Lewis Hamilton 'had title taken away from him', says new team-mate George Russell

Lewis Hamilton had an eighth world title «taken away from him» by the errors made by officials at the final race of last year, George Russell says.

Hamilton's new Mercedes team-mate said at the launch of their new car that he «really feels for Lewis» because of the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

«He had that race completely under control,» Russell said.

«He only had to bring it home and he'd have been an eight-time champion and he had that taken away from him.»

Hamilton was leading in Abu Dhabi and on course for a fourth consecutive win that would have secured the title until a late-race safety car.

Race director Michael Masi then restarted the race in a manner that did not comply with the rules in two different ways, and Hamilton was passed by rival Max Verstappen, whose victory clinched the title for the Red Bull driver.

On Thursday, governing body the FIA announced a series of changes to F1's race control system following an inquiry into Abu Dhabi — including removing Masi as race director.

Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said: «Mistakes happen when the heat of the moment is on and people's emotions are high. Fingers crossed, with the changes the FIA have made, that won't happen again.

»In sport, there is always a huge amount of pressure on every individual, whether it be the athlete, the coach, the manager, the engineers, the referee or the race director.

«We've all come to the agreement that what happened in Abu Dhabi was incorrect and the changes have been made because of the outcome of Abu Dhabi.»

Hamilton said on Friday that there had been «a moment when I lost a little bit of faith in the system» but that he «refused to let (Abu Dhabi) define my career».

Among the changes