2021* Formula One World Championship — Collision Course
The 2021 season began not as another year of dominance, but as a duel — elemental, violent, and pure.
Two men, born fourteen years apart, representing two philosophies of racing:
Lewis Hamilton, the master of control; Max Verstappen, the weapon of instinct.
For the first time since 2016, Mercedes had a true rival.
For the first time in the hybrid era, Red Bull had built a car that could fight.
The Mercedes W12 was a technical evolution, relentless but fragile in aero balance.
The Red Bull RB16B, shaped by Adrian Newey’s wind, danced on the edge of physics.
And so began one of the greatest — and most controversial — championship fights in Formula One history.
Round 1 — Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir, 28 March 2021)
Under the desert lights, the stage was set.
Verstappen’s Red Bull took pole by 0.4 seconds — a symbolic changing of the guard.
But on race day, Hamilton and Mercedes out-thought them.
Verstappen passed Hamilton with four laps to go, but exceeded track limits. Ordered to return the position, he could not repass.
Hamilton won by 0.745 seconds — an omen of what was to come.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+7 over Verstappen)
Round 2 — Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix (Imola, 18 April 2021)
Rain soaked the circuit where Senna once ruled.
Verstappen bullied his way past Hamilton at the start, carving through the spray to lead.
Hamilton slid off mid-race, kissed the barrier, and reversed back onto track — then charged from ninth to second after a red flag.
Verstappen’s first win of the year was a statement of intent.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+1 over Verstappen)
Round 3 — Portuguese Grand Prix (Portimão, 2 May 2021)
The duel tilted back to silver.
Hamilton, patient and calculating, passed Verstappen and Bottas on track — no strategy, no weather, just brilliance.
It was clinical dominance.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+8 over Verstappen)
Round 4 — Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona, 9 May 2021)
Mercedes struck with intellect.
Verstappen led early, but Mercedes switched Hamilton to a second stop — a masterstroke.
He hunted Verstappen down, overtook with six laps to go, and sealed another.
Chess on asphalt.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+14 over Verstappen)
Round 5 — Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo, 23 May 2021)
Monaco belonged to the red and blue.
Charles Leclerc crashed in qualifying, never started, and Verstappen led from pole to claim victory — his first at the principality.
Hamilton finished a muted seventh.
For the first time, Verstappen led the World Championship.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+4 over Hamilton)
Round 6 — Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku, 6 June 2021)
Mayhem on the Caspian streets.
Verstappen dominated — until a tire failure hurled him into the wall at 200 mph.
Hamilton, inheriting the restart, locked up at Turn 1 and ran straight on.
Sergio Pérez won for Red Bull, Vettel second for Aston Martin, and both title contenders left pointless.
Drama, disbelief, and delight in equal measure.
Winner: Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+4 over Hamilton)
Round 7 — French Grand Prix (Paul Ricard, 20 June 2021)
Red Bull hit back with brains.
Verstappen executed the same two-stop strategy Hamilton had used in Spain — and beat him with it.
He passed Lewis with two laps remaining, victory by irony.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+12 over Hamilton)
Rounds 8 & 9 — Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix (27 June & 4 July 2021)
At Red Bull’s home, domination.
Verstappen won both races, untouchable — three straight wins, a 32-point lead, and Mercedes looked shaken.
The championship pendulum swung decisively.
Winners: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) x2
Fastest Laps: Verstappen (Round 8), Norris (Round 9)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+32 over Hamilton)
Round 10 — British Grand Prix (Silverstone, 18 July 2021)
The duel reached ignition.
Verstappen led the sprint race; Hamilton attacked on Lap 1 of the Grand Prix.
At Copse Corner, the two touched — Verstappen crashed into the barrier at 180 mph, 51G impact.
Hamilton received a 10-second penalty but still won after overtaking Leclerc late.
Verstappen was bruised, furious; Red Bull called it “dangerous driving.”
A rivalry became a war.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+8 over Hamilton)
Round 11 — Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring, 1 August 2021)
Chaos at Turn 1.
Bottas rear-ended Norris, triggering a chain reaction that destroyed both Red Bulls.
Esteban Ocon took a brilliant maiden win for Alpine, Hamilton recovered to third and regained the championship lead.
Verstappen finished tenth with half a car.
Winner: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Fastest Lap: Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+6 over Verstappen)
Round 12 — Belgian Grand Prix (Spa, 29 August 2021)
Rain and farce.
After hours of delay, two laps behind the Safety Car were enough to classify a result — the shortest race in F1 history.
Verstappen was declared the winner; fans were refunded months later.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: N/A
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+3 over Hamilton)
Round 13 — Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort, 5 September 2021)
Orange smoke, thunderous applause, and destiny at home.
Verstappen led every lap, immaculate in pressure, as his country stood behind him.
A weekend of total control.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+3 over Hamilton)
Round 14 — Italian Grand Prix (Monza, 12 September 2021)
They collided again — this time in the air.
After slow pit stops for both, Hamilton and Verstappen met at Turn 1.
Verstappen’s car landed atop Hamilton’s, the halo saving Lewis’s life.
Both retired.
Daniel Ricciardo led McLaren to its first win in nine years.
Winner: Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Fastest Lap: Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+5 over Hamilton)
Round 15 — Russian Grand Prix (Sochi, 26 September 2021)
Rain in the final laps turned a certain Lando Norris victory into heartbreak.
Hamilton switched to intermediates and stole his 100th career win — a record once thought unreachable.
