Max Verstappen overtook great rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the final race of the breathtaking 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship season to win his maiden title as a late safety car at Yas Marina brought unbelievable drama to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Verstappen started on pole position with Mercedes‘ Hamilton in second place and it was the British driver who got past him on the opening lap to put the Dutchman on the back foot from the outset.
Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez did Verstappen a huge favour with around a quarter of the race gone by taking the lead on pit stops and then holding up Hamilton for what proved to be crucial time.
Red Bull Racing Honda tried different pit-stop strategies to get the edge over Mercedes, however, it looked like it was not going to be enough heading into the final laps even with a virtual safety car following Antonio Giovinazzi’s decision to pull his Alfa Romeo up by a dangerous bend.
When the Williams car of Nicholas Latifi crashed into the wall, though, the safety car came out with around five laps left and gave Verstappen the chance to attack Hamilton on fresher soft tyres with just one lap left.
Verstappen saw one final chance and overtook the seven-time champion into Turn 5 and hold off one last Hamilton lunge en route to the finish line and a dramatic maiden F1 title – the first Dutchman to win one.
Verstappen won his maiden title in his seventh F1 campaign, after a ferocious 22-race fight with reigning champion Hamilton. This head-to-head battle produced a season for the ages. By the end of it, after Verstappen took 10 victories, 10 pole positions and 18 podium finishes, the Dutchman becomes Red Bull’s second world champion, after Sebastian Vettel annexed the title for four straight years from 2010-13.
Red Bull’s title ends Mercedes‘ seven-year run that coincides with the introduction of the 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid era from 2014, while he becomes the 34th world champion in F1 history dating back to 1950.
It is the first title for Honda since Ayrton Senna won the 1991 crown and comes in the engine manufacturers‘ final race with the team.
Verstappen, 24, said: „It is unbelievable. The whole race I kept fighting and then that opportunity in the last lap. It is incredible. I am still having a cramp (in his leg). It is insane. These guys (fans in the stands), my team and, of course, at home as well they deserve it. I love them so much and I really, really enjoy working with them since 2016 but this year has been incredible. Finally a bit of luck for me. I also want to say a big thank you to Checo (Sergio Pérez), he was driving his heart out as well. It was great teamwork and he is an amazing teammate. To my team, I think they know I love them, and I hope we can do this for 10, 15 years together. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. I hope they let me. I am so happy. Christian (Horner) and Helmut (Marko) trusted me to be in the team. Our goal was to win this championship and now we have done that.“
Quelle: Red Bull Racing
Du muss angemeldet sein, um einen Kommentar zu veröffentlichen.