The stage was set for an all or nothing season finale in Abu Dhabi with a modified layout. The previous 21 races of the 2021 season all came down to the FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2021, with the two championship contenders tied on points.
Off the line, Max Verstappen had a poor start, giving Lewis Hamilton the lead of the race before they arrived at the first corner. Things turned controversial in the turn 6 chicane. Verstappen made a very long lunge on the inside of Hamilton. Hamilton had take evasive action and cut the corner as Verstappen drove right to the outside edge of the circuit. The stewards noted the incident but ultimately decided that no investigation was necessary. They felt Hamilton had given back any advantage he had gained by the move and that Verstappen had forced him off the circuit.
With the lead of the race, Hamilton ran away with the lead of the race. Verstappen was first to pit for the hard tyres. He rejoined the race behind Lando Norris, but the McLaren driver was nursing a mechanical issue, so Verstappen made quick work of him.
Hamilton pitted the following lap to cover off any undercut by the Red Bull. He had built up enough of a gap to rejoin the race in P2 behind Sergio Perez.
Perez had his instructions as the team changed him to “plan B”. By lap 20, Hamilton caught up to the leading Red Bull, who was on soft tyres long past their prime. Hamilton cruised by Perez with DRS down the long back straight, but Perez lunged up the inside into turn 6, taking back the position. Hamilton had a better run out of the chicane and got by Perez momentarily, but the Mexican fought back again down the straight, once again wrestling the position from Hamilton.
The following lap, Hamilton again got by Perez with DRS down the long back straight. This time, he was sure to cover off the inside of turn 6, forcing Perez to go around the outside of turn 6, which Perez was unable to do. Perez quickly dropped back behind Verstappen, who was now 1.1 seconds behind Hamilton after his teammate had closed the gap by 5 seconds.
Perez’s superb team play was ultimately pointless though, as Hamilton immediately started to pull away again in the lead of the race with clean air. Within 10 laps, he was a comfortable 5 seconds in the lead again.
Kimi Raikkonen’s final race was cut short on lap 27 with a brake issue. The Iceman locked the rear axle in turn 5 and spun, tapping the barrier. He was able to reverse the car a crawl back to the pit lane, but the team opted to retire the car and Raikkonen had to settle for a standing ovation from the crowd on the pit straight.
A few laps later, Antonio Giovinazzi’s final race was also cut short. He parked up on the outside of turn 9 near an escape road. The virtual safety car was deployed to allow the marshals to safely remove the stricken Alfa Romeo.
With no answer for the pace of the Mercedes, Red Bull decided to pit both of their drivers for new hard compound tyres under the VSC. Mercedes left Hamilton out on the track, fearing a pit stop who cost them vital track position. The cheap stop put Verstappen 20 seconds behind.
When the race resumed, Verstappen was making solid progress, but as the laps ticked down, the gains decreased and it was looking like it would be an impossible challenge for the Red Bull driver.
Just when it was looking like it would take a miracle for Verstappen to win the race, the safety car was deployed. Nicholas Latifi crashed heavily into the barriers are turn 13 on lap 53. Red Bull took this opportunity to pit for new soft tyres, while Mercedes stayed out.
With not many laps remaining, there was much debate about whether or not the lapped cars would be allowed to overtake the safety car, which could make or break Verstappen’s title chances. The original call from race control was that the lapped cars would not be able to overtake the safety car, which was a call made to ensure that 1 lap of racing would be held at the end.
However, in a last-minute decision, race control decided to allow the 5 lapped cars separating the championship rivals overtake the safety car just corners from the restart. It was a decision that’s surely to be a controversial point of discussion for the weeks to come.
Verstappen was ready to fight for the position, driving side-by-side with Hamilton as the safety car went to the pit lane and Hamilton took control of the pace. Hamilton got away well on the restart in turn 13. It was a shoot out to the finish.
The race-deciding move was made in turn 5, as Verstappen made a clean lunge up the inside for the race lead. With no DRS enabled after the safety car, Hamilton was not able to regain the lead down the long back straight, although he certainly tried. The duo were wheel-to-wheel down the next straight, but Hamilton was not able to make a move around the outside of turn 9.
With not main overtaking opportunities in the last sector of the circuit, Hamilton had to settle for a P2 both in the race and the championship. It was Max Verstappen who came out on top at the end of what has been a thrilling season and tight championship battle. Verstappen wins his first ever World Drivers’ Championship title.
Despite their best effort, Red Bull was not able to secure the World Constructor’s Championship, with Sergio Perez retiring from the race under the safety car only a few laps from the end of the race. Mercedes took the constructors’ prize.
In 98 days, it will be a new season with new cars, new tyres and a new circuit, but hopefully with an equally as intense championship battle.
Update: Mercedes have launched a protest with the FIA over the safety car restart. Their complaint is that Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton under the safety car and that the proper procedure was not followed when allowing lapped cars to overtake the safety car.
Update: The FIA dismissed both of Mercedes’ protests. The race results and championship results stand as originally reported.
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| Race Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Verstappen | 25 | |
| 2 | L. Hamilton | 19 | |
| 3 | C. Sainz | 15 | |
| 4 | Y. Tsunoda | 12 | |
| 5 | P. Gasly | 10 | |
| 6 | V. Bottas | 8 | |
| 7 | L. Norris | 6 | |
| 8 | F. Alonso | 4 | |
| 9 | E. Ocon | 2 | |
| 10 | C. Leclerc | 1 | |
| 11 | S. Vettel | ||
| 12 | D. Ricciardo | ||
| 13 | L. Stroll | ||
| 14 | M. Schumacher | ||
| DNF | S. Perez | ||
| DNF | N. Latifi | ||
| DNF | A. Giovinazzi | ||
| DNF | G. Russell | ||
| DNF | K. Raikkonen | ||
