I’ve had this written down for a while, so let’s just get straight to it.
22. Belgium (not sure this really counts)
This was not even a race. Yes, George got on the podium (not legitimately but a podium‘s a podium) but it was overshadowed by bad decisions made by the FIA over the course of the Saturday and Sunday. Fans deserved a refund.
21. Saudi Arabia
I hate this track; the only reason it isn’t last is because Spa wasn’t a race. An awful track – red flags, big crashes, those conversations between Red Bull and Michael Masi, you name it. (There’s also the big crash in the F2 race) That race was dangerous from the moment the lights went out.
20. Bahrain
As season openers go, it wasn’t the most exciting. Only things I can remember are Lewis winning, him battling with Max and the battle between Seb, Carlos and Fernando. Oh, and the confusion around track limits at Turn 4.
19. Styria
Not much happened. Lap 1 incident between Pierre and Charles, and George just about missed out on Q3. Oh, and it was a basic HAM-VER-BOT.
18. Great Britain
I love this track, it’s my home track, and there was a good battle between Daniel and Fernando during both the Sprint and the race itself, with a very good drive from Charles in both events too. However, the weekend was ruined by the Lap 1 incident between Max and Lewis, not to mention the reactions from the people at Red Bull and the racial abuse Lewis had to endure as a result.
17. Turkey
It was not an overly exciting race, but it was nice to see Valtteri win again. And props to Esteban for lasting all race on the same tyres. Great recovery drive from Carlos too.
16. France
Again, not the most exciting of races (the French GP never is though really). However, Pierre, Lando and Daniel all had a good race. Also, Max, Lewis and Checo were on the podium together for the first time in 2021 (first time ever actually).
15. Spain
This was a great weekend for Lewis, as he won for the 98th time after starting from pole for the 100th.
14. Portugal
A pole position for Valtteri, a win for Lewis, and a points finish for Daniel despite being eliminated in Q1. It was a good weekend.
13. Imola
All things considered, this was a fantastic race. Lewis on pole, Max winning, the two of them going wheel-to-wheel, even the big incident between George and Valtteri at a time when there was already growing speculation about their fates for the 2022 season. However, there were elements of the remaining races that make them more worthy.
12. Abu Dhabi
There was a great deal of controversy surrounding this race (understandable really given the incompetence of the race director, which had been proven time and time again throughout the season). However, there were a number of positives to be drawn from it. Lewis’ great start, and Checo fighting Lewis and holding him up for so long that Max could catch up. Let’s also not forget Yuki P4, Pierre P5 and Carlos finishing in P3, earning him P5 in the drivers’ standings.
11. Zandvoort
While it may not have always been the most exciting race, there were some good elements. Max winning, Jenson Button commentating, and not to mention Pierre landing P4, and Checo’s P8 after starting in the pit lane.
10. Austria
George got to Q3 in a Williams, Lando got his first front row start, Valtteri got P2, and Yuki got to Q3. Max won after starting from pole, and became the youngest driver to achieve 50 podiums. It was a good weekend.
9. Qatar
I was a little unsure on this race going into it, but it certainly delivered. Lewis won after starting on pole (it was also the first weekend with his rainbow helmet, which I loved). Although Valtteri and Nicholas had to retire, we did get to see Pierre get his first front row start after Max and Valtteri received penalties for failing to respect yellow flags. But the best part of the weekend was seeing Fernando return to the podium after 7 years.
8. United States
I absolutely loved this race. Max ending the Mercedes reign by getting pole, Lewis’ overtake going into Turn 1, and the podium being another HAM-VER-PER. But my favourite part was the battle between Carlos and the two McLarens which culminated in a beautiful overtake by Daniel.
7. Brazil
In all my years of watching F1, I can’t really think of a time that I didn’t like this race. Although Daniel retired and the race ended with another HAM-VER-BOT, we got to see two of the most amazing drives from Lewis following his disqualification from Qualifying (P20 to P5 in the Sprint), and five-place grid penalty (P10 to P1).
6. Hungary
Seb’s ridiculous disqualification aside, this race was superb in every sense of the word. Big players like Valtteri and Lando were taken out early on, Red Bull once again nailed their pit stops, and both Williams drivers ended up in the points (which featured a lovely but of sportsmanship from George Russell, who told his crew to prioritise teammate Nicholas Latifi if they needed to). But the highlight of the weekend was the battle between Fernando and Lewis which is arguably the best battle of the 2021 season. The Spaniard held off his 2007 teammate for just about long enough that his 2021 teammate Esteban Ocon could take the win, the first of his Formula One career.
