The 2021 Formula 1 season is now in the books and it’ll be widely remembered as one of the best years in recent memory.
Max Verstappen capped off his extraordinary campaign by denying Lewis Hamilton his eighth world championship to claim his first in the dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. On the other hand, Mercedes won their eighth consecutive constructors’ title.
Controversy was inevitable following the final race as Mercedes filed a couple of protests to which they were denied by the FIA. Nonetheless, it’ll give them added motivation to do even better for next season.
Join SBOTOP as we’ll review 2021 by looking at the biggest winners and losers after last weekend’s final event from Yas Marina.
Winner: Max Verstappen
After 22 races, Max Verstappen finally claimed his first F1 championship. The 24-year-old is Netherlands and F1’s first non-Mercedes titlist in the hybrid turbo era which began in 2014.
To further illustrate Verstappen’s brilliance this season, the Dutch also owns the record for most podiums in a Formula 1 season (18) with 10 wins and eight second places.
For much of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it felt like the title was about to slip Max Verstappen’s fingertips as Lewis Hamilton seemingly had an unassailable lead for much of the contest.
But when a late Safety Car following a Nicholas Latifi mishap gave Verstappen a chance to pit for fresh soft tyres, with Hamilton opting to stay out on his old hard tyres rather than conceding the lead, the Dutch driver made the most of his chance en route to his first crowning moment.
Loser: Lewis Hamilton
Given everything that has occurred this 2021, it’s a shame that only one can come out as the winner.
For much of the season, it felt like Max Verstappen was going to cruise to his first title. But Lewis Hamilton showed the heart of a champion by winning three straight races leading to last weekend’s finale.
The seven-time world champion held the lead for 51 of the 58 racing laps but his run came to a bitter end as there was nothing he could to defend from Max Verstappen, who had fresher tyres in the end.
His defeat almost overshadowed the fact that his team clinched a record eighth successive constructors’ title as his teammate Valtteri Bottas finished P6 in his final race with the Silver Arrows.
Toto Wolff was fuming after seeing his star miss out on what could’ve been his record-breaking title. However, as a team, they should give themselves a pat on the back as they’ve overcame a Red Bull that was significantly better than them for much of the season.
Loser: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo were on the wrong end of the Formula 1 2021 news during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as they had their first double DNF since the 2018 British Grand Prix. Retiring racer Kimi Raikkonen had to exit early due to an issue with his wheel while Antonio Giovinazzi’s car also had a technical fault.
Fans were certainly disappointed as this was not the way Kimi Raikkonen’s two decade-long career should’ve ended. The Iceman will leave Formula 1 with one world title, 21 wins, 103 podiums, and 18 poles.
Meanwhile, this was an agonising end to Antonio Giovinazzi’s three-year stint with Alfa Romeo. The 28-year-old Italian will compete in the Formula E next season and he’ll be replaced by Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.
Loser: McLaren
McLaren ended 2021 on a sour note after failing to finish over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, largely because of performance and bad luck.
Lando Norris missed out on a podium last weekend due to a slow puncture while teammate Daniel Ricciardo failed to score for the fourth time in the last five races with a P12 finish.
Since the Mexican Grand Prix, the British outfit struggled to compete against the Scuderia and they finished 48.5 points behind them to end up one place lower than last season.
Winner: Carlos Sainz and Ferrari
Carlos Sainz Jr. secured his fourth podium of the season at P3 in Yas Marina. By tallying points in the last 15 races, the Spaniard ended up fifth in the drivers’ standings – which is his highest-ever finish to date.
Him and Charles Leclerc got the job done in guiding Ferrari to finish third in the constructors’ championship as they’ve been more consistent at recording points in these past few races.
It may be another down year for the Tifosi’s lofty standards, but Ferrari head to 2022 with higher Formula 1 2021 odds – which is much better compared to where they once were last year.
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