F1 News
Six winners so far in 2021: highest number since 2012!
- GPblog.com
In many ways, 2021 is already a special year for Formula 1. The title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is, of course, the main focus. But what has remained very much under the radar is the fact that we have the most number of different winners in a season since 2012.
Many winners in 2012
2012 was a special year. From the first seven Grands Prix, there were seven different winners. In the end, the total came to eight, as Kimi Raikkonen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In 2021 we will not have reached the 2012 total yet, but for the first time in the hybrid era there will be six different drivers on the top step of the podium. The season started with a win for Hamilton, while Verstappen won the second Grand Prix of the season.
Perez benefits from Verstappen blowout
The next three races were also down to Hamilton or Verstappen, but that changed when Sergio Perez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing. Perez drove a strong race, but was not fast enough to overtake Verstappen on his own. The Dutchman suffered a blowout just before the end of the race and that gave Perez the victory.
Ocon surprises friend and foe
The biggest surprise of the current season is the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The race started in wet conditions. Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll torpedoed several other drivers in the rain, causing a large part of the field to retire just after the start and the red flag came out.
After the red flag the field drove a lap behind the safety car towards the grid. It was Hamilton who was the only one to actually arrive at the starting grid. The rest went in to change the intermediates for dry weather tyres. Esteban Ocon was the big benefitter. After holding off Sebastian Vettel for laps he crossed the finish line first, with some help from teammate Fernando Alonso.
Ricciardo finally leaves bad form behind
The next winner came not much later. In Italy, it was soon clear that the McLarens had the right pace, although Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen came out of sprint qualifying better. Bottas was set back with a grid penalty and Verstappen lost the lead just after the start of the race to Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo drove a strong Grand Prix and was even helped by a crash of the two title contenders. Not only did he win his first race for McLaren, but thanks to the strong performance of Lando Norris, McLaren became the first team to score a one-two punch in 2021.
Dominant Bottas wins in Turkey
In Turkey we saw the last winner so far in 2021. It was already known in advance that Hamilton would receive a grid penalty due to changing the ICE in his engine. Although Hamilton qualified on pole, the first starting spot eventually went to teammate Bottas. The Finn was very dominant on Sunday and won his first race of 2021.
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