Lewis Hamilton appeared to be on course to claim both the win ꧃and worlꦬd championship in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix until a late safety car turned the race on its head and opened the door for Verstappen to snatch the title. 

The safety car was deployed after Latifi crashed at Turn 14 with six la📖ps to go. At that stage Verstappen had sat 12 seconds behind Hamilton, but Red Bull gambled to pit the Dutchman for fresh soft tyres while the race ൩was neutralised. 

Verstappen used his faster rubber to pass Hamilton in a controversial last-lap sprint to the flag to prevent his rival from making F1 history by winning an unprecedented eighth world ꧒title. 

Speaking in an interview with Channel 4, Horner, who had admitted that Red Bull was in need of a ‘mꦚiracle’ to win the title in the closing stages of the race, quipped: "He'l🥃l be getting a lifetime supply of Red Bull for sure.” 

“We needed something from the racing gods in the𒉰 last 10 la🉐ps,” Horner added to Sky Sports. 

"Thank you Nicholas Latifi for that safety car. I have to s🦩ay with the s🐭tewards... they did great to get the race going again.” 

Lat🃏ifi apologised for the crash and stressed it was never his intention to influence the outcome of the world championship. 

“It was never my i൩ntention and I can only apologise for influencing and creating an opportunity," Latifi said. "I made a mistake.

"We were just really struggling for grip through the next sequence of corners, and especiꦦally where I ended up going off.

“It's been a tricky cor♊ner all weekend for me, so dirty tyres, dirty air and I made a mistake.

"I wasn't aware of the situ💦ation of the race up until then. Obviously it was never my intention to inadvertently influence that, but I made a mistake and ruined my own race.”