Manipulation of the rules by race director Michael Masi leads to Max Verstappen victory which felt more bungled than buoyantIf there was one thing there appeared to be universal agreement on before Formula One’s season decider in Abu Dhabi, it was that no one wanted the result of an enthralling championship to be decided in the stewards’ room. Inevitably four hours after the flag fell, wrangling with the stewards continued. It may well yet go on for days or longer. Fans were left with a dissatisfying conclusion that was hard to understand, confusing in its methodology and that has triggered only acrimony and rancour. There were celebrations in Abu Dhabi but outside of the Red Bull garage it was far...
Dutchman was handed a title lifeline on the final lap and then Mercedes’ legal challenges came to nothingShortly after the most chaotic and enthralling finish to a Formula One title in the sport’s history, Max Verstappen stood on top of his Red Bull car, fists pumping and shaking as if a lightning bolt was surging through him, before making a flying dismount, Frankie Dettori style. Who could blame him? Somehow, against the odds, he had muscled past Lewis Hamilton during a dramatic final lap shootout in the last race of 2021. A first world title was secured. Yet this thriller of an F1 season still had one final vicious twist to come.While the Dutch driver was celebrating, Hamilton’s Mercedes’ team...
The controversial conclusion to the championship in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix came at the end of a season of squabblingAn enthralling duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the season-opener hints at the controversy and drama that lies ahead. Verstappen starts on pole at the Bahrain International Circuit and a gripping strategic fight ensues in which Hamilton and Mercedes take the lead. Later running fresher tyres, Red Bull’s man hits back to pass Hamilton on lap 53, but leaves the track in doing so, and is immediately obliged to give the place back. Hamilton nurses his older tyres home, clinging on to win what he calls a “great battle”. Continue reading...
Mastering a ‘diva’ of a car demanded fresh application – and the battle with Max Verstappen is the most enthralling in yearsFor Lewis Hamilton the 2021 Formula One title race has been like no other. As it enters the final decisive phase, the world champion is in position to pull off perhaps the greatest achievement of his career. His fight with Max Verstappen has been an unmissable affair, but what has caught the eye is how Hamilton has fought to drag this mighty tussle into an enthralling endgame.Two races remain, with the first 20 yielding no clear advantage for either driver. A season that has ebbed and flowed between them, punctuated by brilliance, bad luck, conflict and drama, has seen...
Formula One finally has the title fight it has craved, with neither driver prepared to give an inch as they head to MexicoFormula One finally has the title fight it has craved, with blow and counter-blow. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are locked in a rivalry as gripping as some of the great head-to-heads and the intensity of a thrilling championship is set only to ramp up as Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix heralds a potentially nail-biting run-in to close the season.Hamilton and Verstappen have had two serious clashes this year, both life-threatening. Despite the risks, it is clear neither is going to yield any time soon in the heat of competition between two such singular and determined drivers. Continue reading...