F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Max Verstappen becomes first Dutch F1 World Champion
12th December 2021F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Max Verstappen becomes first Dutch F1 World Champion
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has secured the Formula One world drivers championship in Abu Dhabi to become the first Dutch World Champion!
How the race unfolded
It was a fantastic start from Hamilton who claimed the lead of the race into the first corner. However, Verstappen made a lunge into the sixth corner and forced Hamilton wide and the seven-time world champion had to cut the seventh corner.
However, Hamilton maintained his position and the stewards deemed that there was no investigation necessary. It was deemed that the Mercedes #44 had given up the advantaged he had gained – after Verstappen forced Hamilton wide.
By lap seven, Hamilton remained out in front of both Red Bull’s with a two-second gap over his championship rival, Verstappen. By lap 13, the gap was extended to five seconds.
Verstappen made his first pit stop on lap 14 of 58, as the Dutchman swapped his worn soft, red-stripped, tyres for the hard, white-stripped, compound tyres. The #33 Red Bull returned to the track behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, which meant the Dutch Red Bull sat fourth.
Hamilton responded to Verstappen’s pit stop and swapped his yellow-stripped mediums for the hard tyres. The Briton then returned to the track behind the Mexican Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
While Verstappen pitted on lap 14, Perez was left out to dry in an attempt to hold up Hamilton. On lap 20, Hamilton made a move into turn six but Perez put up a worthy fight to regain his lead in the race, which he did. However, a lap later, Hamilton managed to make the move stick into turn six.
After the tough battle, the seven-time world champion’s gap was cut down to one second from his title-rival.
Kimi Raikkonen, in his final F1 race, damaged his front wing on lap 27 after he made contact with the barrier. It was believed there was a braking issue in the outgoing Finn’s car. The issue was terminal and the #7 Alfa Romeo brought his career to an end in the pits.
However, Raikkonen wasn’t the only driver to suffer with terminal issues as the Williams’ of George Russell lost power going down the back straight. The Briton, who will be driving for Mercedes in 2022, was forced to retire in the Williams pit box.
Another terminal issue was revealed in the Abu Dhabi GP as Antonio Giovinazzi was forced to retire on the exit of turn nine. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed as the Marshal’s removed the #99 Alfa Romeo. During that time, Verstappen pitted for a set of fresh hard compound tyres during the brief stoppage.
The race got back underway on lap 38 and Hamilton had a lead of over 17 seconds of his title-rival.
There was another twist into the latter stages of the Abu Dhabi GP as Nicholas Latifi crashed out on lap 53 on the exit of turn 14. Verstappen pitted for a set of fresh soft tyres while Hamilton stayed out to maintain track position. The safety car returned to the track at the end of lap 57.
Hamilton tried with his best efforts to keep Verstappen behind him but the #33 Red Bull made a move into the fifth corner to steal the lead away from the #44 Mercedes. As a result, the Dutchman gained the lead and defended his lead to become the first Dutch driver to become the 2021 Formula One World Champion.
Podium:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull (2021 F1 World Champion)
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari.
That’s it for the article: F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Max Verstappen becomes the first Dutch F1 World Champion! What did you think of THAT final lap? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula One here:
- F1 Abu Dhabi Qualifying: Max Verstappen on pole in title decider
- F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Lewis Hamilton wins in Jeddah after contact with Max Verstappen
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.