2021, The Year of Max Verstappen?

It is fair to say that the 2021 F1 season has been Max Verstappen's best season to date but also one of Red Bull Racing's since 2014. With this being the last season before huge regulation changes, it seems that Red Bull have focused all their efforts on the 2021 car as they have really taken the fight to Mercedes this season.

Max has taken 7 wins this season out of a possible 15 which isn't bad going when you consider he lost a win in Baku due to a tyre blowout, was crashed out from pole in Silverstone and was involved in another incident with his championship rival in Monza where a win could have been on the cards for him.

Well if you look at qualifying pace this season, Max has proved his skill. He has taken 6 official pole positions and 1 other in the newly added Sprint Qualifying. This definitely shows the pace of the Dutchman and how much he has improved in the last couple of years.

If you look at points scored when he hasn't won the race, Max has had 11 podium finishes with 4 being from when he hasn't won. Since their has been 3 retirements that are dubious to blame Verstappen for, it is has been a really consistent season for the 24 year old. Lewis Hamilton, 7 time world champion, has secured the same amount of podium finishes which really emphasises the job Max is doing and the challenge he is bringing to the most successful driver ever to drive a car in F1.

With 7 races to come, all is still left to play for and with Max and Lewis only being separated by two points, both of them are more likely to beat the other. With the recent addition of the Qatar GP to the calendar, which will take place on the 19-21st of November, there are still uncertainties on who will have the better car at each circuit.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports F1, Lewis Hamilton said, "Obviously he won't admit to it, and I'm not going to make an assumption, but I remember what it was like when I had my first [title fight] and it definitely mounted up."

This was in reaction to the recent incident which involved himself and Max that saw both out of the Italian GP.

There is definitely a firework display of an ending to this epic season of Formula 1 that has not failed to excite all fans around the globe.

Want to find out more about F1? Have a look at the rest of the page...