The 2021 season has been an incredible one to witness, with almost all races leaving us with something splendid to discuss. While the focus has undoubtedly been on the front runners as they competed for the world championship, here are 2 of the most iconic performances from the 2021 season:
Lewis Hamilton at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
In my opinion, the best drive of the season was Lewis Hamilton’s in Brazil. Hamilton’s weekend was off to a tough start when the Mercedes team announced that he would take his second engine penalty of the season. After a dominant qualifying performance, he was disqualified from that session, resulting in Hamilton starting the sprint race at the back of the order. This sprint race format gave him an additional 24 laps to make up positions, but Hamilton amazingly went from last to fifth: a mighty performance that displayed confidence and drew Hamilton as a driver with literally nothing to lose. The Brazil race weekend was a must-win for Hamilton, slipping further behind Verstappen in the title race. A fifth-place finish in spring qualifying meant he would start the race in 10th, battling which Hamilton overtook Max Verstappen on lap 59 of 71, winning by over 10 seconds. Hamilton was in a league of his own that weekend! Lewis Hamilton overtook every driver on the grid at some point during that weekend, and the fact that he avoided all contact and protected his car throughout was beyond impressive to watch. It was a marker laid down for Hamilton as he fought in the world championship, crafting a turning point in the title race. It’s a weekend performance that will be remembered as one of his bests overall.
Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian Grand Prix
The race was flooded with confusion, what with the “incident” right at the beginning, following which every runner went into the pits at the restart, besides Hamilton, who was left alone at the starting line-up. As the race developed, Hamilton was forced to pave his way through the field on a track where overtaking was far from straightforward. Still, the British driver’s comeback was abruptly halted as he encountered old teammate Fernando Alonso. In the far weaker alpine car, Alonso defended valiantly. With his teammate Esteban Ocon leading out at the front, Alonso not only relished the opportunity to compete with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, but he was also protecting his teammate – the team vying for their first win since 2013 and first under the alpine brand. Alonso barred Hamilton behind for the entirety of 11 laps, which meant he’d just done enough to protect Ocon. Alonso lost out in that battle following a small lockup into turn one, but it undoubtedly could have been a more significant blow to Hamilton throughout that race. When you compare the ease at which Hamilton got past Carlos Sainz a few laps later, you could really see what a defensive masterclass it was from Fernando Alonso in Hungary.
