Lewis Hamilton says his 'worst fears came alive' after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix title race against Max Verstappen

By Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Updated 1058 GMT (1858 HKT) August 10, 2022

Lewis Hamilton told Vanity Fair his title race against Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year was one of his «toughest moments.»

(CNN)Lewis Hamilton says his «worst fears came alive» after his dramatic title race against Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season.

The seven-time world champion saw a potential record-setting eighth title slip away after he was beaten by the 24-year-old Red Bull driver, following a controversial season finale in December 2021. «You see things start to unfold,» Hamilton told Vanity Fair in an interview published on Monday. «My worst fears came alive. I was like, there's no way they're going to cheat me out of this. There's no way. That won't happen. Surely not.»'I had no strength' Read MoreHamilton was well on his way to winning his eighth world title until Williams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi collided into the barriers with four laps remaining, resulting in the safety car being called out. Former F1 race director Michael Masi allowed racing to restart on the final lap and Verstappen was permitted to start almost side-by-side with Hamilton, despite the Mercedes driver having previously earned a sizable lead. Verstappen eventually overtook Hamilton on fresh tires and went on to win his maiden F1 world title. Hamilton was on track to win his eighth world title last season, until Verstappen took advantage of a late safety car and overtook the Mercedes driver to secure his first F1 crown.Hamilton said that after the race, he remembers sitting in his car «in disbelief.»«I don't know if I can really put into words the feeling that I had,» he added. «I do remember just sitting there just in disbelief. And