Top five F1 drivers of 2021
Top five F1 drivers of 2021
By Charlie Bennett
It’s almost three weeks since Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to win perhaps the most controversial F1 World Championship in history – but they weren’t the only drivers to shine in 2021.
Verstappen is the new king of the road and Hamilton will have to find an answer to the Dutchman’s brilliance if he’s to regain the title, but there were 18 other drivers on the grid this season – some good, some not.
So, without further ado, here’s our top five drivers from 2021 and – spoiler alert – it includes a couple of familiar names on top.
1. Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen may divide opinion because of his no-holds-barred on-track manner, but there is no disputing his brilliance behind the wheel of a racing car.
For years, pundits and journalists have waited to see him and Lewis Hamilton go at it for the title and in 2021, the Dutchman finally had the car to do it.
Jenson Button already labels the 24-year-old as one of the best ever and he proved it in 2021 with a near-faultless season that may just be the best individual campaign any driver has ever put together.
Of 22 races, Verstappen won 10 times and was second a further eight. Victories in Emilia Romagna, France, Netherlands and USA were some of the finest drivers you are ever likely to see, while quite how he kept his composure and pulled off an overtake on the very last lap of the season to win the title is anyone’s guess.
Critics will say he’s too unpredictable – and unfair – in wheel-to-wheel racing and there’s no arguing he’s as clean as Hamilton.
But above all, Verstappen combines blinding pace, a fierce determination to win and belief that borders on arrogance. You don’t have to like the result, but there’s no disputing he’s a once-in-a-generation talent that’s here to stay for years.
2. Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton believes he is driving better than he has at any other point in his career, highlighting just how special Verstappen had to be to beat him.
Hamilton started the season brilliantly and won three of the first four races, but uncharacteristic mistakes began to creep in.
He threw away a win in Azerbaijan when he botched the re-start, made a tactical cock-up in Hungary and started badly in Italy. All three blunders cost him a haul of points.
However, when it really mattered, he was faultless. In Brazil, after two penalties, he somehow went from the back of the grid in the sprint race to win the main event, while in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, he was on another level to anyone else.
In Abu Dhabi, with the pressure really on and the title up for grabs, he did everything right in order to win the title before bad luck conspired against him.
By the time we get to Bahrain for the start of the new season, Hamilton will be 37 – but still at the very top of his game.
3. Lando Norris
His season might have petered out towards the end, but 2021 was further evidence that Lando Norris is the real deal.
For much of the season, the McLaren ace was third in the world championship standings, ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in far superior cars, thanks to podiums in Emilia Romagna, Monaco and Austria – where he hunted down and passed Lewis Hamilton.
Blindingly quick in qualifying and fearless in wheel-to-wheel combat, he was lavishly praised by Hamilton after their battle.
He dominated teammate Daniel Ricciardo all year long, though did have to play second fiddle to the Australian in Monza, when the pair finished first and second in a long-overdue win for McLaren.
It appeared Norris’ moment would come in Russia, when he clinched his first pole position and dominated the race. Hamilton chased hard but could do little about Norris until the rain came.
Norris decided to forge on with dry tyres and that proved a disaster, as he slid off the track, lost his lead and eventually finished seventh. It was a cruel end but a first win is surely not far away.
4. Carlos Sainz
Ferrari will say otherwise but the feeling on the grid was that they hired a reliable No.2 driver in Carlos Sainz to play second fiddle to Charles Leclerc.
As it’s turned out, Sainz is once again proving everyone wrong. The Spaniard finished with more points and podiums than his esteemed teammate and, though Leclerc suffered more bad luck, the pair were evenly matched all season long. No wonder Ferrari are already scrambling to offer Sainz a new contract.
Sainz has been underrated for all of his career, perhaps because he’s been paired with young drivers tipped for to be world champions in Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
But in 2021, the likeable 27-year-old proved he also has what it takes to contend with the very best.
5. Pierre Gasly
Two years ago, Pierre Gasly’s chances of becoming a top-tier F1 driver appeared to be over when he was dumped by Red Bull and sent back to junior team AlphaTauri.
But he’s been so good ever since, there is now serious talk he may get a second chance as Max Verstappen’s teammate in the not-too-distant future.
In F1, the only real measurement of success is how you fare against your teammate. In Gasly’s case, he was totally dominant.
The 25-year-old scored 110 points in 2021, with a podium in Azerbaijan the highlight, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda came home with 32.
In qualifying, Gasly was also mighty and consistently hovering around the top six. It’s been some comeback from a driver seemingly discarded by the elite.