The 2021 season of Formula One was one of the most memorable editions of recent times. A season so tight that the championship was decided on the last lap of the final race of 2021. It was not a straight cut season in any sense; there were twists and turns, crashes and clashes. It was a season that created confusion and frustrations among the fans and drivers alike. Lewis Hamilton, who was out of a contract just months ahead of the start of the new season, won eight Grand Prix in total, including three back-to-back races to take the fight to the wire. Ahead of the season’s final race, both the Briton and Max Verstappen on 369.5 points at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It was only the second time in F1’s history that two drivers were on equal points, and their fate depended on the season’s final race.
‘I am the Best Driver Because I Believe I am the Best.’
‘I am the best driver because I believe I am the best.’ This is what Max Verstappen had said in Formula One’s promo at the start of the season, followed by a smirk by Lewis Hamilton. Since the beginning of the season, the battle was between these two really.
The Briton drew the first blood as he won the Bahrain Grand Prix, which also saw the first flashpoint of this new rivalry. Having led the race for the most time, Verstappen had to forgo his lead to his opponent to avoid a penalty as he had gone slightly off track while overtaking Hamilton.
In the following race on the wet Imola Circuit, it was the 24-year-old Belgian who finished atop as Hamilton made the most of a free pit-stop to finish behind him. There were several crashes in the race, and Hamilton himself too damaged his front wing.
The veteran then won back-to-back races in Portugal and Germany before Verstappen made the most of Charles Leclerc’s last-minute withdrawal to win Monaco Grand Prix and lead the championship for the first time in his career.
Neither finished on the podium in Baku, which later came to haunt Verstappen as both drivers arrived in Abu Dhabi with level points.
Silverstone Turning Point
The Silverstone event saw the introduction of the Saturday, which Verstappen won ahead of Hamilton to grab the pole. The rivalry intensified from hereon as a collision between the two resulted in Verstappen being hospitalised. The Brit was handed a 10-second penalty, but despite that, he emerged victorious as the point difference between the two was reduced to just eight points.
Hamilton finished second in Hungary while Verstappen won the following two races. Then in Monza, the rivalry reached its boiling point and Verstappen’s car on Hamilton’s. The Halo literally saved the 36-year-old’s life on that day. “Thank God for the halo, that ultimately, I think, saved me, and saved my neck,” Hamilton had said.
The next few races were relatively less eventful as both continued to test each other’s resilience. Max won the US and Mexican GP after Hamilton won his 100th F1 race in Sochi. A lot happened in Brazil. Mercedes took multiple engine penalties, Hamilton’s qualification was DQ’d, Verstappen was fined for inspecting the rear-wing of the Mercedes and Max also infamously drove the Briton into the run-off in defence – without penalty from the stewards in Brazil.
‘…Yeah Not Bad for an Old Man’
The previously mentioned F1 ad also featured a voice note from Hamilton, ‘Still got it Bono…Yeah not bad for an Old Man,’ it said. Boy, did he prove that right! When it seemed it was all over for him, he won in Qatar, which saw Fernando Alonso finish third. Two weeks later in Jeddah, Lewis Hamilton won a crazy, twice-halted Saudi Arabian Grand to send the Formula One world championship into a winner-takes-all showdown with the Mercedes driver and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen level on points.
We know what happened after that a week later as Verstappen claimed his maiden world title and a new season record for most podiums — eighteen.
The Iceman Hangs His Gloves
This season was also Kimi Raikkonen’s last behind the steering wheel as he brought curtains to his career after 19 seasons and 349 races. Unfortunately, he could not finish the due to some technical problems but was voted the driver of the day.
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