swap helmets? - We haven't, have we? - Shall we? I was gonna wait for your Mercedes one.
Will that be cooler? It's sad to be leaving Williams, but I can't wait to go to Mercedes next year.
I just want to win.
- Put your mask on, please.
- No.
Why not? - 'Cause I do what I want when I want.
- Right.
That's quite a lot of sass.
I did 100% better than the previous year.
My best highlight is the one-two in Monza.
You can probably just cut to Daniel saying exactly the same thing.
What's your highlight of the season? Monaco.
LOL.
Yeah, it was definitely Monza.
Ultimately, we want to be winning more races.
More of those Monza feels.
It's what dreams are made of.
- You got a little souvenir there.
- Oh my God, that's so funny.
- Hurt.
- Did it? I'm not doing that again.
That was the longest 53 laps of my life.
It was awesome.
This is a group one, so It was a tough year.
Very difficult to have highlights.
It's looking to the future.
That's what keeps me going.
Yesterday, a girl came up to me, she was like, "Can you please crash into Lewis for me?" And she's English! If you'd asked me mid-season would we be going into the final race of the year level on points? No way.
Unbelievable.
Who's your money on? I've gone back and forth.
At this rate, it's a flip of a coin.
I think Lewis is gonna get it.
I think it all points to one person.
Max Verstappen.
Lewis and Max won't see the second corner.
Who's gonna win? Political answer will be Formula 1.
You know, someone is gonna walk away from this being absolutely devastated.
The other is a worthy world champion.
It's gonna be the biggest race of a generation.
All of us drivers, we grew up with dreams of winning a World Championship.
Even after winning seven, I still have that desire to wanna win.
I don't mind a battle, you know.
I started with this when I was three, four years old.
Just very determined to win, and I just have to make sure that I'm the best at what I have to do.
There's a lot at stake for this last race of the season.
At the end, it all comes down to this.
We will be fighting with everything we have.
The best man will prevail.
It's been a hell of a journey.
Abu Dhabi is everything that we've fought for.
You only get one shot at it.
And if we don't convert it now, we've only got ourselves to blame.
It's winner takes all.
Now it gets serious.
Welcome along to the final round of this 2021 season.
And it's time for qualifying.
Come on, Mom.
You're coming on the grid with us.
Thanks, Zak.
- Lando! - Lando! - He just walked straight past you.
- Yeah, okay.
The Drivers' Championship is tied on points heading into the final race.
When scores are level, when the battle is that tight, any advantage's gotta be a good advantage.
Every time we've touched their car, we've had a penalty.
Every time they've touched our car, they've had they've had no penalty.
They've had no penalty.
Abu Dhabi's a track that historically has been very strong for Mercedes.
We need to throw everything at qualifying.
You know, you can imagine the emotions are running incredibly high, because it's now or never.
Get in there, enjoy it.
- Yeah.
- Get stuck in.
Don't worry, I'll squeeze Toto's bollocks this afternoon.
- Yeah.
Exactly.
- Of course.
- They like They like all the drama.
- They love it.
- But as soon as actually we are racing - Then they don't like it.
So it's unbelievable.
Christian does his job well, and I think part of the job is to have these little war games between us.
But it's racing.
It's not politics.
Now it's just about driving.
It's time for qualifying for the final race of the 2021 season.
As Jost would say, "Let's go racing!" George Russell at his last race as a Williams driver.
Track is clear.
You can push.
P5.
P5.
Good job.
Very solid.
Let's fucking go, man! Rookie Tsunoda's on a flying lap.
It's P8.
P8, Yuki.
Oh, that was a fucking good lap.
Okay, Lando, you are on the limit.
P3.
Great job.
Yeah, baby! Woohoo! End of qualifying hour.
Here we go then.
The moment you've been waiting for.
We're into the final shoot-out for pole position here.
Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen.
Okay, Lewis.
Strat mode two and you're good to go.
Last sector any better? A-firm.
Uh, just the final corner.
Let's see what lap time Hamilton can produce.
Okay, Lewis, so yeah, that's P1.
Yeah! Come on! This is looking good for Mercedes.
Now let's see what the Red Bulls can do.
Okay, Max, so Hamilton has gone.
That put you P2.
Four thousandths behind.
Fuck! Do whatever you need to here.
Let's go.
It's important to remember in Formula 1, it's all about the fine margins.
You take pole by one thousandth of a second, that pole could end up being the difference between the championship and second place.
Max Verstappen sets the fastest time.
He's on pole! - That's pole position.
- Oh yes! Well done, mate.
Great teamwork.
Great teamwork.
Well done.
Good job.
Fucking hell, I didn't expect that one, but amazing job, guys.
Okay, Lewis.
That's P2.
Verstappen P1.
This gives Verstappen a huge advantage for tomorrow's race.
I'm speechless.
Unbelievable that.
What a lap.
We are ruthless and transparent in the analysis of our own performances.
Uh, green is us.
Uh, purple is, uh, Verstappen.
Very quickly, we know why we haven't performed well.
I think if you understand, um, why you fell short of your own expectations, you can move on and try to improve for the next race.
We didn't have the pace.
I don't want people celebrating like we've won yet.
- No, absolutely.
- It's one piece of the jigsaw.
He's got to run his fastest race.
Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Yuki, you are flying, man.
I was fighting too much in the last sector.
