Formula One finally heads into its traditional mid-season break after a chaotic opening 11 races of the year with plenty of on-track drama and wheel-to-wheel action. From Sprint Races & first-time winners to exploding tires, the 2021 F1 season has had it all so far, so here is our Man’s Life mid-season review recapping everything you need to know from across the paddock.
The Championship Fight
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Red Bull and Mercedes have quite literally locked horns throughout the first half of the season and head into the summer shutdown with just 12 points separating the two teams.
Verstappen and Red Bull started the season in incredible fashion, with the Dutchman winning five of the first nine races and extending his championship lead to 32 points. However, the tables turned in the final two races after Verstappen crashed out at Silverstone and was severely compromised in the melee on lap one at Hungary, finishing 9th.
Hamilton meanwhile recovered from a 10-second penalty to take the win at Silverstone while also charging through the field to finish 2nd at Hungary to reach the halfway point with an 8-point lead over his title rival. However, Red Bull have made a massive step up in performance in 2021, and this championship fight is far from over and could go down to the very last race of the season at Abu Dhabi.
The Midfield Battle
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Aside from the battle out in front, the race for midfield supremacy is also heating up in 2021 with both McLaren and Ferrari tied on 163 points in the championship at the halfway stage.
McLaren have made another major upgrade in 2021 with their new Mercedes engine while Ferrari have put the horrors of 2020 behind them and made steady improvements. With Leclerc & Sainz and Norris & Ricciardo, both teams have two of the most exciting driver pairings in the paddock and the race for 3rd in the championship could be one of the most exciting storylines to follow in the second half of 2021.
Race Of The Season – Hungarian Grand Prix
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There have been plenty of thrilling F1 races in 2021 but nothing beats the non-stop excitement and chaos we just witnessed at the Hungaroring. From the commotion on lap one to Lewis Hamilton being the only driver on the grid for the restart to the excellent defending from Fernando Alonso, the Hungarian Grand Prix had it all and will live long in the memory as one of the most iconic F1 races of all time.
Driver Of The Season – Lando Norris
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Verstappen and Hamilton have stolen all the limelight with their race victories, but our driver of the season so far has been McLaren’s Lando Norris. The Englishman has shown incredible consistency and been faultless so far in 2021, earning points finishes in every race in 2021 until crashing out in Hungary through no fault of his own.
The 21-year-old already has three podiums this season and finds himself at number 3 in the drivers’ championship ahead of the likes of Bottas and Perez in much faster cars. Norris has maximised the performance from his McLaren while making a 7-time race winner in Daniel Ricciardo seem like the inexperienced driver in the team, and if he keeps up this form, we are likely looking at a future F1 world champion.
Championship Prediction
With 12 scheduled races left in the calendar, all bets are off with regards to who will take home the championship in 2021. However, considering the momentum gained by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in the last two races before the break, one can expect that the Silver Arrows will carry that form into the second half and use all their experience to win that magical and historic 8th World Championship title.
[Image Credit: F1]
Shivaan Shah