What Really Happened During the 2021 Abu Dhabi Title Controversy?

By Archit Uniyal

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was supposed to deliver one of Formula 1’s greatest championship finales. Instead, it produced one of the most controversial moments in the sport’s history.

Heading into the race, both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were level on points after a season-long battle that had captivated fans worldwide. With the championship on the line, everything came down to the final race at Yas Marina.

For most of the Grand Prix, it appeared that the title was heading in one direction. Lewis had led most of the race and looked set to secure his record-breaking eighth world championship. But everything changed with just a few laps remaining.

With just 5 laps to go, Nicholas Latifi’s car crashed into the barrier and that brought out the Safety Car, bunching the field together and creating a difficult situation for Race Director Michael Masi. The key issue centred on the lapped cars positioned between the two title contenders.

Under normal procedures, all lapped cars would be allowed to overtake the Safety Car before racing resumed. However, following discussions between teams and race control, only some of the lapped cars were permitted to unlap themselves. Those were the cars which were in between Lewis in 1st and Max in 2nd. The decision immediately put the two championship rivals nose-to-tail for a one-lap shootout.

Lewis didn’t pit and remained on track during the Safety Car period, so he had to drive on older hard tyre. Red Bull, on the other hand, called Max in for the pit for fresh soft tyres, which gave him a significant pace advantage.

Racing finally resumed for 1 final lap. Max didn’t take long to overtake, and with it, the world championship changed hands. Lewis and the Mercedes garage were fuming. Max won his first world championship and the controversy denies Lewis of this 8th.

Mercedes launched protests after the race, arguing that the Safety Car procedures had not been applied correctly. Although the protests were dismissed, the controversy continued long after the chequered flag.

In the months that followed, the FIA conducted a detailed review of the events. The investigation concluded that human error had played a role in the decision-making process and highlighted communication and procedural shortcomings during the race.

The fallout was significant. Michael Masi was removed from his position as Race Director, while Formula 1 introduced new systems and procedures aimed at improving consistency and transparency in race control.

More than four years later, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains one of the most debated races in Formula 1 history, a dramatic championship finale that continues to divide opinion across the sport.