2021

2021 produced one of the closest, most dramatic and most controversial championship fights Formula One has ever witnessed. Lewis Hamilton entered the season chasing a record-breaking eighth World Drivers' Championship after matching Michael Schumacher's tally of seven just months earlier. Victory would establish him as the most successful driver in the sport's history.

Standing in his way was Max Verstappen. Red Bull's long-awaited title challenge finally had the machinery to match Mercedes, and from the opening round in Bahrain it became clear that the championship would be decided by a season-long duel between two drivers operating at the very limit.

Hamilton and Verstappen collided repeatedly throughout the year, with flashpoints at Silverstone, Monza, Jeddah and several other races. The rivalry produced spectacular overtakes, controversial stewarding decisions, razor-thin qualifying margins and relentless psychological warfare as neither driver was willing to yield an inch.

Remarkably, both drivers arrived at the final race of the season level on points. What followed in Abu Dhabi became the most controversial championship finale in Formula One history, culminating in a one-lap showdown whose consequences continue to be debated years later.