IMAGO / NurPhoto; IMAGO / SOPA Images
An entire section of F1 fans derived sadistic pleasure after the latest UEFA Euro Football Championship’s second semi-final. The match between England and Netherlands saw the Brits come out on top thanks to a late goal in the 90th minute of the game. The captain of the Dutch side, Virgil Van Dijk, expressed his disappointment with the refereeing. However, this was a karmic relief for the F1 fans because he supported Max Verstappen during his battle with Lewis Hamilton.
Back in 2021, Lewis Hamilton lost out on the record 8th championship in the last lap of the penultimate race of the season. It’s common knowledge this was made possible because of a call from the then-race director Michael Masi. Masi’s error in judgment was later swept under the rug as “human error”. However, many across the globe refuted there was an error and credited Max Verstappen alone for winning his first championship. Van Dijk was among many praising Verstappen.
So after the footballer’s latest loss, his complaints regarding the refereeing carried an air of hypocrisy. He said, “The match referee ran straight into the dressing room after the end of the match. This gives you an idea of what happened today.”
Virgil van Dijk: “The match referee ran straight into the dressing room after the end of the match. This gives you an idea of what happened today.”#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/tmu0ZUhLFS
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 10, 2024
The tweet highlighting his comments was swarmed by the Mercedes man’s fans rejoicing in his misery. The fans primarily highlighted how he’s suffering the same heartache Hamilton did back in 2021. So instead of sympathizing with him after the Euro exit, the fans bemoaned him for supporting Verstappen.
Karma https://t.co/8eroPJAe8j pic.twitter.com/ouBinPAQLO
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) July 11, 2024
Athletes who endorsed AD21 screaming match fixing #betterthancrack https://t.co/DKuepYlRyD
— kd (@mercsogyny) July 10, 2024
i love vvd so much but he literally did not give af when lewis was robbed at ad21 and acted like max won that race on merit sorry https://t.co/vc1Nfj6N0Y
— kaii LH104 (@kaelithea) July 11, 2024
Lewis Hamilton recollects the incidents of 2021 after his latest win
The events of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP have etched themselves in Formula 1 history. The events also put a wedge between two fan bases and effectively divided the sport in two. However, three years later, all’s forgotten, and everyone’s moved on. That’s what the general opinion was until the 2024 British GP which was won by Hamilton.
#BritishGP | Lewis Hamilton post race:
“My heart’s racing (…) It was the most emotional to a win that I have ever experienced. I think after such a difficult 2021, just try to continue to come back, there were so many thoughts, so many doubts in my mind along the way.” https://t.co/56eazBF252 pic.twitter.com/RErPDXkLj9
— deni (@fiagirly) July 7, 2024
After winning the home race, the Brit revealed how he still carries the wounds from the 2021 season. The events, unjust from his point of view, left a deep scar and the two years that followed made it worse. This is exactly why he was extremely emotional after securing his first win since 2021. However, even though the win has come after 945 days, the desire is not gone.
Undoubtedly doubts in one’s quality creep in when there’s no evidence to substantiate it for extended periods. However, after the latest win, Hamilton’s hopes to win races and the championship were further strengthened. Now he just needs to carry this momentum for the rest of the season and to Ferrari in the coming season.
