"What a race! Congrats to Max for becoming the World Champion for the 1st time & there will be many more. However, my heart goes out to Lewis. What a season he's had too. If not for the safety car, the trophy would've been his. Sheer bad luck. All the best for the next season," Tendulkar wrote in a tweet on Sunday.

 

In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was leading comfortably in the final few laps till Nicholas Latifi of Williams crashed towards the end. This saw the safety car being brought in, which allowed Verstappen to close the gap and eventually win the maiden title. He also became the first ever Dutch driver to secure the world championship.

 

India's ODI and T20 captain Rohit Sharma gave a cricketing twist to Abu Dhabi Race.

 

"1 ball 6 required and guess what, Max Verstappen hits it. Unbelievable win #AbuDhabiGP #F1TitleChampionship," Rohit Sharma wrote on social media.

 

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja too reacted over Verstappen's title win.

 

"That is the biggest mistake in F1 history," Australia batter Usman Khawaja felt.