Who Were the Real Winners of the F1 2021 Season?

The Netherlands crowned its first ever Formula 1 World Champion when Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in Abu Dhabi to take the title. Both him and Lewis Hamilton (who came second in the Championship) had an absolute storm of a season, battling it out on track before heading to the final race equal on points. Of course, they were everyone’s top two drivers of the season, mine included, but I want to discuss who the real winners of the F1 2021 season were, the drivers who had an incredible season which was overshadowed by an epic title fight. Removing Verstappen and Hamilton from the picture, I’d like to discuss my top 5 drivers of the season, starting with:

Carlos Sainz

There’s no doubt in my mind that Carlos Sainz is my driver of the season. Taking best of the rest P5 in the Drivers’ Championship (beating his teammate) and 4 podiums in his first season with Ferrari is an incredible drive from the Spaniard. He took his very first driver of the day this year in Turkey, after recovering 11 places from 19th to 8th; something that is well overdue after being in F1 for 7 seasons. His podiums this year have all been overshadowed by other events in the race weekend; In Monaco, Charles Leclerc had a DNS at his home race to continue his Monte-Carlo curse, in Hungary, he was promoted to P3 after Vettel’s DSQ, in Russia, there was heartbreak for Norris who nearly took his first F1 win and in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen took his first world title. He is the only driver to have finished every single race in 2021, and had the most consecutive points finishes this season, finishing in the top 10 15 times. If there was a definition of underrated in the dictionary, it would be Carlos Sainz. I hope he can continue this form into 2022, and if Leclerc can get some more luck on his side, Ferrari could be on their way to regaining their top team status.

Pierre Gasly

Move aside George Russell, there’s a new Mr. Saturday in town. If you’d have told me before this season that Pierre Gasly’s average qualifying result in a midfield car would be 6.82, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not only that, but he also had his first front row start in Qatar after Verstappen and Bottas both took penalties, promoting Gasly to P2. I think his 1 lap defence in Baku from Leclerc and Norris to take his only podium of the season would be worthy enough for him to take second position on this list. To consistently qualify best of the rest in P5 behind the Red Bulls and Mercedes’ is a feat on its own, let alone in a midfield car and in front of the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s. However, his Sunday’s have often been the opposite of Saturday, suffering unfortunate events during the race. The first race of the season saw him make contact with Ricciardo, and after qualifying P5, was forced to retire. Styria and Monza ended in retirement due to car failure, whilst a puncture placed him just out of the points in P11 in Qatar. Despite this, the Frenchman has had some great drives in 2021, especially in Mexico, where he avoided the first lap scramble and held onto P4 for the whole race. If Gasly continues qualifying the way he is, I see no reason why he can’t be challenging the top teams next season.

Lando Norris

Lando Norris had an absolute dream start to the 2021 season, I think surprising everyone a little bit with his pace that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. He finished just outside the podium positions in Bahrain, before taking his second podium in F1 at Imola. This would be one of his 4 podiums this season, one of which was his best ever finish after taking P2 in McLaren’s first 1-2 since 2010. Having been at the team longer than his teammate, Norris was able to show how he had settled in and adapted to the team since his rookie season in 2019. The Brit took his first ever pole position in Sochi, and was on track for his first win too, before a tense decision on whether to pit for wets saw him loose track position, and eventually finish P7. Unfortunately for McLaren, their pace seemed to just drop off after Russia, and they eventually lost out on P3 in the Constructors to Ferrari. Nevertheless, I think taking 4 of McLaren’s 5 podiums this season is an amazing achievement for Norris, who is swiftly proving himself to be a title contender in the future.

Sergio Perez

Who remembers at the start of the season, when Sergio Perez said, ‘It’ll take me 5 races to get the best out of the Red Bull’? Well he certainly wasn’t wrong, taking home a win in Baku after just 6 races with the Austrian team. He’s also one of only two drivers to win two races with two different teams in the turbo-hybrid era, the other being Daniel Ricciardo. Stepping up to be Max Verstappen’s teammate was never going to be an easy task, but I think Perez has taken it all in his stride and played a pivotal role in helping Max win the title. I mean, we only have to look at his defense from Hamilton in Abu Dhabi; clean, fair and hard racing. Often, he has sacrificed his own race to help his teammate chase down the win. Granted, some of his performances have been less than satisfactory, failing to make Q3 on 3 occasions, and having a rocky start to the season. But once the Mexican settled into that seat, he was a force to be reckoned with, and Red Bull have absolutely gotten it right with their driver lineup this season. Oh, and not to mention the Mexican Grand Prix was a crazy weekend, with Perez being the first Mexican driver to take a podium at his home race. Let’s hope he can take the win next season!

Fernando Alonso

A little bit of controversy surrounded Alonso before his return to F1 this year, when he was allowed to partake in the 2020 Young Driver Test, despite, clearly not being a young driver. His untimely retirement in Bahrain due to a sandwich wrapper being lodged in the brake duct didn’t help matters either. For me, Alonso’s turning point was the Hungarian Grand Prix. Not only was it his highest finishing position of the season up until that weekend, his defending from Hamilton to help Ocon win the race was absolutely stellar to watch, and we finally saw the two-time world champion’s skill on track. Fast forward to Qatar, where he took his only podium of the season after a great battle with Perez. And if we look at practice results, Alpine have consistently been posting fast laps, ahead of the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes. I think Alonso and Ocon are a great driver pairing, and Alonso has had an extremely respectable first season back in F1. I think he’ll definitely be one to watch for next season.

Special Mention: George Russell

And I couldn’t write this article without a notable mention to George Russell. Whist not quite making it into my top 5 its hard to deny that it was an amazing season for him before making the move to Mercedes next year. With an average qualifying stat of 12.55, the British driver made it to Q3 4 times this season, even scoring both his first points and first podium in F1. Any driver who gets a podium is sensational, but to get a podium (no matter the strange Spa circumstances) in a team that is at the lower end of the standings is extraordinary. Let’s hope there’s more of that to come!

So, that’s my top 5 drivers of the 2021 season. If you asked me to predict where they’ll stand next year, I honestly couldn’t say. With the regulation changes, there’s all to play for, and we can only hope for a season as exciting as this one.