F1 2021: The Fight till The End
Aditi Kakade
SY B.Sc. (2023-2027)
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
The line of the commentator of the Abu Dhabi GP still haunts half of us till today – “Is it gonna be a first World Championship for Verstappen?, Is it gonna be the eighth World Championship for Lewis Hamilton?”. Everybody in the F1 fan base can agree that 2021 was a year unlike any other. We have seen many rivalries over the history of F1 and among those is the one between Hamilton and Verstappen. This season was one of those that started with controversy, and ended in controversy, a season of joy and heartbreak.
In case you didn’t know, there are a total of ten teams with two cars each in F1. It is a form of motorsport and the highest class in international racing for open wheel single seater formula racing cars. In F1, the teams are either privately owned or run by car manufacturers like Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin. Teams are meant to construct their own automobile, in compliance with the rules.
Lewis Hamilton is a seven time World Champion tied with Michael Schumacher and he also holds the record for most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes among others. Max Verstappen is the youngest driver to ever race in Formula 1 and is the only driver to race in the sport under the age of 18. Both competed aggressively in the year 2021 with Lewis Hamilton chasing a record eight world title and Verstappen hungry for his first.
The 2021 F1 season was contested over 22 Grand Prix(GP) weekends, starting in March and concluding in December. The season began in Bahrain, with Lewis starting at pole position and winning the Bahrain GP, truly a remarkable start for Mercedes. The celebration didn’t last long, though, as Max won the immediately following Emilia-Romagna GP. The first half of the season went well with Hamilton winning his 100th pole position in Spain and Verstappen winning his first Monaco GP, there was another first as he took the lead in the World Championship for the first time in his F1 career. Max taking a lead leaves Lewis and his 8th Championship under thin ice.
This is where the British GP happened, it was here on the grounds of Silverstone and the home race of Hamilton where the rivalry truly caught fire. Max won the sprint and started at pole position during the race. An exhilarating battle took place between Verstappen and Hamilton on the opening lap and many times during the race. During one of the laps with Max’s intense aggression on one side and Lewis’s refusal to back down on the other, the two took a fast right into the cops and Max went flying into the barriers with a force of 51 G’s. The world stood still for a few moments. Max with the dangerous condition of his car was now officially out of the race and was taken to hospital. Lewis on the other hand was served a 10 second penalty for his part in the collision but still managed to pull through Leclerc’s leading Ferrari and won his home race, the British GP. The drama went beyond the Checkered flag as Max Verstappen criticised Hamilton’s exuberant post-race celebration whilst he was hospitalised calling him “disrespectful and unsportsmanlike’.
There were many controversial on-track moments like these including accidents between the pair at the Hungarian and Italian Grand Prix as well. This led to the championship changing hands between the two drivers several times. The two entered the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with equal points leaving the winner of this race to take the Championship home. The race began with Lewis starting at pole followed by Perez and Max. At lap 20, Max was 8.693 seconds behind Lewis. There were 5 more laps to go when Nicholas Lafiti crashed on turn 14, this gave a call to the safety car, during this the cars are supposed to follow the safety car one behind the other in the order of the position they hold. As Lewis was leading, he was obviously the first one behind the car. Max decided to use his free pit stop and change his tires during this period. Lapped cars are not allowed to overtake the safety car but to give Max his 2nd position back lapped cars were allowed ahead of the safety car. Max and Lewis were now side by side right next to each other with only one lap remaining. If you’ve never watched F1 before, it’s never normally like this, Max is almost overtaking Hamilton. Max with his new tires overtakes Hamilton during the last lap and snatches the 8th World Championship from Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen wins his first World Championship.
Hamilton and Verstappen’s season concluded dramatically. The handling of a safety car period, where the rulebook was not followed, in the final laps led to controversy, culminating in Verstappen passing Hamilton after a late restart to win the race and, ultimately, the Drivers’ Championship. Mercedes’ initial protest was rejected, and they ultimately chose not to appeal further. It was a watershed moment for race control, leading to the replacement of Michael Masi as race director after 2022 and creating a virtual race room to assist the director. What an unforgettable season it had been, to witness two of the best drivers at their finest, competing against each other. The 2021 F1 season is truly one to go down in history.