You look like you found the rhythm, huh? - How was you? - Not bad.
- The whole quali, you were quick.
- Yeah, it was good.
- Can we go to Lee next? - Toto, you can do it tomorrow! - Yeah! - You can do it tomorrow! You're the champion! In terms of the atmosphere in the team, are they a little stunned? Was Lewis a little bit stunned after that? I haven't seen him yet, but, uh, definitely, in the team, there was a bit of disappointment, which is clear.
The the tension is building.
The tension is building, um, definitely.
So 1-0 for them today.
Max, congratulations.
Please describe your feelings.
Ah, it's been a really good day, but I know the points are tomorrow, so We really have to, uh, be on it and and perform tomorrow as well.
Thank you, Max.
Starting alongside Max, it's a wheel-to-wheel battle between you.
Um I mean, I'm grateful I can see the guy.
I mean, of course I'd love to have started on on, uh, uh, first.
But, uh, I did everything I could.
I did as good a lap as I could.
Um I hope that I can at least keep up with with the pace that that they have, and and hopefully, we can work on strategy.
Okay.
Good luck.
I'm still optimistic, although everyone's a little bit I think we're we are better coming from the back for the fight.
What we have to do is wind him up a bit.
- You want Lewis a bit fired up.
- Yeah.
As it is, he's been beat, which he doesn't like.
- You want him beat and angry.
- Yeah, I agree.
See if you can find a way to What I find incredible with Lewis is how deep he can dig in these difficult moments.
And the level of performance that he can bring to the table.
Lewis starting P2 certainly doesn't put him in an advantageous situation, but it is just what Lewis needs.
He's gonna push all race in order to win it on track.
Okay.
I think Yuki was not in the picture.
It's okay.
- No, you were not in the picture.
- No? Know what I found out this morning? Know they call him Checo? - You know what it means in Mexico? - No.
Big dick.
Aah! Really? This driver pairing, this is as good as there is up and down the pit lane.
I think Checo, with his experience, is exactly what we needed.
For us, Checo is just finding his form at the right time.
- Will you go flat out? - Yeah.
Well And, uh, driving to the one stop.
I feel, in the beginning, of course, how the tires will be, but then after that, if you don't feel great, you have to go.
You cannot just sit there and be slow because then they will try to get you.
I think, you know, in Max, we've got a driver that is probably the only driver on the grid capable of of taking on Lewis Hamilton.
Uh, where to start? I mean, in our DNA we want to win.
You know, anything is possible in in this world when you work very hard and you keep pushing, and look where we are now, this year.
We are in this final race and now, of course, we want to finish this off in in style.
Everybody's got something to eat in them.
Yeah, I want to get the drivers to bed.
- Just need to keep them all calm tonight.
- Sorry? Keep them all calm, focused on the race.
Yeah, we can do it.
- We have to beat them.
- Yeah, yeah.
Yo.
Hey, Checo.
Hey, man.
How's the hangover? No hangover, man.
Just water for me.
Welcome to Abu Dhabi.
We are just hours away from the final race in one of the most phenomenal seasons Formula 1 has ever seen.
The chance for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to be the writer of their own story.
What we don't know is how this blockbuster ends.
As a team principal, it couldn't be more exciting.
I love the pressure.
This is when I'm in my comfort zone.
- How's Lewis? In good shape? - Good.
Good.
He'll be looking forward to it.
Yeah, he's he's absolutely in the zone.
I'm always trying to perform to meet my own expectations.
You're either good enough or not.
I feel the nerves.
I absolutely feel the nerves.
And, of course, moment that you know is being watched by close to a billion people.
All eyes are on, you know, what's gonna happen at this race.
Who's gonna be world champion? Okay, an important question for you.
What do you want for Christmas? LPS! LPS! All right.
Hey, little man.
- Hello.
- I'm sending you a kiss, okay? - Okay.
Love you.
- Love you.
Kiss.
Christian and Toto, they have very different styles, but they're more similar than they than they would ever care to admit.
Who do you think is gonna win the World Championship this year? - Max.
- Do you think he's got a chance? Yeah.
You could not sacrifice as much of your life to a job if it didn't permeate every single piece of your being.
It is life.
For Christian and for Toto, it's everything.
- How are you feeling? - Yeah, good.
- Yeah? - Good.
Just want - The hanging around drives you mad.
- It's normal to feel nervous though.
Whatever your your gut You've got a really good gut.
Follow it.
Yep.
Anyway, we'll see.
It'll be all right.
Right.
- Are you going then? This is it? - I'm gonna go.
Get myself sorted.
See you later.
We're moments away from the greatest showdown that this sport has seen.
Hamilton versus Verstappen.
Winner takes it all.
You'd prefer an attacking race? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- If we need to.
- If we need to, yeah.
Understood.
Just fucking do what you've done at every single race you've driven for us.
Okay? You'll be fine.
Lewis has won more than 100 races.
He's beaten all records.
He's a seven-time world champion.
And you can be sure that he's gonna push in order to win the eighth World Championship.
Radio check.
Radio's loud and clear.
Max is driving with such confidence, aggression.
And after the last seven years of pain, we've got to do everything we can to get this over the line.
Radio check.
Loud.
What Max has done, from the moment that he stepped in the car as a teenager, to suddenly there he is as a 24-year-old young man, it's been a hell of a journey.
