We arrived at a historic Sunday, with two geniuses tied on point, and we ended up experiencing something that exceeded all expectations and that no one who has experienced it will ever forget. On the last lap of the Abu Dhabi GP after a Safety Car that changed everything, Verstappen won the battle against Hamilton with a winning overtake and a fierce position defense to take his first title in extremis , becoming the 34th world champion of history
Hamilton had Verstappen the wallet at the start and, when the Dutchman tried to retake the lead at Turn 7 with a limit brake, the Englishman ended up holding the lead off the track.
In a maneuver that many times this year (the last one just a week ago) had been resolved by asking the driver who skipped the corner to return the position, this time the FIA decided that there was no need to intervene, and the protests of Max Verstappen and Red Bull were in vain: Hamilton held the first position.
However, Formula 1 always has more, it always surprises, it always amazes, and an accident with Nicholas Latifi in the last laps changed everything. The hard blow made the Safety Car come out, which Verstappen took advantage of to put in for the third time and put on soft tires . The wait was long and finally, after retiring the Williams and cleaning the track at Yas Marina, with just one lap to the checkered flag, the action resumed.
There Verstappen smelled blood and launched himself inside Hamilton in an overtaking that was worth a world championship. The seven-time champion tried to return it later but the #33 was not surprised and stoically endured until the finish line.
That was the third difficult moment that Hamilton experienced since the controversy of the first lap. The first was when he caught up with Checo Pérez , who after the leaders’ first pit stop was in first place. The Mexican, with a slower car and worse tires, held out in a tough battle for two laps, and although that allowed his teammate Verstappen (who praised Checo’s teamwork assuring that he is “a legend”) to approach, nothing prevented Let Hamilton go first.
The second moment appeared when an Antonio Giovinazzi retirement in his last weekend in Formula 1 caused a Virtual Safety Car that Verstappen took advantage of to make his second stop. Thus, in the last 20 laps the Dutchman had fresh tires to get closer to his rival, but not enough to even threaten first place.
However, the final blow was still missing, the Safety Car that brought the peloton together and allowed Verstappen to overtake to become the first Dutch F1 champion.
Before the restart, and during the safety car, Sergio Pérez had to leave due to a breakdown, and Carlos Sainz, who had a race without much action but with great pace, took advantage of it to get third with his fourth podium in his year of racing. debut with Ferrari, his sixth in Formula 1, and take fifth place in the drivers’ championship.
F1 Abu Dhabi GP 2021 Race Results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 |
58 | 1:30’17.345 | 26 | ||
| 2 |  |
 |
58 | 1:30’19.601 | 2.256 | 2.256 | 18 |
| 3 |  |
 |
58 | 1:30’22.518 | 5,173 | 2,917 | fifteen |
| Four |  |
 |
58 | 1: 30’23.037 | 5.692 | 0.519 | 12 |
| 5 |  |
 |
58 | 1: 30’23,876 | 6,531 | 0.839 | 10 |
| 6 |  |
 |
58 | 1:30’24.808 | 7.463 | 0.932 | 8 |
| 7 | |
 |
58 | 1:31’16.545 | 59.200 | 51.737 | 6 |
| 8 | |
 |
58 | 1:31’19.053 | 1’01.708 | 2.508 | 4 |
| 9 | |
 |
58 | 1:31’21.371 | 1’04.026 | 2.318 | 2 |
| 10 |  |
 |
58 | 1:31’23.402 | 1’06.057 | 2.031 | 1 |
| see results | |||||||
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Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
F1 Abu Dhabi GP 2021 Race Summary
Verstappen started worse than Hamilton and lost the lead on the way to the first corner, while Pérez and Sainz surprised Norris. However, the two candidates for the title would meet again at turn 7, after the straight in which the Dutchman tried to take advantage of the slipstream of the British.
The Red Bull rider launched from far away, but staying inside, and after touching Hamilton cut the corner to come out ahead. However, despite the fact that he was expected to be asked to return the position and the lead to his rival, the FIA decided that no investigation was necessary and Hamilton, despite Max’s anger and everyone’s surprise, remained first.
Also, despite starting with mediums, Hamilton had the pace to stay ahead and actually pull away, and so the laps went by without much action either at the front or in the middle. Verstappen was already four seconds behind by lap 10 and Pérez was calmly holding on to third place without being able to help his teammate.
Red Bull puts Verstappen and Mercedes in Hamilton, first stops in Abu Dhabi
On lap 14, Verstappen made his pitstop to install hard and go all the way. He rejoined the track after Norris and very little ahead of a Leclerc who had to skip a corner to avoid taking the #33 ahead, losing position with Tsunoda at times.
Verstappen was able to quickly pass Norris, who was struggling with his gearbox, and Mercedes reacted by bringing in Hamilton on lap 15, leaving Perez in front, with Hamilton second, Sainz third and Verstappen fourth.
The title candidate lost time for three laps behind Sainz (it didn’t happen until lap 18), while Red Bull warned Pérez that Hamilton was second. The pace of the Mercedes was devilish and it didn’t take long to hunt down Checo, arriving within a shot of DRS on lap 20.
Checo Pérez’s great defense in Abu Dhabi and Hamilton regains first place
There Pérez, with a much slower car, managed to withstand Hamilton’s attacks, returning the first overtaking, and resisting harshly for two laps. He was ultimately unable to hold off Hamilton, but managed to get Verstappen, who was eight seconds behind before that battle, to within two when Perez, outmatched by Hamilton, stepped aside and let his leader pass.
But with clean air, Hamilton for the moment proved to have a superior car, and tenth by tenth he distanced himself. From behind the stops continued to occur, leaving Bottas third and Alonso fifth, both still without making their pitstop. On lap 26, Raikkonen spun in which he touched the wall, and when he returned to the box his team informed him that he had to leave, ending his last Formula 1 race beforehand. A peculiar guy is leaving and a brilliant pilot.
Almost at the same time, George Russell suffered another problem in his Williams and became the second retirement of the day.
Bottas finally stopped on lap 31, dropping to ninth between Leclerc and Tsunoda, leaving Alonso fourth and Sainz sixth. The Finn began to chase down Leclerc, who despite a sensational defense eventually had to give up to a faster car and newer tyres.
Virtual Safety Car in Abu Dhabi and Verstappen’s change of strategy
On lap 36, Antonio Giovinazzi had to stop his Alfa Romeo for a breakdown, which instituted a Virtual Safety Car period. Hamilton sat out and Verstappen decided to go in and fit new hard tyres. Pérez also made his pitstop and Alonso and Gasly finally changed their old tires.
Alonso had a tough battle with Tsunoda fighting for seventh place. And despite the fact that the Spaniard gained the position at times by going off the track, the Japanese recovered that place by using the DRS.
Then, Alonso saw how Gasly also overtook him with a superior AlphaTauri, while ahead Verstappen cut Hamilton’s time lap by lap with fresher tires, although not enough as both were dodging lapped.
Lando Norris suffered a slow puncture and had to make a second stop, leaving Sainz fourth and Bottas fifth.
Drama after the Safety Car in Abu Dhabi
There were six laps remaining when Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams after a mistake on lap 14 and caused the safety car to go out. While Hamilton protested that Mercedes did not stop him, Red Bull did bring Verstappen in and equipped him with soft ones. That left a movie ending, with the two rivals stuck and the Red Bull with new tires… and soft.
While we waited for the restart, the energy drinks team had to ask Checo Pérez to withdraw the car, which gave Sainz the podium.
And the end of the story arrived. Verstappen was patient enough to wait for the turn 5 braking, the clear point where to overtake, and go ahead to be champion.
