Max Verstappen

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be discussed, analysed, and argued about for as long as Formula 1 is discussed, analysed, and argued about. Going into the final race, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were tied on 369.5 points — the first time in Formula 1 history that the championship had gone to a finale with drivers equal on points. Hamilton led the race from the start, managing a comfortable gap while Verstappen ran a strategic alternative that did not appear to be working.

With five laps remaining, Nicholas Latifi crashed and the safety car was deployed. The next minutes — the decisions made by race director Michael Masi about which lapped cars could unlap themselves, and in what order — remain among the most controversial in the sport's regulatory history. The outcome was that Verstappen, who had pitted for fresh soft tyres under the safety car, restarted directly behind Hamilton, who was on tyres more than forty laps old. One racing lap remained.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton at Turn 5 on the opening lap of the restart, held the position through the remainder of the circuit, and crossed the finish line as the 2021 Formula 1 World Champion — his first title, and by the most dramatic, most debated margin in modern memory. Hamilton, on fresh tyres with five fewer laps of rubber than Verstappen, had no answer. The reaction from Mercedes was immediate: a protest that was ultimately rejected. The championship result stood.