All eyes now focused on the grid.
We've been waiting for this all season long.
As a driver, I'm only there to win.
That's the only thing that counts.
It's been the most difficult year of racing.
I've fought hard for this World Championship.
We're gonna have a battle.
May the best man win.
The world champion against the young gun.
 A proper battle.
Hamilton gets a decent start.
- What's the situation behind? - Verstappen, position two.
Great stuff, Lewis.
Unbelievable start from Hamilton! But we're only on the first lap.
Norris goes wide! I messed up.
Car behind is Sainz.
Here comes Carlos Sainz bearing down on Lando Norris.
Norris in front of you.
You can push.
Be careful.
Sainz right behind you.
- Lando? - Okay, confirm.
Sainz to the outside.
There comes Leclerc.
There's three abreast.
Oh my God! Carlos Sainz goes through! That didn't quite go to plan.
The Ferraris got way too close to me.
Ah, God.
That was good.
Currently P4.
Yeah, I think we are good.
Sainz in fourth, Norris fifth, Leclerc in sixth.
Out in front, Hamilton still has the lead from Max Verstappen.
Come on, Max! Verstappen is closing in.
Verstappen takes the lead of the race! Come on! Hamilton regains the lead, but he cut the corner.
He has to give that back.
Yup, we're on it, Max.
Don't worry.
He pushed me off track.
Michael, what would you like us to do? Give up the entire gap.
They've penalized Hamilton, but he gets to keep the lead.
- Fucking hell.
- Yes.
Michael, it's Christian.
Go ahead, Christian.
He has to give that back.
Your regulations are clear.
The stewards view was that he gave up all of the lasting advantage.
Where did he give it up? My job is to push as hard as I can for this team.
If I look back over the season, nothing has gone our way.
- Where did he give it up? - Before the end of the lap.
- We haven't seen - Immediately.
Okay.
That is incredible.
What are they doing here? Max, let's just get on with this and win it on track, mate.
I'm a believer that fate always balances things out in the end.
Great work, Lewis.
Keep it up.
Red Bull is a bit like the baby throwing the toys out of the pram.
We are just focused on delivering the best possible race.
- Verstappen behind.
- 1.
5 seconds now the gap.
Which position I am? Currently P8.
Fuck.
Shit! Okay, Lewis, so box, box.
Hamilton and Verstappen both going for new tires.
This pace is good, Checo.
This puts Pérez in the lead of the Grand Prix.
- What's the plan now? - We'll be looking to hold up Lewis.
Yeah.
Sergio, he's a phenomenal team player.
He's just what we need in this fight.
Hamilton, car behind.
I've never had a race car capable of achieving podiums.
To be fighting Mercedes is tremendous.
Come on.
Checo, come on! Come on! Christian, he just wants me to maximize the full car potential.
You can imagine how big this opportunity is for me.
- Okay, back him up.
Back him up.
- Yeah.
Hamilton gets a really good drive and takes the lead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Come on! Come on! Come on! Checo, he's a tough operator.
He's like a dog with a bone.
He never gives up.
Pérez goes to the inside! Pérez is back in front! Go on, Checo! Yes, mate! This is really frustrating Lewis Hamilton.
Some dangerous driving.
Michael, it's a bit dangerous.
Can you warn them? So far, they're racing, Toto.
Hard racing.
Brilliant job, Checo.
Pérez playing the ultimate team game here.
Okay, so gap to Hamilton, eight seconds.
Max Verstappen is closing! Come on! Okay, Max, let's go.
Verstappen is right with him now.
Verstappen, the car behind now.
Hamilton needs to get past Pérez here! He gets the job done.
Hamilton leads the Grand Prix.
But Verstappen is coming right with him.
Come on! Okay, Checo, good job.
Let Max pass.
Pérez let his teammate through.
Ah, Checo is a legend.
Absolute animal.
Okay, Max, focus on Hamilton.
So, Verstappen just one second.
Come on, let's have a go at it.
Only eight laps to go.
Lewis Hamilton is extending his lead at the front.
What can Verstappen do? Okay, Max.
Just get your head down.
Let's go.
These are great laps, Lewis.
Keep it up.
Keep the pressure on.
The championship trophy going Hamilton's way as it stands.
The clock's ticking.
Max is driving his heart out there, but, uh, we're gonna need a miracle.
Lap 52 of 58 now.
Lewis Hamilton edging closer and closer to the title.
Okay, Nicky.
Overtake Schumacher.
Could be your last attempt.
It has to be this lap, mate.
Give everything.
Try to push hard now.
Push hard.
Nah.
They forced me off the road.
Stay with him.
Stay with him.
Put him under pressure.
Oh no! Nicholas Latifi has crashed.
Hang on.
We've got a big shunt.
Big shunt.
That will be a safety car.
And this completely changes the context of this race.
Max, there's yellow flags at turn 14.
Latifi's completely in the middle of the road.
Debris all over the shop.
Hamilton was just moments away from winning this.
- What is gonna happen now? - No! No! You okay? - I lost it.
- Okay, Nicky.
So you can jump out.
The safety car is deployed.
We've gotta have a go at that.
Box and pit.
Confirm, please, Max.
Red Bull pit Verstappen.
There's a risk he'll lose position.
But Red Bull will be gambling on faster tires.
Look, we got nothing to lose.
