Max Verstappen on the Back Foot as 2021 F1 Season Draws to Epic Close
With just two races to go, the 2021 Formula One season has been what the kids would call a banger. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been heads and shoulders ahead of the competition, going at it and trading blows since the season opener in Bahrain, and there’s still no telling who will come out on top by the finale in Abu Dhabi next month.
Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing-Honda seemed to be the better car throughout the middle part of the season, but since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Hamilton’s Mercedes has made up the deficit, and perhaps gone one better. Certainly, the seven-time champion has had the fastest car at the last two races, and may have been faster at the U.S. Grand Prix as well, though Red Bull won that weekend on account of smart strategy and Verstappen’s excellent tire wear management.
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The two drivers are now separated by only eight points in the drivers’ championship, the first time it’s been this close since Rosberg took it to the line in 2016; and the two teams are separated by only five points in the constructors’ championship, which hasn’t happened in over a decade — at least not with just two races to go.
The upcoming race in Saudi Arabia is an unknown, as it making a first-ever appearance on the F1 calendar. (The sport’s totally woke slogan, “We Race As One,” really ought to be “We’ll Race Anywhere for Oil Money”). Unless Hamilton retires from the race, which isn’t likely, the score won’t be settled there but rather at the 22nd and final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen currently has the lead, but it’s hard to feel that the championship is still in his favor. Hamilton was disqualified from normal qualifying in Brazil, then earned a five-place grid penalty for changing his engine again, and still managed to win the race, such was the pace of his car. And at the most recent race in Qatar, Verstappen seemed to have no answer.
Even if he finishes second at the next two races, and grabs the fastest lap both times for an extra point, it still won’t be enough to hang on to the championship. In all likelihood, he needs one more race win to add to his tally of nine for the season. But Red Bull Racing is on the back foot at the moment. Let’s see if they can pull it off.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.