Report: Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Sends Congrats to F1 Champ Max Verstappen

Verstappen dethroned seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on Sunday in what was a dramatic and controversial finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A day after securing one of the most dramatic (and controversial) world championships in Formula One history, Red Bull's Max Verstappen revealed Monday that one of his many congratulatory messages he received came from his rival's garage.

Verstappen said that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reached out to him via text message to congratulate him on his win in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, per Alan Baldwin of Reuters, which snapped Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton's seven-year championship streak.

"Toto sent me a text, congratulations on the season and that I deserved to win it, so that was very nice of him of course," Verstappen said. He also praised Hamilton for being gracious in defeat following a close race at the end of a historically competitive season.

"Lewis is a great sportsman in general," Verstappen said. "He came up to me and congratulated me and it must have been of course very tough in that last lap."

How Sunday's race ended was heavily scrutinized throughout the racing community. Hamilton had a firm lead over Verstappen with just five laps to go when crash by Nicholas Latifi led to a safety car coming out onto the track.

F1 rules dictate that lapped cars are not allowed to overtake the safety car, but in a controversial decision, F1 race director Michael Masi declared that they would be able to, which allowed Verstappen to close the gap between him and Hamilton.

Verstappen eventually passed Hamilton on the final lap, and held him off for the historic victory.

The two drivers were in a dead heat for the top spot in the standings all season long, and though Mercedes issued two protests of the race results that were ultimately rejected, Verstappen acknowledged the mutual respect he and Hamilton shared following a thrilling season.

"But it also shows the respect we have for each other," Verstappen said. "Of course we had our tough times throughout the season but in the end we respect what we were doing and we were pushing each other to the limit the whole season. It has been really enjoyable racing against him."