Winning this championship is gonna be all about maximizing our chances, taking opportunities.
We've got half a chance and we've gotta go for it.
All right, let's have it.
Verstappen is quite a way behind Hamilton.
There are five lapped cars standing between him and the race leader.
Uh, these need to get out of the way.
They should unlap themselves.
Ordinarily, under a safety car, the lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves.
So they overtake the safety car and catch up to the back of the pack.
It allows the actual order of the Grand Prix, first, second, third, fourth, to line up behind the safety car so that when they go back to racing, the order is correct.
Max, lapped cars will not be allowed to overtake.
Oh, lapped cars will not be allowed to overtake.
Which leaves Verstappen with a lot of work to do then.
Yeah, of course.
Typical decision.
I'm not surprised.
They may as well give this fucking championship to Hamilton.
How many cars are in between us? Uh, five cars between you.
- Christian to Michael.
- Go ahead, Christian.
Why why why aren't we getting these lapped cars out of the way? Because, Christian, just give me a second.
Okay, my main big one is to get this, uh, incident clear.
You only need one racing lap.
Yeah.
The Williams is on a crane.
That's being moved out of the way now.
Keep working the tires, Max.
It's green on the safety car.
They want you to overtake the safety car.
Right, let's go.
All the cars ahead of you are allowed to overtake Hamilton.
Well, this is highly unusual.
Not all of the cars are allowed to unlap themselves.
Just the five in between Hamilton and Verstappen.
There's cars overtaking the safety car.
Not not us.
Not us.
Stay where you are.
Stay where you are.
Man, what the fuck? Only a certain number of cars were allowed to unlap themselves.
They were the cars between Lewis Hamilton in first and Max Verstappen in second.
Very, very strange.
Very unfair.
When you look at it in simple terms, Max was the only beneficiary.
It's a really bizarre one, and it's harsh on Hamilton.
Shit.
This is a mess.
Another huge mess.
Safety car is in this lap, Max.
Come on! - Go on, boy.
- Come on, boy! Fuck! Fuck, is he right behind me? With new tires? Verstappen, the car behind now.
It has left Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen side by side.
I've always had a target on my back, since I started racing.
It does feel like people can be out to get you.
Michael, that is so not right.
That is so not right! The safety car coming in on this lap.
Come on, Max! Come on! Come on! We're gonna have one lap of racing to decide the championship.
This is it, mate.
This is it.
So just prepare your tires.
One lap remaining.
Come on! - Come on! - Let's do it! And we have got 3.
2 miles of racing action all the way to the checkered flag.
Here we go! Is it gonna be a first World Championship for Verstappen? - Yes, boy! - Come on! Is it gonna be an eighth World Championship for Lewis Hamilton? Get in! Come on! Verstappen takes the lead of the race! No, Michael! No! No! Here comes Lewis Hamilton though! Verstappen stays ahead! Come on! Nah, this is getting manipulated, man.
They have shared a brilliant championship battle.
But the championship can only be won by one.
Yes! Yes! Oh my God! Yes! Yes! Fucking yes! Yes! Max Verstappen, for the first time ever, is champion of the world! Oh my God! Max Verstappen, you are the world champion.
The world champion! Fucking hell! That is unbelievable, guys.
We love you.
We absolutely fucking love you.
Aww! Oh! Oh! - We did it.
We did it! - I love you.
You did it! Well done, gents.
You did everything you could all year.
Well done.
I didn't even see Max crossing the line.
But my very reaction in that moment was, "What just happened?" Michael and race control.
Go ahead, Toto.
You need to reinstate the lap before.
That's not right.
- Toto - Yes? - It's called a motor race, okay? - Sorry? We went car racing.
- What did he say? - "We went car racing.
" Autorennen.
Max was worthy of winning the championship.
But not in the way it happened.
If you're doing a good enough job, you will win the race.
And here, that was not how it went.
The decision was simply wrong.
And it's clear that this is gonna leave some scars on Lewis, myself, and the team.
We did an amazing job this year.
We gave it everything.
It's been, uh, the the most difficult of seasons.
We never gave up, and that's the most important thing.
I just really wish a big congratulations to Max and to his team.
Because of the intensity, because of the struggles that we've had throughout the year, because of the seven years of struggling and perseverance, it was just the most, you know, unbelievable feeling.
You're world champion! You did it! You did it! Amazing! The goal was, together with my dad, to win a championship.
We had pole positions, race wins, but this was the ultimate dream.
And now that we have achieved that, it's something I will never forget.
Some big names on there.
- Yeah.
- You're with all of 'em now.
Lewis had done everything that was necessary to win the championship.
It was taken away from him and there's nothing better that they could have done to motivate us.
Little present for you.
Oh wow.
That's really, really special.
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Look at that.
Amazing.
- Thank you.
- I mean, after especially this season.
Will Red Bull have a target on their backs next year? Everybody has a target on their backs next year.
The last race.
At least we're almost at the end.
Have you fallen asleep there? Yeah, I know.
- No.
It was very good.
- "Very good, yeah.
" Best yet.
Save the best till last.
- Right.
- Testing, three, four.
Nutsack, five, six.
Action.
- Ciao.
Buongiorno.
- Grazie.
Grazie! Happy for me to do this with no shoes on? I've not had my laundry back since Saudi.
I have no socks.
Morning.
