FRIDAY FEATURE: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought out an epic F1 championship battle but the season was tainted by its ending

A record 21 races took place in the 2021 edition of the Formula 1 with an epic title fight that went down to the very last lap. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?

So then why did Mercedes protest the ending? Why is everyone so mad at the FIA? TIBS News takes a look at the season-long title battle between seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and the new F1 champion, Max Verstappen.

Instant controversy in Bahrain

It started with a bang in the Bahrain desert. Hamilton beat Verstappen by just seven-tenths of a second. It was a last lap showdown, sound familiar? Verstappen attempted a move on Hamilton but ran too wide and gave the place back. But there was controversy in the race with the FIA at the centre of attention, sound familiar?

Hamilton was being warned on team radio by his race engineer Pete Bonnington to stop using a line at the exit of Turn 4 which saw his car go beyond the red and white kerb during the race. Now that line had been deemed illegal for practice and qualifying, but according to the Race Directors’ Notes wouldn’t be monitored during the Grand Prix.

But then Verstappen had passed Hamilton for the lead in the move I mentioned using the same wide Turn 4 line. But he was told he’d had to give the position back to Hamilton. It was a daunting insight into what was to come from Michael Masi and the FIA.

Verstappen responded by beating Hamilton to win at Imola. Hamilton then took the chequered flag at the next two races in Portugal and Spain.

Red Bull reel off five-straight victories

Then came a turning point in the championship where a Red Bull won the next five races. A poor qualifying saw Hamilton start in seventh at Monaco and an even worse strategy saw him finish in the exact same position. Meanwhile, Verstappen took advantage of Charles Leclerc’s qualifying crash to win the Monaco Grand Prix with ease.

A tyre failure for Verstappen and a ‘brake magic’ failure saw both championship protagonists out of the points in Azerbaijan – with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez winning.  

Verstappen then overtook Hamilton with two laps remaining at the French Grand Prix to claim Red Bull’s third win on the bounce. Verstappen then took both of the double header in Austria, the latter seeing Hamilton only finishing fourth.

Verstappen-Hamilton relationship turns sour

That would be it for the friendly competition as, at the British Grand Prix, it turned toxic.

Going into Copse corner, neither Hamilton or Verstappen wanted to back out. It led to Verstappen in the wall and Hamilton, only, with a 10-second penalty. Hamilton would recover and overtake Leclerc for race victory. 

A wild and wet start to the Hungarian Grand Prix saw five drivers eliminated on the first lap, as Valtteri Bottas locked up and wiped out Lando Norris and Perez – as well as hitting Verstappen. 

Hamilton had made it through unscathed, but Mercedes misjudged track conditions at the race restart, keeping Hamilton out for the standing start on intermediates as the entire rest of the field pitted for mediums. I implore you, if you haven’t seen it, to look up the picture of Hamilton on the grid by himself, it’s hilarious.

Stout defence by Fernando Alonso allowed fellow Alpine driver Esteban Ocon to win the race with Hamilton in second and Verstappen in ninth.

Damp squib in Spa

Another FIA controversy took place in Spa where it was hammering down with rain. Fans waited for hours for a race. But all we got was two laps under the safety car and half points based off the result off qualy, which saw Verstappen in first, George Russell in second and Hamilton in third.

It was easy for Verstappen in his home race of Zandvoort, cruising to a 20-second victory over Hamilton.

Then in Italy, the two championship contenders collided, Verstappen ending on top of Hamilton. Most intriguingly, McLaren took the only one-two of the season with Daniel Ricciardo taking his first win since 2018.

In Russia, rain at the very end cost Norris a victory which both Hamilton and Verstappen took advantage of to keep the gap between each other close.

A 10-place engine penalty and poor wet-to-dry strategy for Hamilton cost him ground as he could only manage fifth at Turkey. But Verstappen couldn’t take advantage, being beaten by Bottas to the race win.

Last-lap showdown in Texas

Differing tyre strategies at the United States GP brought it down to another last-lap battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, but the Red Bull held on to dear life with fading tyres to extend his slim championship lead.

In Mexico, Verstappen’s Red Bull was clearly the better car and the Dutch driver cruised to a 16-second win to extend his lead to 19 points.

It was the opposite in Brazil, as Hamilton and his Mercedes were the class of the field. Starting in 10th, due to a weekend that included a rear wing infringement and an engine change, Hamilton breezed through the field in Sao Paulo to bring the gap down back down.

Qatar was a breeze for Hamilton; but it was the final two races of Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi that people would like to forget as soon as possible.

Drama in Jeddah

In Jeddah, both drivers pushed each other off the track multiple times. But Verstappen took it a step too far. Complaining from both of the pit walls continued throughout a red flag. 

On Lap 37, Hamilton had his nose ahead but Verstappen braked late and prevented his rival from leading. The Red Bull ran off track and retained the lead but was soon instructed to give it back. So, he slowed on the back part of the circuit – only for Hamilton to get caught off guard and clip the rear of his car, taking wing damage too. Hamilton would win the race to go to the last race tied on points, but no one was happy.

The most controversial of all F1 finales

Nicholas Latifi’s crash at Abu Dhabi brought out the safety car and brought out one of the weirdest application of rules ever seen. Masi allowed some of the lapped cars to unlap themselves under the safety car so we could get one lap of racing. Which lapped cars you ask? The ones who were in between Hamilton and Verstappen. 

The rules state that either no lapped cars pass or all lapped cars pass. But Masi as race director, believed (and still does) that he can overrule anything he wants. 

Verstappen on fresh tyres, overtook Hamilton, who was on old tyres, to win the race and the championship. Mercedes, rightly, felt robbed and protested the race result.

The protest was dropped later on by Mercedes but many of their fans have stayed angered by the result. 

It was not the way Verstappen probably wanted to win the championship, but he was more than deserving.

But Hamilton is also right to feel cheated, as the rules were bended, which stopped him winning a record-breaking eighth championship.

Changes needed for 2022

The rules need to be changed. They need to be made clearer. We need to put in a system where the race director cannot just decide what to do himself, it needs to be written what he can do. A race director should apply the rules, not make them up.

An epic championship battle tainted. But not just by Masi. 

The constant complaining and begging from Christian Horner and Toto Wolff (among others) has been nothing short of annoying. I wonder if Verstappen and Hamilton have dreamt of them just shutting up. 

The fanbases as well, have ruined this.

It’s an ending to forget. It’s a season to forget for the FIA. I hope we get a year without controversy next time out. Hamilton versus Verstappen, mainly so I don’t have to remember what happened this year.

Congratulations to Verstappen. This won’t be your only one, you’ll be back. You’re that good.

By Charlie Parker