'The FIA broke their own rules, which is a disgrace to our whole sport.'
Lewis Hamilton's brother Nicolas has called his brother the 'true champion' of Formula One as he labelled the FIA as a 'disgrace to the sport' in an Instagram post.
The Mercedes driver was
beaten to the F1 Drivers' Championship with just one lap to go as Max Verstappen won his first title in controversial circumstances.
Taking to Instagram after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nicholas posted a picture of his brother alongside the caption: 'An unforgettable season'.
Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to win first F1 world title.
He also praised his father's actions after Anthony Hamilton congratulated Verstappen for his triumph, despite the understandable devastation for his family.
Nicolas captioned the post: "THE TRUE CHAMPION!
"The FIA broke their own rules, which is a disgrace to our whole sport. Nevertheless, regardless of being mistreated today, the Hamilton’s were humble in defeat.
"My father, the guy who raised us, congratulating Max & his father Jos.
https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1470040275036823568
"People can say what they like, but my Father’s gesture proves all of the doubters & haters wrong & shows who we are as ‘The Hamilton’s’.
"Proving people wrong is in our DNA, which Lewis does on a daily basis. With utter professionalism & decency in defeat, even though we all know, that he was let down by the sport that he has given so much to.
"Congratulations to Max for such a fantastic season from him."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXZJPe1q9fI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Mercedes lose appeal to overturn Verstappen victory.
Hamilton looked destined to win the title and become the most successful driver in the history of the sport, until a safety car was called onto the track late in the race when
Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers.
The race stewards initially stated that any lapped cars would not be allowed to overtake, before reversing the decision and informing the lapped cars that they needed to pass the safety car.
This saw Hamilton and Verstappen side-by-side, but with the Dutchman possessing the fresher tyres, he eased past the 36-year-old to claim a maiden title.
Mercedes appealed the decision, but lost their claim after a four-and-a-half-hour battle to get the decision overturned.
However, they later
lodged an intention to appeal the verdict of the second protest dismal, which relates to the Safety Car protocol.
The case will now go to FIA's court of appeal and Mercedes have 96 hours from when the appeal was made to make their submission - where they can decide if they wish to take it any further.