- Trendy T-shirt.
- You bet! It's Ferrari.
I feel like I have something in my teeth.
Hope I've nothing in my teeth.
You never know.
You have a bit of, like, carrot here from from lunch.
Now, you can't talk dirty to me, because they're recording everything.
They love this content.
But they don't pay enough to get it though.
Has been just insane.
I I can't remember a season which was more exciting than the one we are seeing this year.
Muchas gracias.
Danny.
Do you wanna swap helmets? - We haven't, have we? - Shall we? I was gonna wait for your Mercedes one.
Will that be cooler? It's sad to be leaving Williams, but I can't wait to go to Mercedes next year.
I just want to win.
- Put your mask on, please.
- No.
Why not? - 'Cause I do what I want when I want.
- Right.
That's quite a lot of sass.
I did 100% better than the previous year.
My best highlight is the one-two in Monza.
You can probably just cut to Daniel saying exactly the same thing.
What's your highlight of the season? Monaco.
LOL.
Yeah, it was definitely Monza.
Ultimately, we want to be winning more races.
More of those Monza feels.
It's what dreams are made of.
- You got a little souvenir there.
- Oh my God, that's so funny.
- Hurt.
- Did it? I'm not doing that again.
That was the longest 53 laps of my life.
It was awesome.
This is a group one, so It was a tough year.
Very difficult to have highlights.
It's looking to the future.
That's what keeps me going.
Yesterday, a girl came up to me, she was like, "Can you please crash into Lewis for me?" And she's English! If you'd asked me mid-season would we be going into the final race of the year level on points? No way.
Unbelievable.
Who's your money on? I've gone back and forth.
At this rate, it's a flip of a coin.
I think Lewis is gonna get it.
I think it all points to one person.
Max Verstappen.
Lewis and Max won't see the second corner.
Who's gonna win? Political answer will be Formula 1.
You know, someone is gonna walk away from this being absolutely devastated.
The other is a worthy world champion.
It's gonna be the biggest race of a generation.
All of us drivers, we grew up with dreams of winning a World Championship.
Even after winning seven, I still have that desire to wanna win.
I don't mind a battle, you know.
I started with this when I was three, four years old.
Just very determined to win, and I just have to make sure that I'm the best at what I have to do.
There's a lot at stake for this last race of the season.
At the end, it all comes down to this.
We will be fighting with everything we have.
The best man will prevail.
It's been a hell of a journey.
Abu Dhabi is everything that we've fought for.
You only get one shot at it.
And if we don't convert it now, we've only got ourselves to blame.
It's winner takes all.
Now it gets serious.
Welcome along to the final round of this 2021 season.
And it's time for qualifying.
Come on, Mom.
You're coming on the grid with us.
Thanks, Zak.
- Lando! - Lando! - He just walked straight past you.
- Yeah, okay.
The Drivers' Championship is tied on points heading into the final race.
When scores are level, when the battle is that tight, any advantage's gotta be a good advantage.
Every time we've touched their car, we've had a penalty.
Every time they've touched our car, they've had they've had no penalty.
They've had no penalty.
Abu Dhabi's a track that historically has been very strong for Mercedes.
We need to throw everything at qualifying.
You know, you can imagine the emotions are running incredibly high, because it's now or never.
Get in there, enjoy it.
- Yeah.
- Get stuck in.
Don't worry, I'll squeeze Toto's bollocks this afternoon.
- Yeah.
Exactly.
- Of course.
- They like They like all the drama.
- They love it.
- But as soon as actually we are racing - Then they don't like it.
So it's unbelievable.
Christian does his job well, and I think part of the job is to have these little war games between us.
But it's racing.
It's not politics.
Now it's just about driving.
It's time for qualifying for the final race of the 2021 season.
As Jost would say, "Let's go racing!" George Russell at his last race as a Williams driver.
Track is clear.
You can push.
P5.
P5.
Good job.
Very solid.
Let's fucking go, man! Rookie Tsunoda's on a flying lap.
It's P8.
P8, Yuki.
Oh, that was a fucking good lap.
Okay, Lando, you are on the limit.
P3.
Great job.
Yeah, baby! Woohoo! End of qualifying hour.
Here we go then.
The moment you've been waiting for.
We're into the final shoot-out for pole position here.
Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen.
Okay, Lewis.
Strat mode two and you're good to go.
Last sector any better? A-firm.
Uh, just the final corner.
Let's see what lap time Hamilton can produce.
Okay, Lewis, so yeah, that's P1.
Yeah! Come on! This is looking good for Mercedes.
Now let's see what the Red Bulls can do.
Okay, Max, so Hamilton has gone.
That put you P2.
Four thousandths behind.
Fuck! Do whatever you need to here.
Let's go.
It's important to remember in Formula 1, it's all about the fine margins.
You take pole by one thousandth of a second, that pole could end up being the difference between the championship and second place.
Max Verstappen sets the fastest time.
He's on pole! - That's pole position.
- Oh yes! Well done, mate.
Great teamwork.
Great teamwork.
Well done.
Good job.
Fucking hell, I didn't expect that one, but amazing job, guys.
Okay, Lewis.
That's P2.
Verstappen P1.
This gives Verstappen a huge advantage for tomorrow's race.
I'm speechless.
Unbelievable that.
What a lap.
We are ruthless and transparent in the analysis of our own performances.
