2021 F1 Season
22 races · Red Bull RB16B
The 2021 season is, for many, the most thrilling and agonising of recent decades. At last a rival emerged capable of taking on Hamilton's Mercedes: Max Verstappen and a competitive Red Bull. The duel ran, point by point, across the twenty-two races of the year.
It was a no-holds-barred battle, complete with on-track collisions — Silverstone, Monza — two opposing driving philosophies and mounting tension between the two teams. Both arrived level on points at the final round, unheard of in modern history.
The finale in Abu Dhabi was the most controversial in memory: after a late safety car, race director Michael Masi applied the rules in a disputed manner and allowed Verstappen, on fresh tyres, to pass Hamilton on the last lap and snatch the title. An ending that changed the regulations and marked a turning point.
Drivers' Champion
Max Verstappen
Red Bull RB16B
Constructors' Champion
Mercedes
22 races
Key moment
"Abu Dhabi final lap: Masi allows lapped cars to overtake. Verstappen passes Hamilton. Champion."
What if 2021 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2021 grid — every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating — and re-ran the full 22-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappenreal championRed Bull | P1.2 | 78% |
| Lewis HamiltonMercedes | P1.8 | 22% |
| Valtteri BottasMercedes | P3.4 | 0% |
| Sergio PerezRed Bull | P3.6 | 0% |
| Lando NorrisMcLaren | P5.1 | 0% |
| Charles LeclercFerrari | P6.2 | 0% |
Max Verstappen takes the title 78% of the time: one in every 5 simulated championships goes to somebody else, almost always Lewis Hamilton. It was not a dominated year, it was a won one.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2021 championship-winning car?