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1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill commented on the epic finale of the 2021 F1 season, claiming it lived up to the standards of the rest of the season. The former driver agreed with fellow Sky F1 analyst Natalie Pinkham when she called the finale a 'microcosm' of the rest of the season.
Damon Hill analyzed the chaotic finale of the 2021 F1 season in Abu Dhabi, where Max Verstappen found unbelievable luck and beat Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the Grand Prix. The Briton looked at the finale in the context of the rest of the season and felt as if the controversy-filled ending was befitting of the tone of earlier races. He said:
"It fits the narrative of the season, doesn't it?"
The 2021 F1 season was full of controversy, right from the start, when it became apparent that Red Bull had found a winning formula with Max Verstappen and the RB16B. Many say the tipping point was the British Grand Prix, which saw a collision between Verstappen and Hamilton at the famous Copse corner. Verstappen went flying into the barriers and suffered an impact of 51Gs.
The event polarized fans majorly, making them loyal to either Hamilton or Verstappen in the epic battle for the drivers' title in 2021.
As Hill and Pinkham emphasized, a major theme of the 2021 season of F1 was the various inconsistencies by the FIA. Max Verstappen pushed Lewis Hamilton off track on lap 48 of the Brazilian Grand Prix and kept his lead without being penalized by the stewards, while similar instances were heavily scrutinized at other points in the season. In a similar vein, the finale in Abu Dhabi saw a lack of clarity of rules from the FIA, which inevitably cost Hamilton an eighth title win, leading to Verstappen winning his first.
2021 F1 finale was to break records regardless of the result
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tied on equal points after the Briton won three races in a row. Hamilton was all set to become the first person to win eight drivers' titles but was denied by Verstappen on the last lap of the race. As it stands, the driver is still tied with F1 legend Michael Schumacher for the highest number of drivers' titles - with seven.
Seven seems to be the unlucky number of drivers' titles as even Michael Schumacher couldn't surpass the number, winning his last title in 2004. Fernando Alonso became the first Spanish drivers' champion in 2005, dethroning Schumacher. Similarly, Max Verstappen beat seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to become the first Dutch world champion in the sport. Furthermore, both drivers were 24 years old when they beat the seven-time champions, both of whom were also 36 years old.
