Who impressed the most in F1 2021? The drivers of the season so far

Max Verstappen has reached a new level in his extremely close fight with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton for the F1 world title in 2021.

Apart from a mistake in the track barrier that cost him the win in Bahrain and the pole in Portimao, Verstappen was great and showed remarkable consistency. In the Austrian double header, he was simply inviolable.

Verstappen is unfazed despite his first intense title fight as he has proven how much he has matured since making his F1 debut at 17.

Without a puncture in Baku, a collision at Silverstone and a significant car damage in Hungary, Verstappen would have taken a big lead into the summer break.

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The 23-year-old has five wins and five poles from his first eleven races and with a competitive Red Bull under him, he will try to ensure that momentum returns in his favor when the season resumes.

Lewis Hamilton

Like his main rival, Hamilton was excellent and showed a number of impressive performances – including his victories at Barcelona and Silverstone – that ultimately brought him to the top of the World Cup.

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Verstappen and a revitalized Red Bull have posed the greatest threat to Hamilton’s supremacy at the helm of Formula 1 for a number of years, and the seven-time world champion made some high-profile, uncharacteristic mistakes in his furious battle.

After throwing his car in the gravel trap at Imola, Hamilton was fortunate to have a red flag allowing him to return to the leading lap, while throwing away a large number of points with a mistake on restarting in Baku. The Briton was also out of shape in Monaco, where Verstappen made full use of his strengths.

However, Hamilton has also shown why he stays at the top of his game by beating Verstappen and Red Bull on days he had the slower car.

Both Verstappen and Hamilton will play in their own league and class of the field in 2021.

2021 is the coming of age for McLaren’s aspiring superstar Lando Norris.

The young Brit took another step forward in his further upward trend and showed some extraordinary performances in the first eleven races of the season.

There are reasons that Norris is the most consistent driver of the year and this is backed up by his staggering run of 10 races with points and impressive qualifying performances.

Podiums in Imola, Monaco and Austria crowned an outstanding first half of the season in which Norris took third place in the drivers’ standings ahead of Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Sergio Perez.

Norris has also prevailed against his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and has so far outclassed the seven-time Grand Prix winner.

He may have been limited to playing a supporting role behind the Hamilton-Verstappen showdown for a recovering Ferrari, but Charles Leclerc has been stellar this season nonetheless.

Leclerc led Ferrari’s turnaround after the terrifying 2020 season, with the Italian team rising to the top of F1’s tight midfield alongside McLaren this year.

With his fantastic performances in qualifying and on race days, the 23-year-old Monegaske has repeatedly underscored why Ferrari believes it can be the driver who can deliver its elusive world championship title.

Leclerc was at his best when he clinched pole in Monaco and Baku in a row, although realistically he didn’t have a car fast enough to fight for victory on both occasions. A shocking home win would have been possible if damage had not prevented him from starting after his late shunt in qualifying.

He stared at Silverstone again. Benefiting from the Verstappen and Hamilton first-lap collision, Leclerc remarkably led every lap of the British GP despite encountering motor gremlins until three laps to go when recovering Hamilton snatched a deserved win became.

Leclerc’s persistence is reflected in his regular top six appearances. The only time Leclerc crossed the finish line outside of the points when he finished a race was in France when Ferrari suffered from tire problems while he was also an unfortunate victim of the carnage at Turn 1 in Hungary.

Pierre Gasly continues to work wonders at AlphaTauri. Building on a stellar 2020 campaign with a first win at Monza has always been difficult, but the Frenchman had no problem carrying his momentum into 2021.

Regular star appearances in Q3 have led Gasly to score points in all but three of the 11 races that have taken place. Silverstone was the only lap on which he was unable to score due to a mechanical defect and a collision alone. He had to give up in Bahrain and at the first race at the Red Bull Ring.

A breathtaking drive to third in Baku and fifth in a chaotic Hungarian GP were the standout highlights of another brilliant season for Gasly, the form of which has led him to be debated about a seemingly unlikely return to Red Bull .

Gasly has evolved into the role of team leader alongside his fast-paced but unpredictable rookie teammate Yuki Tsunoda. He carried AlphaTauri almost single-handedly in the fight for fifth place in the constructors’ championship and scored 50 of the team’s 68 points.

It was an impressive start to life at Ferrari for Carlos Sainz after joining from McLaren over the winter. The Spaniard has probably made the fastest and most convincing change of drivers who changed teams at the end of 2020.

Sainz has carried over the consistency that has served him so well at McLaren into his first season with Ferrari and has already clinched two podium positions in a mighty opening race of eleven races.

Missing in the top 10 just two times this year means Sainz is currently three points ahead of Leclerc in the championship, even though his teammate didn’t start in Monaco and was eliminated in the first round in Hungary. Both events slightly skewed the rating in favor of Sainz.

Qualifying was the only area that let Sainz down while he was not clear. Although Sainz was temporarily unable to repeat Leclerc’s breathtaking turn at a speed of one lap, Sainz mostly made up for that deficit on Sundays.

If he can line up full weekends in the second half of the season, he’ll only strengthen Ferrari’s ambition to beat McLaren to third in the Constructors’ Championship.

Notable mentions must also go to Alpines Fernando Alonso, whose daring return has reminded F1 fans of what they missed during his absence from the sport. Hungarian GP winner Esteban Ocon has impressed while alongside the two-time world champion George Russell has delivered a number of outstanding performances for Williams – especially on Saturdays.