Magazine: F1's 2021 title fight between Verstappen and Hamilton

This year’s F1 championship fight is arguably the best since 2012. Both teams and both drivers have made mistakes and pulled off some brilliant performances.

Since the pace of the Red Bull RB16B became obvious early in the year, many have had their money on Verstappen ending Hamilton’s run of titles. But, as Alex Kalinauckas shows in our cover feature, there are many factors that could swing the battle one way or another – and some of them are outside the drivers’ control.

As well as looking into the strengths and weaknesses of each team, we also consider Verstappen’s recent comments concerning it “not changing the world” if he doesn’t win the 2021 crown…

Another world championship contest that is still undecided is in rallying. A second consecutive strong performance from Elfyn Evans – second to Hyundai star Thierry Neuville – means he will go to the Monza finale with a chance of the WRC title. Tom Howard reports on how the rally was won and why points leader Sebastien Ogier seemed so muted.

One driver who does look on his way to securing another crown is Ash Sutton, who has a 32-point lead heading into Sunday’s Brands Hatch British Touring Car finale. Marcus Simmons catches up with him and finds out how he has bounced back from early career setbacks to become a tin-top great, and assesses the chances of Sutton’s challengers.

Jake Hill is one of those and he made his mark on last weekend’s Goodwood Members’ Meeting, defeating the V8 hordes to take victory in a Ford Capri. Marcus Pye was there to see it happen and pick out the many other highlights.

We also take a look back at the life of Jo Siffert, 50 years after the Swiss driver’s death at Brands. The Rob Walker Racing, BRM and Porsche star was a hard-charger and his spectacular style made him a fan favourite – we speak to some of those who knew him.

As ever, our bumper National section provides news and reports from around UK motorsport, including the British GT title decider at Donington Park and a truly remarkable entry for the 50th Formula Ford Festival later this month.

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