Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race: Verstappen becomes world champion in a thrilling finish

It’s done, Max Verstappen is officially the FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION. He becomes the first Dutch driver to reach the top of Formula 1! December 12, 2021, a historic date at the finish line of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap, following a restart after the Safety Car!

That is the main observation of this Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which obviously boiled down to a Verstappen vs Hamilton battle. After a series of close fights, or rather wheel-to-wheel battles (Bahrain, Imola, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Saudi Arabia), the final chapter was written on the very last lap. Yes, there will be much discussion about the decisions made by the FIA, but the ending is l-e-g-e-n-d-a-r-y.

19 drivers took part in this last race of the season: Nikita Mazepin tested positive for Covid before the start. The Russian driver was placed in isolation on Sunday morning. 19 drivers on the grid and one poleman: Max Verstappen ahead of his rival Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez on the second row. As for the tires, Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas (6th at the start), and Yuki Tsunoda (8th at the start) started with mediums, unlike the other drivers in the top 10 who opted for softs, like the two Red Bulls.

A maneuver at the start that is still questionable… Hello, FIA?

At the sunset of Abu Dhabi, things got serious at the start of the race. Lewis Hamilton had a great start from his 2nd place, becoming the leader on the first turn! On his medium tires, the Mercedes driver immediately overtook pole-sitter Verstappen, taking P1.

The Red Bull driver #33 immediately tried to react, in the long straight towards the 8th turn. Aggressive braking, within Dutch limits, the Red Bull #33 touches the Mercedes #44 on the left… Hamilton steers and goes straight into the escape route without slowing down!

Here is the controversy at the start of the race: the British driver managed to avoid the collision, but his acceleration in the escape route was approved by the FIA, which didn’t even open an investigation, after an explanation given on the radio by Michael Masi-Jonathan Wheatley (Red Bull’s sporting director). The team’s complaints didn’t change anything and Verstappen suffered the consequences, allowing Hamilton to pull away in the early laps.

Behind, Sergio Perez led the rest of the pack in third place ahead of Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, and Daniel Ricciardo to complete the top 10. The rest of the pack also made it through the first few laps without any issues.

The first laps of the race allowed Lewis Hamilton to create a small gap from Max Verstappen, with a lead of 5 seconds at the 14th lap. This was the moment chosen by Red Bull to bring their driver in! Tire change, from soft compound to hard compound. And a scare on the exit, with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari spinning right behind the Red Bull, in the curve of the 2nd-3rd turn!

Hamilton was leading the race at that moment, but his team decided to adopt Verstappen’s strategy. They changed to hard tires on the 15th lap. It was the moment chosen by Red Bull to pit Perez, who had stayed out on his starting tires!

Until the end, Sergio Pérez!

So in 2nd place, Hamilton was catching up to the current leader. The junction was made on the 20th lap! It was a maneuver in several moves, marked by an incredible defense from Pérez. Overtaken once, the Mexican used the DRS to bother Hamilton’s Mercedes. The British driver finally passed Pérez on the 21st lap, using the DRS on the main straight, between the 7th and 8th corners. Verstappen immediately regained 2nd place, which was given up by his teammate. The Dutchman then came within 2 seconds of the #44 Mercedes. “Checo is a legend,” the driver exclaimed to his radio engineer, GianPiero Lambiase.

“Checo is a legend,” Max Verstappen admires his teammate’s defense against Hamilton.

But here’s the thing, Hamilton was pulling away. Faster with his hard tires, the leader wondered if the tires would last until the end of the Grand Prix. Two other drivers didn’t have this luxury.

Räikkönen deserved a different outcome.

Anonymous 18th (and second to last), Kimi Räikkönen was slowing down on the 26th lap! The veteran had lost the brakes on his Alfa Romeo. His off-track excursion in the escape area of the 8th corner marked the end of his illustrious career. Back to the pit lane, retirement, and the farewell to “Iceman”, who deserved a different outcome at 42 years old, after his 350th Grand Prix. At the same time, George Russell lost transmission on his Williams and also headed to his box to retire. Russell leaves the scene with the Grove team, before eventually joining Mercedes.

The race was in a lull until the 36th lap. There was a moment of uncertainty with the retirement of the other Alfa Romeo: Antonio Giovinazzi parked his car next to the track, and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Verstappen went into the pits to put on fresh hard tires, but not Lewis Hamilton!

Once the VSC was disabled, Verstappen therefore had fresher tires than his opponent. A remote battle this time against Hamilton, through lap times. The British driver was narrowing the gap, with a 13-second lead at 10 laps remaining in the final race of the season.

Nicholas Latifi, the new Timo Glock.

But this crazy season couldn’t end quietly. After a clash with Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi sent his Williams into the wall at the exit of the 19th turn, right after the hotel… With 5 LAPS TO GO, on the 53rd lap, the Safety Car!

And Lewis Hamilton still didn’t pit, unlike Max Verstappen, who switched to the soft tires! Chaos and waiting behind the Safety Car. A moment of hesitation from the FIA, who left the trailing drivers (Norris, Alonso, Ocon, Leclerc, Vettel) between the two aliens, until the 56th lap.

In the rush, the race management took the decision to restart the race on the 57th lap, even though the entire pack had not caught up with the leader, as required by the regulations. A restart for one lap, the final one of the 22 Grand Prix races in a record-breaking season.

The climax of the season was therefore here: the pinnacle of Max Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the LAST LAP of the 2021 season. With worn tires, the British driver couldn’t do anything to defend against the Dutch driver’s first attack, in turn 5: Verstappen reclaimed the lead of the Grand Prix!!!

Deprived of the DRS, due to the regulation, Hamilton embarked on a final last stand in the long straight. Impossible for the Brit, falling victim to several zig-zags from Verstappen, who raced away towards his dream’s end!

” The climax of the season: the pinnacle of a pass by Max Verstappen on Lewis Hamilton in the LAST LAP of the year 2021.”

Max Verstappen is thus crowned the world champion of drivers! Mercedes is crowned the constructors’ champion!

Behind the Verstappen-Hamilton madness, Carlos Sainz clinches the podium, his 3rd in 2021 with Ferrari. 4th under the checkered flag, Yuki Tsunoda achieves the best result of his career by overtaking Valtteri Bottas on the last lap, just like Pierre Gasly, who finishes 5th. Behind them, Bottas finishes his final GP with Mercedes in 6th place. Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Charles Leclerc complete the last top 10 of the 2021 Formula 1 season.

The complete ranking of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.