The 2021 Formula 1 season centred on two drivers who will prove to be legendary: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The two battled for the championship in a titanic duel, filled with drama, incidents, and controversy.
In the end, Verstappen took home the honours, winning the first world championship of his career at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, passing Hamilton on the final lap of the season to take the title away from the seven-time world champion.
However, the race - and the result - was riddled with controversy created ultimately by race director Michael Masi.
With the 2022 season now underway, what’s next for the rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen? Where did it all begin? And what happened to Masi?
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How many Grand Prix has Lewis Hamilton won?
Lewis Hamilton began his F1 career in 2007 with McLaren, and he was brilliant from the get-go, picking up his first race win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. His rookie season saw him win four times and fall short of the title by one point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Since then, Hamilton has won a race in every season he has competed in, between 2007 to 2021, and has broken many records in his successful career. The Brit surpassed Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, and broke the 100-win barrier at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix – the only driver to ever have done it.
Prior to the 2022 season, Hamilton has a total of 103 race wins, with 103 pole positions, 182 podiums, and 59 fastest laps to his name.
How many Grand Prix has Max Verstappen won?
Max Verstappen, son of former Formula 1 driver Jos, started his elite career in 2015 at the age of 17 – the youngest driver ever to start in the class. He impressed in his debut season with Toro Rosso for his aggressive overtaking manoeuvres. Prior to the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull Racing and won on debut for the team, becoming the youngest driver to win a race at 18 years old.
Over the years with Red Bull, Verstappen has matured and clocked up more wins. His 2021 championship-winning season was, obviously, his strongest, with a total of 10 wins, finishing on the podium 18 times – a Formula 1 record. Currently, Verstappen has 20 wins to his name, alongside 60 podiums, 13 pole positions, and 16 fastest laps.
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How many world championships has Lewis Hamilton won?
Hamilton is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most world championships in Formula 1, with seven titles each. Hamilton has won one title at McLaren in 2008, and six with Mercedes in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
| Year | Team | Total Points | Race Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | McLaren | 98 Points | 5 |
| 2014 | Mercedes AMG | 384 Points | 11 |
| 2015 | Mercedes AMG | 381 Points | 10 |
| 2017 | Mercedes AMG | 363 Points | 9 |
| 2018 | Mercedes AMG | 408 Points | 11 |
| 2019 | Mercedes AMG | 413 Points | 11 |
| 2020 | Mercedes AMG | 347 Points |
11 |
How many world championships has Max Verstappen won?
Verstappen has won one world championship, infamously at Abu Dhabi in 2021.
| Year | Team | Total Points | Race Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Red Bull Racing | 395.5 Points | 10 |
What happened between Hamilton and Verstappen in Abu Dhabi?
Going into the final race of the 2021 season, both Verstappen and Hamilton were tied on points in a winner-takes-all finale. In the final laps, Hamilton held the lead, with a large gap to Verstappen in 2nd place.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed at turn 14 to bring out the safety car. Verstappen reacted by pitting for fresh soft tyres whilst Hamilton stayed out on ageing hard tyres.
As the laps ticked down, the stewards originally planned to have no lapped cars pass the safety car, unlike the normal procedure. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner asked why lapped cars weren’t allowed to pass. On the penultimate lap, race director Michael Masi decided to allow lapped cars through, but even more controversially, only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Immediately after Sebastian Vettel passed the safety car, the stewards announced the safety car would come in to allow one final lap of racing. On the last lap of the race and the season, Verstappen used his new tyres to his advantage and passed Hamilton at turn 5.
The Dutchman held off counterattacks by Hamilton to claim the world championship, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff angrily radioing to Masi over the decision. Masi responded: "It’s called a motor race. We went car racing."
🧐 @Max33Verstappen at 24 🆚 @LewisHamilton at 24 tells a story.
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 UK 🇬🇧 (@sportingnewsuk) March 19, 2022
💨 An @F1 career accelerating at pace...📈 pic.twitter.com/vftOyY8haX
What happened to Michael Masi?
Michael Masi, the FIA race director, was heavily criticised following the events of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, by fans and by Mercedes, for violating safety car procedures. Mercedes protested the result after the race, but the protest was dismissed, and Verstappen kept the race win and the championship.
However, the FIA then conducted its own investigation into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After the inquiry was concluded, newly-elected FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem confirmed Masi was removed from his position as Formula 1’s race director after a restructure to the stewarding within the sport, but that he would be offered a new role within the FIA.
The Hamilton vs. Verstappen rivalry: a timeline of crashes, incidents and more
May 5, 2016: Verstappen joins Red Bull Racing, replacing Daniil Kvyat ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
May 15, 2016: Verstappen wins his first Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver to ever win a race. Hamilton retired on the first lap following a collision with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
September 6, 2016: Hamilton supports Verstappen on his aggressive race craft: "Firstly, give a guy a break, he’s 18 years old. What the frickin’ hell were any of us doing at 18?"
October 1, 2017: Verstappen and Hamilton duelled for the race win for the first time at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Verstappen passed Hamilton early on and held his ground to take the second victory of his career.
October 21, 2018: In the final laps of the 2018 United States Grand Prix, Verstappen in P2 held back Hamilton as the Brit was attempting to pass in a bid to claim his fifth world title. Hamilton failed to pass but won the championship in the following race, in Mexico.
