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Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has almost caught up to championship leader Max Verstappen after two back-to-back victories, in Brazil and Qatar. As F1 heads to the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix early next month, the gap between the two men is down to just eight points.
Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton could win a record-breaking eighth world championship title if he denies his 24-year old young challenger of his first. In a season that has been closely fought from the outset, there haven't been any outright bad performances from either driver, with Max Verstappen winning nine out of 20 races so far while Lewis Hamilton has bagged a total of seven.
Lewis Hamilton's worst results so far this year
While neither Hamilton nor Verstappen have had bad performances all year long, we can get a better idea of the former's consistency by looking at and ranking his worst finishes so far this season.
P17 (DNF) - Italian Grand Prix, Monza
Hamilton and Verstappen crashed out on Lap 26 in dramatic fashion at Monza. The two men tried to squeeze through the tight Turn 1 chicane together and ended up rubbing wheels, which beached the Red Bull F1 atop the Mercedes. Both drivers had to walk away from their cars, resulting in a double-DNF.
P15 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Following a red-flag period due to a dramatic tire failure experienced by Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton accidentally activated the "magic button" on his Mercedes during the subsequent restart. The button on the back of the wheel is a clever tool used to generate heat into their brakes. However, Hamilton accidentally left it on and locked up going into Turn 1, throwing away a potential victory.
P7 - Monaco Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton was off-pace compared to Red Bull F1 and Ferrari at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. The Briton could only manage to go seventh-fastest in qualifying, having touched the barrier while on his final Q3 lap.
The defending world champion was unable to improve from his starting position during the race through the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, however, he did manage to bag the fastest lap towards the end of the race.
P4 - Austrian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton was out-qualified by Verstappen, Lando Norris and Sergio Perez as the Red Bulls were super dominant at their home race. The team had won the race the previous weekend as well.
Hamilton could only manage to be fourth-fastest in qualifying on Saturday. The 36-year-old briefly overtook Lando Norris during the race but soon lost the position to the young McLaren driver. Lewis Hamilton eventually ended up finishing in P4.
The Briton has either won the remaining races or finished no lower than P2, attesting to his consistency and raw pace this year.
Both drivers will be hoping to keep mistakes to a minimum over the two remaining races on the calendar, beginning with the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on December 3-5.
