Racing | Formula 1 | 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Verstappen Wins His First Championship on the Final Lap at Yas Marina

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrived at Yas Marina Circuit for the 12 December 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on championship points. Verstappen started from pole in 1:22.109, with Hamilton alongside in second for the season’s final race.

Hamilton took the lead at the start and steadily rebuilt his advantage after the first pit-stop sequence. Red Bull used Sergio Pérez’s temporary lead to slow Hamilton and bring Verstappen closer, then stopped Verstappen again during a virtual safety car while Mercedes kept Hamilton on track. With five laps remaining, Hamilton led by about eleven seconds.

Nicholas Latifi crashed at Turn 14 on lap 53, bringing out the safety car. Red Bull fitted Verstappen with fresh soft tyres, while Hamilton remained ahead on the hard tyres he had used since lap 14. On lap 57, Race Control permitted the five lapped cars between the title rivals to pass the safety car and ordered the safety car into the pits, leaving one racing lap.

Verstappen attacked immediately at the restart and passed Hamilton into Turn 5. After 58 laps he won in 1:30:17.345, 2.256 seconds ahead of Hamilton; Carlos Sainz finished third, 5.173 seconds behind the winner. The result gave Verstappen his first Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, 395.5 points to Hamilton’s 387.5.

Mercedes lodged two post-race protests. The stewards dismissed both: one concerned Verstappen briefly moving ahead while following the safety car, and the other challenged the application of the safety-car procedure. Mercedes signalled an intention to appeal but did not proceed to the FIA International Court of Appeal.

The FIA’s March 2022 review later found that the safety car had been called in without completing the additional lap required by Article 48.12 and that human error meant not all lapped cars were allowed to unlap themselves. It also stated that the race and championship results were valid, final and could not be changed.

The pin marks Yas Marina Circuit at the GeoNames venue coordinates on Yas Island. The race used the counter-clockwise, 16-turn, 5.281-kilometre Grand Prix layout introduced for 2021, shortened from the earlier 5.554-kilometre configuration; the FIA’s official event map dated 8 December 2021 confirms the revised route.

Sources: FIA final race classification (https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2021%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Final%20Race%20Classification.pdf); Formula 1 race result (https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2021/races/1107/abu-dhabi/race-result); Formula 1 starting grid (https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2021/races/1107/abu-dhabi/starting-grid); Formula 1 2021 drivers’ standings (https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2021/drivers); FIA Mercedes protest decision under Article 48.12 (https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2021%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Mercedes%20Protest%20Art.%2048.12.pdf); FIA Mercedes protest decision under Article 48.8 (https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2021%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Mercedes%20Protest%20Art.%2048.8.pdf); FIA World Motor Sport Council findings, 19 March 2022 (https://api.fia.com/news/fia-announces-world-motor-sport-council-decisions-25); FIA 2021 circuit map (https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2021%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Circuit%20Map.pdf); Reuters race report (https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/verstappen-beats-hamilton-final-lap-claim-f1-title-2021-12-12/); RacingCircuits.info, Yas Marina (https://www.racingcircuits.info/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/yas-marina.html); GeoNames, Yas Marina Circuit (https://www.geonames.org/8394014/yas-marina-circuit.html).

Image: “Yas Marina Circuit 2021 new Formula One layout proposal 08 07 2021.svg” by HumanBodyPiloter5, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yas_Marina_Circuit_2021_new_Formula_One_layout_proposal_08_07_2021.svg); the period diagram was visually checked against the FIA’s official 2021 circuit map and is uploaded here as a white-background PNG derivative for reliable display.