Dec 13, 2021, 4:00 PM IST
Amid controversy and high-voltage drama, Red Bull's Max Verstappen clinched the Formula One championship, denying Britain's Lewis Hamilton a record eighth, with a last-lap overtake to win a season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday (December 12).
Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team bagged the constructors' title for the eighth year in a row. However, the 24-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen ended their run of double dominance, his country's first champion.
Max Verstappen's glorious journey kick-started when his father Jos Verstappen, an F1 driver between 1994 and 2003, took him for go-karting as a kid.
Max was a gifted child. His natural talent, coupled with his father's guidance, saw Max clinch the European and World go-kart champion. This also led him to make a move to Formula 3 in 2014.
In 2015, Max competed for Toro Rosso at the Australian Grand Prix at 17 years and 166 days, making him the youngest ever Formula 1 driver.
After spending the 2015 season with the Italian manufacturer, Max was promoted to Red Bull in the following season to replace Daniil Kvyat.
On May 15, 2016, Max Verstappen created history at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. By clinching the Spanish Grand Prix at the age of 18, Max became the 1st Dutch and the youngest driver in the sport's history to win a Grand Prix event.
Since then, Max has established himself as one of the most exciting drivers in Formula One. His aggressive style helped him go from strength to strength, producing some iconic moments on the track.
Also read: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021: Revisiting the last lap drama at the Yas Marina circuit
All the excitement and drama that often surrounds Red Bull's Max Verstappen was embodied when he clinched the high-octane 2021 F1 championship in Abu Dhabi.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton led by 10 seconds with just five laps remaining. Still, a crash in the penultimate lap meant a safety car was deployed, and Max Verstappen overtook the Englishman in the final lap in a theatrical ending to the season, denying the Hamilton record eighth F1 championship.
This kind of drama was arguably a very fitting way to crown Verstappen with his first F1 title and could be the start of a new era in Formula 1.