5 reasons why Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton in F1 2021 season

Max Verstappen won his first-ever world championship ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. While many would argue over the controversial way the 2021 F1 season ended, a fact that cannot be ignored is that this season was more than just the last race. In this piece, we try to look beyond the end of the season and discuss the various factors that contributed to Max Verstappen beating Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 season.

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5 reasons why Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton

#1 Red Bull was a capable machinery

Max Verstappen stepped into the Red Bull senior team in 2016. He immediately displayed sparks of brilliance by winning his very first race for the team in Barcelona. By 2019, however, he had shown the capability to put together seasons where he would be a fast but consistent performer, as was evident with his win in Austria and a surprise pole position in Hungary that year.

Driver rankings by team bosses in 2020 showed that, in the eyes of many, he was the second-best driver on the grid, just behind Lewis Hamilton. So when, in 2021, Verstappen finally had a car capable of winning the title, he made the most of what he had at his disposal throughout the season.

#2 Red Bull was a much better team operationally

What worked for Max Verstappen during the F1 2021 season was the fact that Red Bull appeared to be a much better team operationally, when compared to Mercedes. They were better in terms of pitstops' efficiency (Red Bull had the best average pitstop times all year), they were better when it came to pit strategies (the Russian, United States, and French Grands Prix being prime examples) and more importantly, Max had confidence in the strategies Red Bull put together for him.

Compare that to the dynamics at Mercedes, where one could often see Lewis Hamilton questioning strategy moves and, more often than not, projecting extreme doubts regarding the strategies that were put together for him. His concerns were evident at the Monaco, Spanish, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

#3 Sergio Perez played the perfect team game

Sergio Perez did not have the greatest of seasons as Max Verstappen's teammate. Neither did he feature as much as he should have in the title battle either, to be fair. There were, however, two separate circumstances where he left an indelible impact on the championship battle.

The first was his battle with Lewis Hamilton at the Turkish Grand Prix where he fought the Mercedes driver valiantly and held him up. Perez drove clinically to damage the Briton's race, preventing Mercedes from making any further inroads into the remainder of the Grand Prix.

The second was a legendary defensive drive by the Mexican at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he cost Hamilton as many as 6 seconds on a single lap and helped Verstappen close up.

Perez played the perfect team game and proved to be an apt rear-gunner for Verstappen.

#4 Max Verstappen capitalized on the wet weather weekends

In the last few seasons, Max Verstappen's ability to shine during wet weather conditions has slowly uncovered itself. It has more to do with him than him being the quicker driver, as the Dutchman has shown the kind of guile and experience that is unexpected for a 24-year-old.

The 2021 F1 season saw multiple wet races, and during these races, what became evident was that Verstappen was able to take advantage of these conditions as they leveled up the playing field significantly.

His wet weather driving prowess was visible at the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola where he was able to pass Lewis Hamilton, who had, on evidence, a better car in the dry, or at the Russian Grand Prix, where he was able to jump up the order in the late-race rain intervention and finish on the podium.

#5 Max Verstappen was the better driver

Amidst all the mess created by the FIA at the last race of the season, there was one thing that was quite evident. Max Verstappen was the deserving world champion of the 2021 season.

If one looks at the season in its entirety, what's more than obvious is the fact that throughout the season Max Verstappen made fewer mistakes — barring the Italian and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix — and was extremely consistent — finished either first or second in races not affected by incidents. Ironically, he has also been unlucky at various points throughout the season, with major incidents at the Azerbaijan, British, and Hungarian Grands Prix.

It doesn't happen often that a seven-time champion loses out on being considered the best driver on the grid in public opinion. However, in 2021, Max Verstappen deservedly took the crown.

If it wasn't for these races, Verstappen might not have had enough of a buffer to defend against a late-season charge from Hamilton.

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