Photo: Honda
When Max Verstappen’s tire exploded at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it seemed like the young Dutchman’s title hopes had taken a big hit. Instead, rival Lewis Hamilton nearly put his Formula 1 car in the wall and three wins later, Verstappen’s championship challenge is looking rosy.
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From late June to early July, F1 partook in what it calls a triple header — a period of three consecutive race weekends. Despite protests by team personnel, these extended periods of racing are only likely to get more common. The first F1 triple header was in 2018; there are three more to go in 2021 alone, travel restrictions allowing.
Though F1 team members don’t like to spend over three weeks away from their families as they hop from one country to the next, the season’s first triple header was an extremely fruitful one for Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. The former grabbed 77 out of 78 available points while the latter collected 114 out of 138, both extending their leads at the top of the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, respectively.
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At the moment, the pair look poised to dominate the rest of the season — but fortunes can turn around quickly in F1 and it must also be said that Red Bull’s streak of victories might be slightly flattering the car. After all, the racing was close in Azerbaijan and France, and though Verstappen crushed the opposition at the Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix, both of those races took place at his team’s home circuit, one where Red Bull has historically been strong anyway. In fact, nobody in F1 has won there more often than Verstappen.
The next F1 race will be at Silverstone, typically one of the best circuits for both Mercedes and Hamilton. The former will also bring upgrades to take the fight back to Red Bull as the season approaches its halfway point. If Mercedes have a good showing, it could signal a championship battle that will go down to the wire. If Red Bull manages to extend its winning streak at Silverstone, Mercedes may well decide to abandon its 2021 challenge and fully divest its resources to the new 2022 regulations.
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.