Uh, green is us.
Uh, purple is, uh, Verstappen.
Very quickly, we know why we haven't performed well.
I think if you understand, um, why you fell short of your own expectations, you can move on and try to improve for the next race.
We didn't have the pace.
I don't want people celebrating like we've won yet.
- No, absolutely.
- It's one piece of the jigsaw.
He's got to run his fastest race.
Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Maxi! Yuki, you are flying, man.
I was fighting too much in the last sector.
You look like you found the rhythm, huh? - How was you? - Not bad.
- The whole quali, you were quick.
- Yeah, it was good.
- Can we go to Lee next? - Toto, you can do it tomorrow! - Yeah! - You can do it tomorrow! You're the champion! In terms of the atmosphere in the team, are they a little stunned? Was Lewis a little bit stunned after that? I haven't seen him yet, but, uh, definitely, in the team, there was a bit of disappointment, which is clear.
The the tension is building.
The tension is building, um, definitely.
So 1-0 for them today.
Max, congratulations.
Please describe your feelings.
Ah, it's been a really good day, but I know the points are tomorrow, so We really have to, uh, be on it and and perform tomorrow as well.
Thank you, Max.
Starting alongside Max, it's a wheel-to-wheel battle between you.
Um I mean, I'm grateful I can see the guy.
I mean, of course I'd love to have started on on, uh, uh, first.
But, uh, I did everything I could.
I did as good a lap as I could.
Um I hope that I can at least keep up with with the pace that that they have, and and hopefully, we can work on strategy.
Okay.
Good luck.
I'm still optimistic, although everyone's a little bit I think we're we are better coming from the back for the fight.
What we have to do is wind him up a bit.
- You want Lewis a bit fired up.
- Yeah.
As it is, he's been beat, which he doesn't like.
- You want him beat and angry.
- Yeah, I agree.
See if you can find a way to What I find incredible with Lewis is how deep he can dig in these difficult moments.
And the level of performance that he can bring to the table.
Lewis starting P2 certainly doesn't put him in an advantageous situation, but it is just what Lewis needs.
He's gonna push all race in order to win it on track.
Okay.
I think Yuki was not in the picture.
It's okay.
- No, you were not in the picture.
- No? Know what I found out this morning? Know they call him Checo? - You know what it means in Mexico? - No.
Big dick.
Aah! Really? This driver pairing, this is as good as there is up and down the pit lane.
I think Checo, with his experience, is exactly what we needed.
For us, Checo is just finding his form at the right time.
- Will you go flat out? - Yeah.
Well And, uh, driving to the one stop.
I feel, in the beginning, of course, how the tires will be, but then after that, if you don't feel great, you have to go.
You cannot just sit there and be slow because then they will try to get you.
I think, you know, in Max, we've got a driver that is probably the only driver on the grid capable of of taking on Lewis Hamilton.
Uh, where to start? I mean, in our DNA we want to win.
You know, anything is possible in in this world when you work very hard and you keep pushing, and look where we are now, this year.
We are in this final race and now, of course, we want to finish this off in in style.
Everybody's got something to eat in them.
Yeah, I want to get the drivers to bed.
- Just need to keep them all calm tonight.
- Sorry? Keep them all calm, focused on the race.
Yeah, we can do it.
- We have to beat them.
- Yeah, yeah.
Yo.
Hey, Checo.
Hey, man.
How's the hangover? No hangover, man.
Just water for me.
Welcome to Abu Dhabi.
We are just hours away from the final race in one of the most phenomenal seasons Formula 1 has ever seen.
The chance for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to be the writer of their own story.
What we don't know is how this blockbuster ends.
As a team principal, it couldn't be more exciting.
I love the pressure.
This is when I'm in my comfort zone.
- How's Lewis? In good shape? - Good.
Good.
He'll be looking forward to it.
Yeah, he's he's absolutely in the zone.
I'm always trying to perform to meet my own expectations.
You're either good enough or not.
I feel the nerves.
I absolutely feel the nerves.
And, of course, moment that you know is being watched by close to a billion people.
All eyes are on, you know, what's gonna happen at this race.
Who's gonna be world champion? Okay, an important question for you.
What do you want for Christmas? LPS! LPS! All right.
Hey, little man.
- Hello.
- I'm sending you a kiss, okay? - Okay.
Love you.
- Love you.
Kiss.
Christian and Toto, they have very different styles, but they're more similar than they than they would ever care to admit.
Who do you think is gonna win the World Championship this year? - Max.
- Do you think he's got a chance? Yeah.
You could not sacrifice as much of your life to a job if it didn't permeate every single piece of your being.
It is life.
For Christian and for Toto, it's everything.
- How are you feeling? - Yeah, good.
- Yeah? - Good.
Just want - The hanging around drives you mad.
- It's normal to feel nervous though.
Whatever your your gut You've got a really good gut.
Follow it.
Yep.
Anyway, we'll see.
It'll be all right.
Right.
- Are you going then? This is it? - I'm gonna go.
Get myself sorted.
See you later.
We're moments away from the greatest showdown that this sport has seen.
Hamilton versus Verstappen.
Winner takes it all.
You'd prefer an attacking race? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- If we need to.
- If we need to, yeah.
Understood.
Just fucking do what you've done at every single race you've driven for us.
Okay? You'll be fine.
Lewis has won more than 100 races.
