Max Verstappen: 2021 F1 Season in Review

Coming into the seventh season of his F1 career, Max Verstappen drove some exceptional races to eventually win the world championship. On the very final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he denied his title rival Lewis Hamilton a record-breaking eighth world championship title.

While Verstappen was expected to be the first since 2016 to truly challenge Hamilton for the title, not many expected victory would come this early for him. The Red Bull driver ended the 2020 season 133 points behind Hamilton, securing a P3 in the drivers' standings. Considering such facts, to have won the championship a year later by an eight-point lead at the young age of 24, is extraordinary.

Max Verstappen is the first Dutchman to win the drivers' championship. He is also the second driver in the sport's history to win the title with Red Bull, after Sebastian Vettel.

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Stats and information

• Team: Red Bull Racing Honda
• Team Principal: Christian Horner
• Points: 395.5
• Wins: 10
• Laps Led: 652
• Podiums: 18
• Pole Positions: 9

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What went right for Max Verstappen in the F1 2021 season?

Max Verstappen started the season on an absolute high, having set the fastest lap in all three days of pre-season testing. He then went on to take pole position for the season-opener in Bahrain, betraying the slightest hint it could be the year that Hamilton's era of domination comes to an end. He might have lost the Bahrain Grand Prix to Hamilton, but he simply dominated the 2021 season. Over the course of the calendar, he claimed a total of 10 race victories and led more laps than all the other drivers combined.

The title lead switched hands on various occasions between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with innumerable head-to-head battles that ended in dramatic crashes, controversies, and penalties. In the very second race at Imola, despite starting in P3, Verstappen took the lead from Hamilton at the very start. By subsequently winning the race, he matched up with the Briton in terms of points.

The next two races saw consecutive P2 finishes for the Dutchman behind the Mercedes driver. Verstappen then claimed his second win of the season at Monaco after a disastrous qualifying session for Hamilton that saw him start the race from P7.

Max Verstappen truly seemed to get his mojo back at the French Grand Prix. He managed to dominate the next three races with consecutive wins after losing out on a disappointing weekend in Azerbaijan.

Under bizarre circumstances at Spa, in a washed-out race, Max Verstappen's pole position from qualifying resulted in a victory for him. The Red Bull driver went into the next race in his home country with immense confidence, securing his maiden Dutch Grand Prix victory.

After a few bumps along the way, Max Verstappen took one of his most glorious victories at the United States Grand Prix. This extended his lead over Hamilton despite data suggesting that Mercedes would be the most dominant car on this particular circuit. The Red Bull driver moved into the next race with the same momentum to take victory at the Mexican Grand Prix. This would be his last victory of the season, until Abu Dhabi.

In three races after the Mexican Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton fought hard to catch up to Verstappen. With three consecutive wins, the Briton managed to enter the final race of the season equal on points with Verstappen. Despite having started from pole position in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen lost the lead to Hamilton on the very first lap. He then chased the Briton down until the very end, only to take a controversial championship win on the closing lap of the race.

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What went wrong for Max Verstappen in the F1 2021?

The two title contenders started the 2021 season head-on, locking out the front row for the season-opener. The much debated Bahrain Grand Prix set the tone for the rivalry between the two for the rest of the season. Despite losing the lead from pole position on the opening lap, Max Verstappen managed to take his place back from Lewis Hamilton. In doing so, however, the Dutchman exceeded track limits, for which he had to give up the position, and consequentially, the race win.

Max Verstappen proved himself to be a real contender for the title in the second race when the neck-and-neck duel truly began. Having finished behind Hamilton in the next two consecutive races in Portugal and Spain, however, his prospects of keeping the lead in the championship slowly started to slip away.

If putting up a fight with the seven-time world champion wasn't difficult enough, the series of bad luck that came in the way of the Dutchman throughout the season didn't make it any easier. Max Verstappen lost on opportunities to score significant points with a high-speed tire blowout in Baku as well as a P9 in Hungary, following an opening lap pile-up. Additionally, a collision between the two title contenders at the British Grand Prix knocked Verstappen out of the race. It threatened his lead in the championship as Hamilton went on to win his home race.

Max Verstappen's image as an aggressive driver was also highlighted in instances such as the high-profile crash in Monza. The resultant investigation saw the Red Bull driver being handed a three-place grid penalty at the Russian Grand Prix. Regardless, the Dutchman eventually climbed up to P2 in the race affected by late rains.

Just as Lewis Hamilton began to fall back in points, he put in three consecutive wins to claw away at Max Verstappen's lead. An extraordinary win at the Brazilian Grand Prix followed by two consecutive wins at the inaugural Qatar and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix put him back into the fight against Verstappen for the title.

The 24-year-old's tough times had not ended yet, with a crash in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix stymieing his chances at the title. The Red Bull driver lost a certain pole position at the end of a marvelous flying lap by crashing into the final corner of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Verstappen then lost the race to Lewis Hamilton after being handed a five-second penalty for taking the lead from off the track.

The two title contenders entered the final race of the season, equal on points, with Max Verstappen starting from pole position. A terrible start for the Dutchman saw him fall back as the Mercedes driver comfortably took the lead until the very end. The lead was to remain until the chaotic incidents following the late safety car.

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What to expect from Max Verstappen in the 2022 F1 season?

Max Verstappen will be going into the 2022 F1 season as the reigning world champion, intending to defend the title with all his might. The Dutchman has also chosen to go with #1 for his Red Bull in 2022 instead of #33. The motivation and momentum with which the 24-year-old will be going into the upcoming season has his team and his fans expecting him to dominate the sport.

While he has been eerily silent on his future plans post-Abu Dhabi, one can hope that Lewis Hamilton will return next season. In his zeal for a record eighth title, he will not go down without a fight, provided he chooses to stay on with Mercedes as an F1 driver.

The 2022 season will see new technical regulations and financial limitations arrive in the sport. In view of this, stronger midfield teams such as Ferrari and McLaren are likely to put up a challenge for the championship title, especially with the likes of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. Additionally, George Russell, who will be moving to Mercedes next year, may also pose a great threat to Max Verstappen's position as world champion.

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