Verstappen won the F1 World Championship for the first time, overturning Hamilton's rule

Reporter | Shi Yiying

On the evening of December 12, 2021 Beijing time, the 2021 Formula One World Championship (F1) ended at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

At the start of the 58th lap, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton started better, grabbing the lead at Turn One, and on The First Turn 6, two championship-winning drivers wheel-to-wheel clashed, and Verstappen forced Hamilton off the track after bending over the head. Hamilton got into the lead and the race decided that Verstappen had forced his opponent off the track, so Hamilton didn't have to return the position.

On the last lap, after the safety car withdrew, the new soft-tyled Verstappen, completed the kill against Hamilton, won the race and also won the driver's championship of the year this season.

F1 has entered the era of turbocharged power units since the start of the 2014 season, with Mercedes and Hamilton dominating the race for the past seven years, with Mercedes team completing the "seven consecutive titles" of the manufacturer's championship of the year. Hamilton won the Driver of the Year World Championship six times, reaching seven crowns in 2020, equaling the record of "car king" Michael Schumacher.

In the 2021 season, Hamilton and Mercedes teams suffered the most violent impact since the establishment of the dynasty, with Red Bull Racing and their Dutch driver Max Verstappen leading the drivers' standings for a long time.

After the end of the 21st stop in Saudi Arabia on the first weekend of December, Verstappen and Hamilton scored 369.5 points together to enter the final battle, while Verstappen overwhelmed Hamilton with one more victory. In other words, if the two end with zero points in the final match, Verstappen will win the world championship of the year with one more win.

This is the second time in F1 history that two drivers have entered the final battle by the same point: the last time it was traced back to 1974, Fedipalti and Regazzoni scored the same finale, but that year's final battle was a three-man competition, and Shukt was also competing for the title. In the end, Fedipalti won the driver of the year championship.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which debuted in F1 in 2009, is a fairly average track in every way, but overtaking is difficult, so the races have been a bit boring over the past few years.

The 2010 finale took place on the track, when Alonso, who was playing for Ferrari, lost the world championship of the year due to his inability to surpass Petrov, and Vettel and Red Bull Racing opened their "four consecutive championships" from 2010 to 2013.

In the past 12 races in Abu Dhabi, only once has a non-head starter won, and in the past five years, the winners here have been pole starting drivers.

The Yas Marina Circuit for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix introduces a new version of the track layout that is faster and more overtaking is expected.

Verstappen grabbed pole position in qualifying thanks to the low-pressure setting of Red Bull Racing and the wake of teammate Perez. Hamilton started second, McLaren's Norris in third place, Verstappen's team-mate Perez started in fourth place, Ferrari driver Sainz started fifth, and Hamilton's team-mate Bottas started in sixth place.

After grabbing the lead on the first lap, Hamilton was better paced over the long distance, while Red Bull Racing used number two driver Perez to block after a stop, helping Verstappen close the gap. On lap 37, Giovinaz's car stopped on the side of the track, the virtual safety car came out, and Verstappen came back into the station, hoping to use the updated tires to chase.

On lap 6 of the race, Latifi crashed and the safety car came out. Red Bull once again asked Verstappen to enter the station and put on a new soft tire. After the safety car exited, there was only one lap left in the race, and Verstappen completed the dead. Winning the race overturned Mercedes and Hamilton's long reign over the sport.

Verstappen is the only current F1 world champion after Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Vettel, the 34th world champion driver in F1 history and the first F1 world champion from the Netherlands.