These have been the decisive moments in the championship between Hamilton and Verstappen
Realize for a moment: the time has come. We have a Dutch world champion in F1. For the first time EVER. A champion who has been preparing to take the cup since 1997. The youngest F1 driver ever just did it. And it wasn’t easy. Throughout the season, no one had more setbacks than Verstappen. Or well, not by yourself. Let’s take a look at Haas. Just a little look back at the defining moments of the 2021 F1 Championship. This is how Max Verstappen became world champion.
Max comes first in Monaco
The drivers were almost even in the first four races. Max took first place once and for the rest he finished second behind Lewis. In Monaco, Verstappen was able to make a nice catch up for the first time. Here he took first place while Hamilton finished in seventh place. Verstappen came in first place in the championship for the first time this season.
The blowout in Baku
In Azerbaijan, both drivers took zero points. You’d say that doesn’t matter much for the championship, but Max was well on his way to take first place and the maximum number of points. This time it was a blowout that caused Max to end up in the wall. With these points, the championship could have gone very differently.
Great Britain GP
In the race in France and the two races in Austria, Verstappen was able to extend his lead. In the three races he took the first place three times and the fastest lap time twice. Then came the tipping point. We don’t need to tell you what happened during Hamilton’s home game. Although he was in the hospital bed instead of on the podium, Max still got three points for winning the sprint qualifier. Hamilton finished in first place and got the full blow of points.
In Hungary Max loses the lead
Despite the disappointing result at Silverstone, Max was still at the top of the championship. That changed in Hungary. There, Bottas decided to explore other career options, in this case bowling. He knocked Max off the track. Hamilton finished there in second place and Max in ninth place. Although Max ‘wins’ in Spa (the match had no winners, certainly not among the spectators), Lewis remains at one.
Back in the lead in the Netherlands
This was perhaps the most beautiful F1 moment of 2021. For the first time in a long time there is another F1 race in the Netherlands and none other than the Dutch Max Verstappen takes the loot. This also puts him back in the championship lead. The next race, the two drivers clap at Monza, but Max does get two points for the sprint quality. In retrospect, crucial points for the championship.
Change penny and then the final sprint
In Russia Hamilton manages to crawl past Verstappen again with a few points. This is also the last time Lewis is in first place in the championship. From this point on, Verstappen leads in the standings, despite not winning all races. Only in Saudi Arabia does Hamilton catch up again and there the drivers are level.
But perhaps the most important moment was Latifi’s crash. The safety car allowed Max to get behind Lewis with soft tires and win the race. “Sometimes miracles happen,” Max said in the post-race interview with Jenson Button. We all know by now what happened in the race that followed.