5. Russia
Normally, I find this race to be a little on the boring side but the 2021 Russian Grand Prix was something special. Lando got his first pole, with Carlos joining him on the front row and Daniel matched his best Quali result at the track. Come Sunday, we got to see Carlos lead for a while, and then Lando (Daniel was in P2 for a while, but a botched pit stop dropped him to P14). There was eventually heartbreak for Lando, but jubilation for Lewis as he took his 100th win in Formula 1. Daniel was also able to make it back up to P4, his personal best at Sochi and equalling the best result at the track for McLaren. Max also had a great drive; going from P20 (he had a three-place grid penalty due to his collision with Lewis at Monza and so Red Bull made the decision to just change his power unit meaning he would start from the back anyway, so he didn’t participate in Quali) all the way up to P2.
4. Monaco
Not always the most exciting of races, but this one was. Sadly, Charles couldn’t start the race because of a driveshaft issue, and this made Max the de facto pole sitter. Valtteri had the better start, but Max was able to cover him off and led every lap of the race. He was joined on the podium by Lando and Carlos (his first podium for Ferrari), making one of the youngest podiums ever. Valtteri had to retire because of a wheel nut issue, while Lewis could only manage P7, meaning Max took the lead in the drivers’ standings for the first time.
3. Mexico
There are many reasons why this takes third. Valtteri’s pole position, Max’s overtake on both Valtteri and Lewis to claim P1, and the return of the best podium entrance for the winner. But none of this compares to Checo becoming the first Mexican driver to at some point lead their home race, and the first Mexican driver to get on the podium. But there’s also the looks of absolute joy on Checo’s dad’s face. It filled me with so much joy, even more so when we got to see the picture of him with Checo and Max.
2. Azerbaijan
Words cannot describe just how much I loved this race. It started with Charles on pole, and Lewis joined him on the front row (my favourite front row at the time). There were five different leaders of this race: Charles, Lewis, Seb (I got a little excited at this one), Max (who retired with just a few laps left in the race), and then Checo. Checo took the win for the second time in his career, and he became the first Red Bull driver that wasn’t Max to win a race since Daniel won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2017. Seb ended up in second and – after a battle until the end of the race – Pierre ended the race in third. Lewis didn’t even end up in the points after an error at the restart following the red flag after Max’s tyre blew. Long story short, it was an amazing race, and gave us what is perhaps one of the best and most wholesome podiums in F1.
1. Italy
We have seen some amazing things at Monza over the years. Battles between Lewis and Nico Rosberg, the 2018 battle between Kimi and Lewis, Charles winning in 2019, Charles winning in 2019, and Pierre winning in 2020 after holding off Carlos. The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was no different. Valtteri started in P1 for the Sprint, with Lewis starting P2 and there was a mere 29 milliseconds between Max in P3 and Daniel in P5. Lewis dropped back a few positions during the Sprint, while Daniel didn’t waste his time in passing Lando. The points in the Sprint went to Valtteri, Max and Daniel, who earned 3 points, 2 points and 1 point respectively. But Valtteri’s penalty for a new power unit gave us a Manuel front row for the first time since the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix. Just like the day before, Daniel didn’t waste any time, quickly overtaking Max to claim P1, leading all but five laps of the race. There was also the major incident between Max and Lewis, resulting in Lewis retiring for the first time since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.
But going back to Daniel, he took his first podium since Imola 2020, his first win since Monaco 2018, as well as Driver of the Day, the point for fastest lap and it was his pit stop that was the fastest (the slow stop for Max was also a highlight). It was also the first victory for McLaren since Jenson took the win at Brazil in 2012. Lando finished in second, giving us the first (and only) 1-2 finish of the season, as well as the first for McLaren since Lewis took the win and Jenson claimed P2 at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. The third podium place went to Valtteri, who inherited the place after Checo – who finished third on the road – was given a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Charles. We also got to see Daniel doing a shoey again, with Lando and Zak also doing it which was good. And like Baku, this was one of the best and most wholesome podiums in F1.
Rachel’s Sports Roundup 