F1 news LIVE: McLaren launch 2022 car and Lewis Hamilton latest as drivers slam ‘ridiculous’ season finale

LIVE – Updated at 08:44

The controversial end to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the title on the last lap of the season, has been described as “ridiculous” as Formula One was accused of putting entertainment ahead of its own rules. At Thursday’s Aston Martin car launch, Canadian driver Lance Stroll said race director Michael Masi’s controversial decision to let some but not all cars pass the safety car was “not right” as the pre-season car launches continued to be dominated by the events of last campaign.

“The rules are the rules. You can’t be modifying the rules for entertainment, it has to be sport first,” Stroll said. “I don’t think it’s right what happened in Abu Dhabi.” Stroll’s team-mate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel defended Masi and sympathised with the difficult position he found himself in, but agreed that the Formula One had got its priorities wrong. Meanwhile, speculation continues to surround Hamilton’s future in the sport amid an ongoing investigation into the season-deciding race.

Mercedes are set to launch their car next week but today it is the turn of McLaren, who announced that star driver Lando Norris has signed a new four-year contract with the team earlier this week. In doing so, McLaren revealed their ambitions of challenging for the world championship as Formula One enters a new era of rules and regulations, and the unveiling of their MCL36 car is another important step ahead of the start of the new season at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 20 March. Follow all the F1 news updates below:

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has slammed the “ridiculous” end to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Stroll said race director Michael Masi’s controversial