F1 Awards: Best driver, best race, best moment, best newcomer, most improved
F1 Awards: Who are the big winners in 2021?
As 2021 draws to a close, it’s awards season – and in F1 there are plenty to be dished out.
Max Verstappen landed the biggest prize of all by beating Lewis Hamilton in all-time classic of a season to become the first Dutch driver to be crowned world champion.
But there are plenty of other awards to be handed out, so let’s get cracking.
BEST DRIVER – MAX VERSTAPPEN
Who else?
How the season ended may have left a bitter taste for many but Verstappen was as innocent as Hamilton on the last lap and winning his first world championship is just reward for one of the greatest individual seasons ever.
That might be a bold statement but in 22 races, Verstappen finished first or second a staggering 18 times. Of the four he didn’t, he was helpless when his tyre blew at 200mph in Azerbaijan, causing him to crash out from the lead. In Silverstone, luck was not on his side when he came together with Hamilton on the first lap and crashed into the wall – an incident the stewards deemed Hamilton’s fault. In Hungary, he could do nothing about Valtteri Bottas crashing into him at the first corner, causing major damage to his car and forcing him to settle for ninth. That means the only incident he can be blamed for was his coming together with Hamilton in Italy, when both retired.
It was, therefore, a near faultless season. Yes, the pressure of the title race was so extreme come the end and chinks did appear in Verstappen’s armour. It looked at one stage that he was willing to risk an accident to keep Hamilton behind and his driving was slightly reckless in wheel-to-wheel-combat.
But wins in France, when he chased Hamilton down and passed him with a couple of laps left, in the Netherlands, where he handled the pressure of competing in front of 100,000 expectant locals at his home race and won, and the USA, where he won brilliantly in an inferior car that, will always stand out.
After eight years of Hamilton dominance, F1 has a new king.
BEST RACE – HUNGARY
Once a season, F1 conjures up an unexpected winner in an all-time classic.
2021’s moment came in Hungary, in a race that had it all from the very start when Valtteri Bottas sparked a first corner pile-up by smashing into Sergio Perez, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll.
Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo also suffered damage and the race was immediately red flagged, giving the emerging Budapest sunshine enough time to start drying the track.
Just before the re-start, every driver bar race leader Hamilton decided to pit for dry tyres, leaving the Mercedes as the only car on the grid and creating a surreal image that will surely hang in the F1 museum.
Hamilton’s strategy was badly wrong and when he eventually did stop for faster tyres, he emerged at the back, his chances of winning almost up in smoke.
He valiantly fought his way through the field but Fernando Alonso gave a defensive driving clinic and kept the Brit behind long enough for his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon to win his first ever race.
BEST MOMENT – LAST LAP, ABU DHABI
Love it or hate it, the last lap of the last race of the season will go down in F1 folklore.
The head-to-head battle between Verstappen and Hamilton – level on points heading into the weekend – looked like a damp squib for much of the 58 laps.
Hamilton was coasting to victory when the Williams of Nicholas Latifi crashed into the wall late on, and the safety car emerged.
That allowed Verstappen, struggling in second, to put on fresh tyres just in case the race was re-started and – sure enough – the race director, Michael Masi, permitted the race to re-start with one lap to go.
The lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were controversially cleared out of the way, and Verstappen was right on his rival’s tail for the one-lap shoot-out.
Even though he had the fresher tyres, it was a masterful final lap from the Dutchman, who attacked Hamilton from the off, passed him brilliantly and then held him off to win.
Mercedes complained the re-start procedure was unfair and they have a point, but take nothing away from Verstappen – who won the title in the most incredible fashion.
BEST NEWCOMER – MICK SCHUMACHER
There were only three rookies in F1 and none of them pulled up any trees.
At AlphaTauri, Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda was hyped up as the next Max Verstappen in pre-season and – at times – he was blindingly quick.
But too many errors made this an up-and-down campaign and next season he will be under pressure to show he’s learned from his many mistakes.
The other newbies were teammates at back-markers Haas, a car so slow it brought up the rear at almost every race.
Russia’s Nikita Mazepin arrived with a bad reputation after lewd video emerged of him groping a woman in a car, and things were hardly any better on the track. He was consistently slow and totally dominated by his teammate Mick Schumacher. Ridiculed on social media, it was a year to forget for the debutant.
The gap between them was colossal and Schumacher seems to be on his way to the top, with Ferrari grooming him for a race seat in 2024. However, how much can we really judge the German after one season in an awful car?
Haas expect to be quicker next season, so only then will we see how good he really is.
MOST IMPROVED - CARLOS SAINZ
Sebastian Vettel left Ferrari with his tail between his legs after being soundly beaten in both of his seasons alongside future star Charles Leclerc.
The four-time champion scampered to Aston Martin and was replaced by Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard seemingly snapped up to be Leclerc’s very capable understudy.
Well, the final drivers standings show Sainz beat Leclerc by 5.5 points and scored four podiums to his teammate’s one.
Leclerc did bear the brunt of the mechanical problems this season but Sainz was still quick enough to suggest he’s far more than a No.2 driver.
Ferrari hope to be back at the front competing for race wins next season. If they are, then they may have two drivers in the title fight.
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