May 26, 2019: With Hamilton in the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix, but on old medium tyres, Verstappen was close behind for the entirety of race. The Brit struggled with his tyres fading away, but thanks to the twisty streets of Monaco and great defending from Hamilton, Verstappen failed to pass.
August 4, 2019: Hamilton and Verstappen battled during the Hungarian Grand Prix. On lap 48, Hamilton rolled the dice and changed tyres whilst Verstappen stayed out. Hamilton chased down his opponent for the win, passing the Dutch driver on lap 66 to take an incredible victory.
November 15, 2020: Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championships by winning the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix. In a season which Verstappen had approached with huge fanfare and confidence, he offered relatively little competition, winning just one race before the clincher.
March 28, 2021: Verstappen and Hamilton battled for victory at the season opener in Bahrain. Verstappen illegally passed Hamilton off-track on lap 53 but gave the place back to the Mercedes driver. Verstappen couldn't deliver another move in time, allowing Hamilton to start 2021 with a win.
April 18, 2021: At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen shut the door on Hamilton for the race lead at the start, forcing Hamilton off-track and their first collision of many over the 2021 season. Verstappen would go on to win the race.
May 9, 2021: During the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton repeated a similar tactic to his victory at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, making an extra stop and chasing down Verstappen on fresher rubber. He was successful and claimed the win.
July 4, 2021: Verstappen claims victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, rounding off a hat-trick of race wins. His success in Austria was also his first grand slam (pole, win and fastest lap) whilst Hamilton could only manage 4th place in the race.
July 18, 2021: On the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, with the Dutchman having won the Sprint race a day prior, Hamilton and Verstappen battled hard for the race lead. Arriving at Copse Corner with Verstappen in the lead, Hamilton with more speed closed on the Red Bull driver and was on the inside of the corner.
The two then collide, sending Verstappen into a high-speed crash, but he escaped with no injuries. Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty, but pulled back after the restart to win his home race with three laps to go.
September 12, 2021: Hamilton and Verstappen would collide twice during the Italian Grand Prix, the first coming on lap 1 where Verstappen forced Hamilton wide. Midway through the race, Hamilton left the pits with Verstappen down the main straight. The two entered the opening chicane side-by-side, before Verstappen was launched into the air by the kerbs, with the rear of his car landing on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Both retired because of the incident, with Verstappen getting a three-place grid drop for the next race. Hamilton was saved from serious injury by the halo. When asked about the incident, Hamilton responded with "he obviously knew he wasn't going to make the corner - and he drove into me."
November 14, 2021: In the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton chased down Verstappen after starting P10 following a disqualification in qualifying and a P20-to-P5 finish in the sprint qualifying. Verstappen forced Hamilton off-track when defending for the lead, with the stewards handing out no penalty to the Red Bull driver. Hamilton eventually passed anyway for the win.
December 5, 2021: At the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted a pass on Verstappen for the lead, but was forced off by the Red Bull man, who remained in the lead. The stewards requested Verstappen to give the place back, but in doing so, Hamilton crashed into the back of Verstappen before the final corner - with Verstappen being accused of "brake testing" through his unusual movement.
Hamilton eventually passed Verstappen and won the race, putting both drivers on equal points going into the final race of the season. After the race in Jeddah, Hamilton accused Verstappen of driving "over the limit". Verstappen responded: "I can be aggressive, but from my side it is controlled aggression. I like to race hard."
December 12, 2021: In the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen and Hamilton fought for the world championship in one of the most-anticipated F1 weekends in history. Hamilton got ahead of pole-sitter Verstappen from the off, and then the two very nearly collided on turn 9 in a frantic opening lap, with Verstappen edging ahead.
Hamilton was forced off the track, and ended up regaining 1st because of it, but was not asked to hand the place back. Hamilton eventually built a phenomenal lead and looked to be easing to the title, though Sergio Perez did duel well with the reigning champion after a pit stop to help his Red Bull teammate.
With Verstappen needing a miracle, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed at turn 14 to bring out the safety car. Verstappen reacted by pitting for fresh soft tyres whilst Hamilton stayed out on ageing hard tyres. As the laps ticked down, the stewards originally planned to have no lapped cars pass the safety car, unlike the normal procedure. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner asked why lapped cars weren’t allowed to pass.
On the penultimate lap, race director Michael Masi decided to allow lapped cars through, but even more controversially, only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen. Immediately after Sebastian Vettel passed the safety car, the stewards announced the safety car would come in to allow one final lap of racing. On the last lap of the race and the season, Verstappen used his new tyres to his advantage and passed Hamilton at turn 5.
The Dutchman held off counterattacks by Hamilton to claim the world championship, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff angrily radioing to Masi over the decision. Masi responded: "It’s called a motor race. We went car racing."
December 16, 2021: Verstappen received his world championship trophy, after the appeal from Mercedes over the result of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was withdrawn. Hamilton didn't attend the FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony.
March 19, 2022: The official FIA report on the incident is released to the world. It admits there was a "human error" in the final lap, yet also claims the result is "valid" and that Masi acted "in good faith". The report did not offer any apology to Hamilton or Mercedes, though the Brit stated he "wasn't expecting" one.
