As we are all eagerly await the start of the 2022 season, it’s time we looked back and basked in the glory of the 2021 season – one of the most thrilling of all time, with more than its fair share of drama and controversy.
Pre-Season Testing
F1’s pre-season testing in 2021 took place in Bahrain from 12th to 14th March. And let’s just say that it was no less entertaining than a grand prix weekend. Even though we can’t compare the teams directly due to their varying testing regiments, the burning rivalry between them is on display right from the get-go.
Over the 3-day testing period drivers impressed with their pace and endurance completing 100s of laps on a dusty track and windy conditions right after a sandstorm. Day 1 was perhaps relatively straightforward whereas day 2 and 3 already had drivers racing and fighting for track position, 7-time world champion Lewis and many others losing control and spinning and Perez’s engine cover ripping itself off the car, revealing the inner workings of the new Honda engine inside.
On the whole Lewis and Max performed as well as expected but the Ferraris, McLarens and Alpha Tauris really impressed placing in the top 10 consistently with Gasly and Tsunoda showing off the Honda engine’s power.
Max vs Lewis
Max’s great performance during the 2020 season and Red Bull’s massive improvements to their car over the winter break had many fans on the edge of their seat at the prospect of a close title fight between Lewis and him. And maybe break Mercedes’ 8-year long dominance in the turbo-hybrid era of F1. But holy smoke, did nobody expect it to come down to the last race!
The pair shared the first 2 places on the podium a whopping 14 times, the lead of the championship changed hands several times over the season, and they went into the last race on level points (369.5). And on top of close races, we were also treated to a dramatic finish in the Azerbaijan GP and controversial races from the first race in Bahrain to the title decider in Abu Dhabi with the British, Italian, Brazilian and Saudi Arabian GPs in between, which all ended in a social media war between fans where everything from Max’s aggressive driving style to Lewis’ safety concerns while winning and lack thereof when losing were criticized. But at the end of the day, when the racing was over Max won his maiden world championship and Lewis will need to try again to clinch his record-breaking 8th title.
Rising Stars
Although Max and Lewis’ title fight took centre stage with the two racing alone, upfront and on another level compared to the rest, we did witness some special performances from F1’s rising stars – Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, George Russel and most notably Esteban Ocon.
In 2021 Esteban Ocon became the 111th unique grand prix winner at the Hungaroring – Hungarian GP. Hamilton’s teammate Bottas brought out the red flag by arriving too fast into the first corner and into the back of Lando Norris’ car, creating a cascade of crashes which took Leclerc, Stroll, Perez, Lando and Bottas out of the race and dealing damage to many more including Verstappen’s Red Bull.
For the race restart by which time the track had dried up, Mercedes chose to keep Lewis out on intermediate tyres while everyone else behind him dove into the pit for a set of dry tyres, and the fans witnessed a bizarre “lights out and away we go for Hamilton only” who started from the grid while the rest started from the pit lane. And in correcting the decision Hamilton dropped to P14 while he was in the pits and fought his way back brilliantly to the front only to be held back by Alonso who defended like a lion for his teammate – Ocon’s sake who was in P1. Eventually Hamilton made it past Alonso to P3 behind GP winner Ocon and runner up Vettel with Verstappen finishing P10 – unable to recover due to damage to the aero parts of his car. Vettel’s result was also just plain sad, as even after finishing P2, he was disqualified as his car didn’t have the minimum 1 Litre of fuel remaining in his tank for inspection – as required by the regulations which meant Sainz in P4 was now on the podium.
Lando’s day at Sochi on the other hand, did not go his way. After a masterclass qualifying session, Norris started P1 on the grid and lost the position to Sainz on lap 1 and outbroke him on lap 13 to retake 1st place. But towards the end of the race rain covered half the track in water but left the other half dry. The question was whether to finish in slicks (dry tyres) or pit for inters. Lando chose slicks while Hamilton and Verstappen chose inters. With tears in my eyes, I regret to inform you inters were the right choice and Hamilton won his 100th race and Max finished 2nd and Norris was relegated to P7. Although not a desirable finish for Norris, he showed up what he’s capable of and his race win will come – it’s just a matter of when.
While on the subject of first race wins and when it shall come, Saturday man and Mercedes bound George Russel continued to impress with his qualifying performance in a Williams amongst Red Bulls and Mercedes. And as a reward for his P2 qualifying result at Spa at the Belgian GP George finished P2 for a half points podium finish after 2 laps under the safety car and heavy rain before it was declared by Michael Masi that the race will not resume.
Speaking of race director Michael Masi – he, in my opinion received more screen time than Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly, which doesn’t really reflect his performance. Gasly’s performance in the 2021 season was splendid even if it went under the radar. He rarely missed getting to Q3 and consistently finished P10 or above throughout the season and even took P3 in Azerbaijan and P4 multiple times. Hopefully he can perform even better in the coming seasons and is able to make his way back to a Red Bull, so he has a chance to fight for the world title.
The Only 1 – 2 Finish
The 2021 season saw the disappearance of a Mercedes 1 – 2 finish every other race and as a matter of fact the only 1 – 2 finish of the season came from McLaren at the temple of speed – Monza, Italian GP with Daniel taking his first P1 since Monaco 2018 and Lando finishing P2.
All in all, the 2021 F1 season was one of the most magnificent ever, making past seasons seem boring in comparison. We have certainly been spoiled by the sheer amount of entertainment this season has provided. I am sure fans around the world can’t wait to see if the 2022 season can live up to its predecessor. And the massive change in regulations have undeniably made it possible – So, here’s to a another glorious and hopefully less controversial 2022 F1 season.