Verstappen, from last to second, kept the title alive.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Lando Norris (McLaren)
Championship Lead: Hamilton (+2 over Verstappen)
Round 16 — Turkish Grand Prix (Istanbul Park, 10 October 2021)
Verstappen drove with restraint, Hamilton with rage.
Bottas won his only race of the year, Verstappen finished second, and regained the lead.
Hamilton’s late tire gamble backfired — a rare miscalculation.
Winner: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+6 over Hamilton)
Round 17 — United States Grand Prix (Austin, 24 October 2021)
The fight of inches.
Hamilton attacked all race, Verstappen held firm by tire preservation alone.
They crossed the line separated by 1.3 seconds — respect through rivalry.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+12 over Hamilton)
Round 18 — Mexican Grand Prix (Mexico City, 7 November 2021)
Red Bull domination.
Verstappen overtook both Mercedes at Turn 1, controlling the race as Pérez made history — the first Mexican driver to finish on the podium at home.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+19 over Hamilton)
Round 19 — Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos, 14 November 2021)
Hamilton’s defiance.
Disqualified from qualifying for a DRS infringement, starting 10th in the race — he carved through the field to overtake Verstappen for the lead with 12 laps left.
It was one of the greatest drives in modern F1 — power, poise, and fury combined.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+14 over Hamilton)
Round 20 — Qatar Grand Prix (Losail, 21 November 2021)
Hamilton untouchable again.
He led every lap, Verstappen salvaged second, and the gap narrowed to just 8 points.
Three races remained.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Championship Lead: Verstappen (+8 over Hamilton)
Round 21 — Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah, 5 December 2021)
Chaos incarnate.
Three red flags, collisions, and acrimony.
Hamilton and Verstappen collided again after a bizarre “brake test” incident.
Hamilton won, Verstappen penalized — both tied on points heading to the finale.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Championship Standings: Tied (369.5 each)
Round 22 — Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina, 12 December 2021)
Hamilton led calmly for 57 laps — his eighth title seemingly secure.
Then Nicholas Latifi crashed, triggering a Safety Car.
Race Director Michael Masi allowed only five lapped cars (those between Hamilton and Verstappen) to unlap — a breach of FIA procedure.
Verstappen, on fresh softs, overtook Hamilton on the one-lap restart.
Red Bull celebrated; Mercedes protested.
The championship was over — the controversy was not.
Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
World Champion: Max Verstappen*
Postscript: The Breach and the Reckoning
The 2021 World Championship ended under a shadow that has never fully lifted.
The FIA’s subsequent report confirmed a “human error” and procedural breach in the Safety Car process during the Abu Dhabi finale.
The rules had not been applied correctly.
While the result stood, the FIA overhauled race control entirely, removing Masi and changing the system of authority.
Months later, the sport faced a second reckoning.
In October 2022, the FIA formally announced that Red Bull Racing had breached the 2021 cost cap regulations, exceeding the spending limit by approximately $2.2 million USD.
Red Bull accepted responsibility under the “Accepted Breach Agreement,” receiving a fine and aerodynamic testing restrictions.
While not retroactive to the championship result, the ruling confirmed what many already believed — that Red Bull had gained an unfair advantage during the year of Verstappen’s maiden title.
The combination of procedural failure and regulatory breach stained what might have been one of Formula One’s greatest seasons.
World Drivers’ Champion: Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 (Red Bull RB16B)*
Constructors’ Champion: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 🇩🇪 (W12 EQ Power+)
(*Title result stands but remains disputed historically and ethically due to confirmed procedural and financial rule breaches.)
📚 Sources & References — 2021 Formula One World Championship
Primary Historical Records
Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) — 2021 Official Results & Abu Dhabi Inquiry Report (March 2022).
Formula One Management (FOM) — 2021 Season Archive. Lap charts, communications logs, race director notes.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (Brackley, UK) — internal analysis of FIA race control communications, December 2021.
Red Bull Racing Technical Reports (Milton Keynes, UK) — RB16B development records, Accepted Breach Agreement (Oct 2022).
Contemporary & Period Publications
Motor Sport Magazine (2021–22 Issues) — “The Duel,” “The Breach,” and “Abu Dhabi: A Broken Finish.”
Autosport / Motorsport.com (2021–2022) — technical coverage, strategy breakdowns, and FIA post-season review.
BBC Sport — “FIA Admits Human Error in Abu Dhabi,” and “Red Bull Found in Minor Cost Cap Breach.”
The Guardian (UK) — “How F1’s Rule Breach Changed the Title,” “Hamilton’s Silence,” “The Cost Cap Fallout.”
L’Équipe (France) — “La Finale du Chaos,” “Le Plafond Dépassé.”
Financial Times — “The Cost of Glory: Red Bull’s 2021 Breach and the FIA’s New Economics.”
Books & Longform Analyses
Mark Hughes. The Duel: Hamilton vs Verstappen. Haynes, 2023.
Ross Brawn & Adam Parr. Total Competition (Updated Edition). Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Andrew Benson. Abu Dhabi 2021: The Rule Broken. BBC Books, 2023.
Documentaries & Audio-Visual Sources
Netflix. Drive to Survive, Season 4 (2022). Episodes: “Redemption,” “The Gloves Are Off,” “Unraveling Abu Dhabi.”
Sky Sports F1. Season Review: The Duel of the Century.
FIA Heritage Series. 2021: Collision Course.
BBC Panorama. The Cost Cap Breach: What Red Bull Admitted.
