Max Verstappen is the new World Champion! Abu Dhabi Grand Prix brings an absolutely heart attacking finish

The grand finale is over! Max Verstappen is the new world champion after an absolutely thrilling and infarct ending. So how did the 2021 season end in terms of the results in the drivers’ standings and the Constructors’ Cup?

Only after twenty-two races is the world championship finally decided. However, the drama lasted until the very end, as Verstappen only took the championship on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!

It just goes to show what a fascinating year we’ve had. It must be said, this season will definitely go down in history and rank alongside the most memorable ones.

The fact remains that the title was not decided until the last laps of the race. The key moment was on lap 35, when Antonio Giovinazzi was forced to retire his Alfa Romeo due to a gearbox failure.

Naturally, yellow flags were waved and a virtual safety car was declared. This was used by Red Bull, led by Verstappen, to change tyres, leaving Hamilton at the front of the race with worn tyres of the hardest specification.

However, the Red Bull driver couldn’t pull Lewis Hamilton back as quickly over the next few laps – with ten laps to go Verstappen was over eleven seconds behind the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix leader!

Under normal circumstances, the Red Bull driver would very likely not have been able to catch Hamilton, let alone overtake him. But on the fifty-fourth circuit, Nicholas Latifi broke his Williams and the safety car had to take to the track.

And here we come to a moment that subsequently played a very significant role in the battle for victory. For Verstappen, under yellow flags, makes his way back to his mechanics for another tyre change – this time changing to the softest, red-marked compound.

At this stage of the race also came a sequence of controversial decisions from the race directorate, specifically Michael Masi. In any case, the race was restarted on the penultimate lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It was at this point that the softest tyre specification came into play, allowing Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the final lap of the season.

However, one can expect Toto Wolff to want to address Massi’s decision. “Toto, I know everyone’s emotions are running high right now, but this is a race and we have to let them race,” Masi said on team radio immediately after the race.

So this is the final Abu Dhabi Grand Prix standings. Max Verstappen is the world champion with 395.5 points. Eight points behind second-placed Hamilton.

The Constructors’ Cup, on the other hand, was dominated by Mercedes, which has 613.5 points. Red Bull was second with 585.5 points. Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine, Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin, Williams and Haas round out the standings without gaining a single point.

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