AND THE F1 CHAMPIONSHIP GOES TO....
Posted by Osaka Outlaw on
words by Rich Nguyen(@osaka.wolf)
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After a long year, the duel between Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen has come to an end. This season has been one of the greatest in the sport's history and the title race went down to one of the most insane final laps possible, and as always there will be some involved third-party antagonist: whether it's the F1 officials, and there inconsistency or some new rule on the track.
On Sunday, the season finale in Abu Dhabi, ended with Max Verstappen taking home the F1 Championship, Red Bull's first driver championship since 2013, however there will always be the controversy between teams and F1 race stewards and F1 Race Director Michael Masi. In the race last ten laps, there has been a big uproar againist Michael Masi "Safety Car" protocols. Hamilton had all but won his record breaking 8th world title until Williams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers with only four laps left, this resulted in the safety car being called out.
It meant the race had to be restarted on the final lap, this allowing Verstappen to start almost side-by-side Hamilton, despite the Hamilton having established a healthy lead throughout the race. This lead to Hamilton staying on the old Hard Pirelli tires while Verstappen pulling in to the pits and changing for the "grippiest" tires.
There was controversy, as there has been throughout the season, but amid the controversy, Mercedes claimed an eighth consecutive constructors' championship and Max Verstappen taking home the F1 Championship for the first time after an extraordinary, controversial finish to the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.
Congrats to Max Verstappen and the Red Bull's Team for the fight of the year, we look forward to next year race calendar. Who do you have taking home the Championship next year?
F1 Drivers Ranking (2021)
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 395.5 pts
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 387.5 pts
• Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 226 pts
• Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 190 pts
• Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 164.5
• Lando Norris (McLaren) 160 pts
• Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 159 pts
• Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 115 pts
• Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) 110 pts
• Fernando Alonso (Alpine) 81 pts
• Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 74 pts
• Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) 43 pts
• Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 34 pts
• Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 32 pts
• George Russel (Williams) 16 pts
• Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo Racing) 10 pts
• Nicholas Latifi (Williams) 7 pts
• Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo Racing) 3 pts
• Mick Schumacher (Haas F1 Team) 0 pts
• Robert Kubica (Alfa Romeo Racing) 0 pts
• Nikita Mazepin (Haas F1 Team) 0 pts
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 395.5 pts
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 387.5 pts
• Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 226 pts
• Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 190 pts
• Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 164.5
• Lando Norris (McLaren) 160 pts
• Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 159 pts
• Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 115 pts
• Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) 110 pts
• Fernando Alonso (Alpine) 81 pts
• Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 74 pts
• Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) 43 pts
• Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 34 pts
• Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 32 pts
• George Russel (Williams) 16 pts
• Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo Racing) 10 pts
• Nicholas Latifi (Williams) 7 pts
• Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo Racing) 3 pts
• Mick Schumacher (Haas F1 Team) 0 pts
• Robert Kubica (Alfa Romeo Racing) 0 pts
• Nikita Mazepin (Haas F1 Team) 0 pts
F1 Constructors Ranking (2021)
• Mercedes (613.5) pts
• Red Bull Racing (585.5) pts
• Ferrari (323.5) pts
• McLaren (275) pts
• Alpine (155) pts
• AlphaTauri (142) pts
• Aston Martin (77) pts
• Williams (23) pts
• Alfa Romeo Racing (13) pts
• Haas F1 Team (0) pts
• Mercedes (613.5) pts
• Red Bull Racing (585.5) pts
• Ferrari (323.5) pts
• McLaren (275) pts
• Alpine (155) pts
• AlphaTauri (142) pts
• Aston Martin (77) pts
• Williams (23) pts
• Alfa Romeo Racing (13) pts
• Haas F1 Team (0) pts