Picture Credit: Twitter/@F1
The world of Formula One finally got a new champion after 5 years as Max Verstappen won the title under dramatic and controversial circumstances in Abu Dhabi. While many people argued that the Dutchman was lucky to win the championship, the stats reveal a completely different story altogether.
In 22 races, Max clinched 18 podiums, 10 pole positions, 10 wins, 395.5 points and 652 laps lead which are way more than any other driver on the grid. While all his victories played a key role in his road to win the title, there were a few which stood apart because of the way those wins were achieved.
Here is a look at Max's best 5 victories in F1 2021 campaign:
Emilia Romagna
The wet conditions at Imola had set up the stage perfectly for a brilliant race and the drivers certainly did not disappoint the fans. Max Verstappen, who started at P3, got off to a fantastic start as he overtook pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton in the first lap after a fiery battle with him, which also saw the two cars coming in contact. The duo came quite close once again on Lap 7 but Verstappen defended extremely well to retain his lead.
The conditions were indeed very tricky which was evident when Hamilton went into the gravel on Lap 31 before Verstappen also having a scary moment on Lap 34. While there was an extremely close battle behind the race leader, the Red Bull driver sealed an emphatic win (his first in Italy) by a margin of around 22 seconds.
Styrian GP
One does not usually crush Mercedes the way Max Verstappen did during Styrian GP at the Red Bull Arena this year. Starting from pole position, the youngster got off to a fantastic start and gave no room to Lewis Hamilton to overtake him. It was a fantastic start for Max and he built on it throughout the long race of 71 laps.
The defending champion tried his level best to push himself closer to Max but realized that the Dutch driver was just too good on the day. As it turned out, he pitted on the final lap to get the one extra point for fastest lap which helped the Red Bull driver to extend his lead over 35 seconds marking a one-sided victory over Hamilton.
Mexico City
It was Valtteri Bottas at P1 and Lewis Hamilton at P2 at Mexico City GP 2021 this year. The stage was set for a day of Mercedes dominance once again but Red Bull's Max Verstappen had other plans. In the first lap itself, the Dutchman pulled the trigger and sensationally produced a double overtake on the outside leaving everyone absolutely stunned.
As it turned out, the heroic move on the first lap was going to be the most decisive one of the race. Verstappen held on to the P1 for rest of the race and had an error free outing as he eventually clinched the victory over Hamilton by a margin of around 16 seconds. That was some display by the Dutchman which really stamped his authority in the drivers' championship once again.
United States
It wasn't the best of the starts for pole-sitter Max Verstappen in United States as he was overtook by Lewis Hamilton in the opening lap of the race. However, the Red Bull strategists pulled off a magical move as Max managed to undercut Hamilton during the first pit stops. From then, Max dominated the remainder of race.
But the work was not over! Hamilton had slowly and steadily made up a lot of time and he was within 1 seconds of Max when the final lap began. It was set for a wild ending but the young Dutch driver kept his calm and composure to keep the 7-time champion at bay as Max clinched a nerve-wrenching victory at Circuit of the Americas.
Netherlands
In front of a jam-packed Orange Army in the stands, the pressure was on the home-boy Max Verstappen to produce a magical performance and the youngster certainly lived up to the high expectations. Starting from pole position, the Red Bull driver got off to a dream start as he managed to keep both the Mercedes cars behind him quite comfortably.
After Bottas had overtaken him during the pit-stop, Max regained the race lead on Lap 30 and there was no stopping him after that. Lewis Hamilton pitted on the last lap in a bid to get new tyres on for the fastest lap which ensured that Max would not just clinch a home victory but a dominant win by a huge margin of around 23 seconds amid huge roars and applause of his fans.