Max Verstappen took the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi this morning, closing out the season and the 2021 F1 world driver's championship. Lewis Hamilton finished P2, as Carlos Sainz completed the podium. Mercedes solidified its place as the constructor's championship winner.
Max Verstappen dominated qualifying on Saturday ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris completing a surprise lap for P3. Verstappen qualified on the soft compound tire which proved an apprehensive decision for the Red Bull team. Nikita Mazepin was the only driver who didn't start, due to catching Coronavirus prior to the race. Hamilton and Verstappen went into Abu Dhabi with even points.
Verstappen got a horrible start allowing Hamilton into the lead, as Norris ran wide from P3 yielding the place to Sergio Perez. Verstappen stuck onto the back of Hamilton's car, and between Turns 6-7 lunged to retake the lead and made contact with the Mercedes. Hamilton went wide and cut through a large portion of the race track to keep the lead. No investigation was necessary, according to the Stewards.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz worked his way into P4 behind Norris, as Sebastian Vettel passed teammate Lance Stroll on the inside at the end of the back straight. Verstappen pitted for hard tires on Lap 13 and as he exited the pits Charles Leclerc shot past him off the track, losing P6 to Yuki Tsunoda. Leclerc duly regained the place on the same lap.
Sergio Perez Backs Up Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton pitted and emerged behind Perez, who defended from Hamilton for as long as he could, reducing Verstappen's gap to1.5 seconds. Eventually, Hamilton passed Perez, who provided DRS for Verstappen allowing him into P2. Verstappen ultimately couldn't match Hamilton's pace and lost ground after only a few laps. Lap 27 saw Kimi Raikkonen retire from his final F1 race from brake failure to massive applause from the crowd in celebration of his career. George Russell followed suit for a technical issue and retired from the race.
Valtteri Bottas' final race for Mercedes was quiet until his pit stop put him down in P9. He struggled behind Leclerc's Ferrari for a few laps but eventually passed him on Lap 35. Antonio Giovinazzi had to retire his Alfa Romeo on Lap 36, inciting a virtual safety car. Verstappen pitted for a new set of hard tires and Hamilton stayed out. When the virtual safety car ended, Verstappen started a charge on brand new tires, with Lewis on tires that were 25 laps old. Fernando Alonso and Tsunoda had a spat on Lap 40 when Alonso ran himself off the track trying to pass Tsunoda on the inside before the back chicane. By Lap 42 it was Hamilton and the Red Bulls in the top 3 from Carlos Sainz, with Norris in P5 and Bottas close behind in P6.
Lap 53 saw Nicholas Latifi crash his Williams into the wall, inciting a safety car with just 5 laps to go. Perez had to retire from the race under the safety car, handing Mercedes the constructor's trophy. The safety car came in with one lap to go and Hamilton leading from Verstappen, who overtook Hamilton after a few short corners. Hamilton tried to take it back but Verstappen defended and took the checkered flag to win his first ever world driver's championship.