F1 2021 season - the best ever ?

Three months back with about half a dozen races to go, I had posted that that the 2021 season was poised for a close finish - probably the closest ever across a whole season.

However even Netflix could not have scripted what happened next over the final races of the season! If the on-track racing was not enough, the off track controversies and shenanigans kept us at the edge of our seats. The driver’s championship lead swung one way then the other.

As we went into the title decider at Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen led by a thin margin, but Lewis Hamilton seemed to have the stronger car.   Fittingly the two title protagonists qualified on the front row.  The controversies started on lap 1 of the race itself with Lewis’s pass at turn 1 not coming off clean. He took off to the runoff area and rejoined in the lead. Should he have given up the lead (lasting advantage)? Red Bull protested. The stewards deemed that Lewis only needed to cede the ‘time advantage’.          

The first set of pitstops (also expected to be the only one considering both drivers fitted the hards) went to plan. Hamilton seemed to have the advantage and started sailing off into the sunset with his 8^th title.  

Then Perez showed us why he is rated so highly. On older worn out tyres, he held up Hamilton just enough to allow Max to catch him. That was not enough though as Hamilton in clear air again extended his lead. All seemed lost for Red Bull and Max.

A safety car mid race allowed Max to stop for a fresh set of hards. Mercedes opted to stay out to retain track position for Lewis. While this move helped Max close up a bit, it still seemed not enough as Lewis kept the gap to around 10 seconds.

As the laps ran down, Christian Horner interviewed on live television admitted that they needed a miracle from the racing Gods. The miracle happened in the form of Latifi spinning off and hitting the barrier on Lap 53 bringing out the safety car. Red Bull quickly pitted Max for a fresh set of softs while Lewis stayed out.

Then came the biggest controversy of the race. After the debris was cleared up Michael Massi (the race Director) ordered the lapped cars between Lewis and Max to overtake the safety car (this was on the penultimate lap). Immediately thereafter the race was restarted (final lap). On a fresher set of tyres, Max did not even wait for the straights. He made an audacious move at the start and drove past Lewis.  Hamilton fought bravely on the two straights but Max held on for a famous win and a first world championship.

The controversies from race ensured that there were formal protests and counter protests post-race. The final classification was confirmed late into the night after the rulings on the protests. Even post that there was the threat of an appeal (subsequently Mercedes backed down)

Q1 – Should Lewis have ceded position on Lap 1? Would that have made a difference to the way the race panned out?

Q2 – Was it right to restart the race on the final lap? Should it have ended behind the safety car?

Q3 – Was it right to allow only 5 cars to unlap themselves behind the safety car?

Depending on which camp you are in, I am sure the answer for each of the questions would be diametrically opposite to the other! A few would point out to ‘dodgy’ decisions earlier in the season when the two title contenders came together.

The facts remain that both were worthy of the championship in 2021 – no one else came close to them on track and obviously on the leader board either. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner. Max had his share of bad luck earlier in the season and luck has a tendency to even out in the long run. Credit to Lewis that he was dignified in defeat. He has since been silent in the media and has also blocked himself out on social media – but he needs time to get over the loss.

Well done to both for giving us the closest title fight in living memory. Some say it eclipses even the Senna-Prost years. I cannot wait for an encore in 2022. What about you ?!?