He's beaten all records.
He's a seven-time world champion.
And you can be sure that he's gonna push in order to win the eighth World Championship.
Radio check.
Radio's loud and clear.
Max is driving with such confidence, aggression.
And after the last seven years of pain, we've got to do everything we can to get this over the line.
Radio check.
Loud.
What Max has done, from the moment that he stepped in the car as a teenager, to suddenly there he is as a 24-year-old young man, it's been a hell of a journey.
All eyes now focused on the grid.
We've been waiting for this all season long.
As a driver, I'm only there to win.
That's the only thing that counts.
It's been the most difficult year of racing.
I've fought hard for this World Championship.
We're gonna have a battle.
May the best man win.
The world champion against the young gun.
 A proper battle.
Hamilton gets a decent start.
- What's the situation behind? - Verstappen, position two.
Great stuff, Lewis.
Unbelievable start from Hamilton! But we're only on the first lap.
Norris goes wide! I messed up.
Car behind is Sainz.
Here comes Carlos Sainz bearing down on Lando Norris.
Norris in front of you.
You can push.
Be careful.
Sainz right behind you.
- Lando? - Okay, confirm.
Sainz to the outside.
There comes Leclerc.
There's three abreast.
Oh my God! Carlos Sainz goes through! That didn't quite go to plan.
The Ferraris got way too close to me.
Ah, God.
That was good.
Currently P4.
Yeah, I think we are good.
Sainz in fourth, Norris fifth, Leclerc in sixth.
Out in front, Hamilton still has the lead from Max Verstappen.
Come on, Max! Verstappen is closing in.
Verstappen takes the lead of the race! Come on! Hamilton regains the lead, but he cut the corner.
He has to give that back.
Yup, we're on it, Max.
Don't worry.
He pushed me off track.
Michael, what would you like us to do? Give up the entire gap.
They've penalized Hamilton, but he gets to keep the lead.
- Fucking hell.
- Yes.
Michael, it's Christian.
Go ahead, Christian.
He has to give that back.
Your regulations are clear.
The stewards view was that he gave up all of the lasting advantage.
Where did he give it up? My job is to push as hard as I can for this team.
If I look back over the season, nothing has gone our way.
- Where did he give it up? - Before the end of the lap.
- We haven't seen - Immediately.
Okay.
That is incredible.
What are they doing here? Max, let's just get on with this and win it on track, mate.
I'm a believer that fate always balances things out in the end.
Great work, Lewis.
Keep it up.
Red Bull is a bit like the baby throwing the toys out of the pram.
We are just focused on delivering the best possible race.
- Verstappen behind.
- 1.
5 seconds now the gap.
Which position I am? Currently P8.
Fuck.
Shit! Okay, Lewis, so box, box.
Hamilton and Verstappen both going for new tires.
This pace is good, Checo.
This puts Pérez in the lead of the Grand Prix.
- What's the plan now? - We'll be looking to hold up Lewis.
Yeah.
Sergio, he's a phenomenal team player.
He's just what we need in this fight.
Hamilton, car behind.
I've never had a race car capable of achieving podiums.
To be fighting Mercedes is tremendous.
Come on.
Checo, come on! Come on! Christian, he just wants me to maximize the full car potential.
You can imagine how big this opportunity is for me.
- Okay, back him up.
Back him up.
- Yeah.
Hamilton gets a really good drive and takes the lead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Come on! Come on! Come on! Checo, he's a tough operator.
He's like a dog with a bone.
He never gives up.
Pérez goes to the inside! Pérez is back in front! Go on, Checo! Yes, mate! This is really frustrating Lewis Hamilton.
Some dangerous driving.
Michael, it's a bit dangerous.
Can you warn them? So far, they're racing, Toto.
Hard racing.
Brilliant job, Checo.
Pérez playing the ultimate team game here.
Okay, so gap to Hamilton, eight seconds.
Max Verstappen is closing! Come on! Okay, Max, let's go.
Verstappen is right with him now.
Verstappen, the car behind now.
Hamilton needs to get past Pérez here! He gets the job done.
Hamilton leads the Grand Prix.
But Verstappen is coming right with him.
Come on! Okay, Checo, good job.
Let Max pass.
Pérez let his teammate through.
Ah, Checo is a legend.
Absolute animal.
Okay, Max, focus on Hamilton.
So, Verstappen just one second.
Come on, let's have a go at it.
Only eight laps to go.
Lewis Hamilton is extending his lead at the front.
What can Verstappen do? Okay, Max.
Just get your head down.
Let's go.
These are great laps, Lewis.
Keep it up.
Keep the pressure on.
The championship trophy going Hamilton's way as it stands.
The clock's ticking.
Max is driving his heart out there, but, uh, we're gonna need a miracle.
Lap 52 of 58 now.
Lewis Hamilton edging closer and closer to the title.
Okay, Nicky.
Overtake Schumacher.
Could be your last attempt.
It has to be this lap, mate.
Give everything.
Try to push hard now.
Push hard.
Nah.
They forced me off the road.
Stay with him.
Stay with him.
Put him under pressure.
Oh no! Nicholas Latifi has crashed.
Hang on.
We've got a big shunt.
Big shunt.
That will be a safety car.
And this completely changes the context of this race.
Max, there's yellow flags at turn 14.
Latifi's completely in the middle of the road.
