How Perez's Hamilton defiance was vital to Verstappen's Abu Dhabi triumph

Max Verstappen won the 2021 Formula 1 world championship in a thrilling final lap showdown with Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull man's new tyres leaving his Mercedes rival defenceless. Amid much controversy over the late restart, an earlier piece of team play that delayed Hamilton would have lasting consequences

“It sums up the season a little bit.”

Max Verstappen was laconically commenting on Mercedes’ decision to protest – on two separate grounds – his victory in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which handed him world title glory over Lewis Hamilton on the road. But considering all the race contained, the 90 minutes of action around the Yas Marina track were really the entire season in microcosm.

There was a passing controversy involving the title contenders, Red Bull and Mercedes furious with the FIA at separate points, amazing racing between Hamilton and Sergio Perez, tyre tactics and silly crashes. It really had all we’d seen before, plus new episodes that will live forever in F1’s memory and will be hotly debated in person, on the toxic wastelands of social media and, surely, in the courtroom.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.