Magazine: F1's Abu Dhabi finale and Autosport Top 50

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the 2021 F1 season in a microcosm. We had wheel-to-wheel battling, track-limits drama, the pendulum between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton swinging back and forth – and some baffling decisions from those running the race.

Alex Kalinauckas explains how and why it unfolded as it did in our in-depth report of Verstappen’s historic title success, and puts forward another way race director Michael Masi could have run the final stages and perhaps kept everyone happy.

The post-race fallout from the late decision to allow the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen past the safety car leads the Pit and Paddock international news section, which also includes our tribute to American racing legend Al Unser, who died last week aged 82.

We normally have a few weeks between the end of the F1 season and our Top 50 list of the best drivers of the year, but the 2021 calendar means our rankings appear in the same issue as the finale.

The 2021 list is the 20th edition of Autosport’s Top 50 and we’ve had the traditional tough challenge of picking out the best performers from the season across F1, the World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, IndyCar, Formula E and many other categories. Take a look at our 26-page special to see who made the cut and where they slotted in.

Four drivers who could be making it onto future versions of the list are still waiting to see who will win this year’s Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award and scoop £200,000. We hear from Ollie Bearman, Jonny Edgar, Louis Foster and Zak O’Sullivan ahead of the announcement on 6 February.

There’s also all the usual National news from UK motorsport, including the latest details on the new-for-2022 British F4 machine, while Tom Howard reports on the F2 finale in Abu Dhabi, where Australian Oscar Piastri took his third consecutive junior single-seater crown.

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