Debris all over the shop.
Hamilton was just moments away from winning this.
- What is gonna happen now? - No! No! You okay? - I lost it.
- Okay, Nicky.
So you can jump out.
The safety car is deployed.
We've gotta have a go at that.
Box and pit.
Confirm, please, Max.
Red Bull pit Verstappen.
There's a risk he'll lose position.
But Red Bull will be gambling on faster tires.
Look, we got nothing to lose.
Winning this championship is gonna be all about maximizing our chances, taking opportunities.
We've got half a chance and we've gotta go for it.
All right, let's have it.
Verstappen is quite a way behind Hamilton.
There are five lapped cars standing between him and the race leader.
Uh, these need to get out of the way.
They should unlap themselves.
Ordinarily, under a safety car, the lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves.
So they overtake the safety car and catch up to the back of the pack.
It allows the actual order of the Grand Prix, first, second, third, fourth, to line up behind the safety car so that when they go back to racing, the order is correct.
Max, lapped cars will not be allowed to overtake.
Oh, lapped cars will not be allowed to overtake.
Which leaves Verstappen with a lot of work to do then.
Yeah, of course.
Typical decision.
I'm not surprised.
They may as well give this fucking championship to Hamilton.
How many cars are in between us? Uh, five cars between you.
- Christian to Michael.
- Go ahead, Christian.
Why why why aren't we getting these lapped cars out of the way? Because, Christian, just give me a second.
Okay, my main big one is to get this, uh, incident clear.
You only need one racing lap.
Yeah.
The Williams is on a crane.
That's being moved out of the way now.
Keep working the tires, Max.
It's green on the safety car.
They want you to overtake the safety car.
Right, let's go.
All the cars ahead of you are allowed to overtake Hamilton.
Well, this is highly unusual.
Not all of the cars are allowed to unlap themselves.
Just the five in between Hamilton and Verstappen.
There's cars overtaking the safety car.
Not not us.
Not us.
Stay where you are.
Stay where you are.
Man, what the fuck? Only a certain number of cars were allowed to unlap themselves.
They were the cars between Lewis Hamilton in first and Max Verstappen in second.
Very, very strange.
Very unfair.
When you look at it in simple terms, Max was the only beneficiary.
It's a really bizarre one, and it's harsh on Hamilton.
Shit.
This is a mess.
Another huge mess.
Safety car is in this lap, Max.
Come on! - Go on, boy.
- Come on, boy! Fuck! Fuck, is he right behind me? With new tires? Verstappen, the car behind now.
It has left Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen side by side.
I've always had a target on my back, since I started racing.
It does feel like people can be out to get you.
Michael, that is so not right.
That is so not right! The safety car coming in on this lap.
Come on, Max! Come on! Come on! We're gonna have one lap of racing to decide the championship.
This is it, mate.
This is it.
So just prepare your tires.
One lap remaining.
Come on! - Come on! - Let's do it! And we have got 3.
2 miles of racing action all the way to the checkered flag.
Here we go! Is it gonna be a first World Championship for Verstappen? - Yes, boy! - Come on! Is it gonna be an eighth World Championship for Lewis Hamilton? Get in! Come on! Verstappen takes the lead of the race! No, Michael! No! No! Here comes Lewis Hamilton though! Verstappen stays ahead! Come on! Nah, this is getting manipulated, man.
They have shared a brilliant championship battle.
But the championship can only be won by one.
Yes! Yes! Oh my God! Yes! Yes! Fucking yes! Yes! Max Verstappen, for the first time ever, is champion of the world! Oh my God! Max Verstappen, you are the world champion.
The world champion! Fucking hell! That is unbelievable, guys.
We love you.
We absolutely fucking love you.
Aww! Oh! Oh! - We did it.
We did it! - I love you.
You did it! Well done, gents.
You did everything you could all year.
Well done.
I didn't even see Max crossing the line.
But my very reaction in that moment was, "What just happened?" Michael and race control.
Go ahead, Toto.
You need to reinstate the lap before.
That's not right.
- Toto - Yes? - It's called a motor race, okay? - Sorry? We went car racing.
- What did he say? - "We went car racing.
" Autorennen.
Max was worthy of winning the championship.
But not in the way it happened.
If you're doing a good enough job, you will win the race.
And here, that was not how it went.
The decision was simply wrong.
And it's clear that this is gonna leave some scars on Lewis, myself, and the team.
We did an amazing job this year.
We gave it everything.
It's been, uh, the the most difficult of seasons.
We never gave up, and that's the most important thing.
I just really wish a big congratulations to Max and to his team.
Because of the intensity, because of the struggles that we've had throughout the year, because of the seven years of struggling and perseverance, it was just the most, you know, unbelievable feeling.
You're world champion! You did it! You did it! Amazing! The goal was, together with my dad, to win a championship.
We had pole positions, race wins, but this was the ultimate dream.
And now that we have achieved that, it's something I will never forget.
Some big names on there.
- Yeah.
- You're with all of 'em now.
Lewis had done everything that was necessary to win the championship.
It was taken away from him and there's nothing better that they could have done to motivate us.
Little present for you.
Oh wow.
That's really, really special.
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Look at that.
Amazing.
- Thank you.
- I mean, after especially this season.
Will Red Bull have a target on their backs next year? Everybody has a target on their backs next year.