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From left: Hamilton, Verstappen and Norris spray Ferrari Trento, the new official toast of F1
Photo: Ferrari Trento
The 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was worth the unusual three-week wait. After the tightest qualifying of the turbo-hybrid era, the race started under damp conditions that proved difficult even for the most capable rainy-weather drivers in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen, who started in third place behind his team-mate Sergio Pérez and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton, had an incredibly good start.
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The first lap action was just a taste of what was to come when Nicholas Latifi made contact with Nikita Mazepin’s Haas F1 car and turned against the wall to bring out the safety car. The conditions were so treacherous that even behind this safety car, several drivers lost control of their 1,000 hp machines and had to jump over gravel, grass or both to get back on the track.
When the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix restarted it quickly turned into a two-horse race for victory between Verstappen and Hamilton. At first the former was on par with the latter, but its tires wore out faster, allowing Hamilton to catch up at the end of the stint. Eventually a dry line formed on the track, but some parts remained wet and neither driver or team seemed sure when the conditions were right to switch to slick tires.
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Ultimately, Red Bull Racing was one of the first teams to pull the trigger and get Verstappen to change tires when Hamilton charged up in hopes of making up for the time in the open air on what might be the even faster type of tire. Verstappen’s first lap on slicks wasn’t great and it might have been enough for Hamilton to claim the lead if his own stop hadn’t been too slow.
After their stops, Hamilton continued to pursue Verstappen as they snaked through heavy traffic of lapped drivers. Then Hamilton made a crucial mistake, slipped off the track and hit a wall. Incredible, he could slowly come back out of the gravel and join the track again; As if by a miracle, the stars then aligned themselves perfectly to bring him back into the battle for good points.
George Russell, who was trying to get past Valtteri Bottas, crashed into the side box at high speed and caused debris to fly everywhere. (For those who like drama, Russell’s reaction subsequently became a hot topic on social media). The red flags fell and the race was halted until the chaos could be cleared. This hurt some drivers’ races and helped others.
For example, Charles Leclerc, who ran in second place, lost the 20-second advantage he had gained over third-placed Lando Norris. On the other hand, the red flags allowed Hamilton, who had been lapped after his mistake, to swap out his front wing and restart in ninth place, just seconds behind the lead – for free. If I feel upset about this man’s seemingly indestructible armor, it’s because I am.
All credit goes to Hamilton, he is a man who never misses second chances. For the next half of the race he did slow, methodical work with all the drivers in front of him and eventually passed Norris to finish second. and then, in good part, jumping into the fastest lap of the Grand Prix to steal the only point that would keep him at the top of the championship standings. Without the red flags, he should have been happy to score half of the 19 points he scored yesterday.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Verstappen and Hamilton also battled it out for victory, people were cautious about getting overly excited about the coming season. It could have been a coincidence, after all – they’re pretty common in Formula 1. But the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix seems to show that it wasn’t. If these two elite riders swapping strokes for the championship are what we can expect in 2021, then get in touch with me. Just a little less Hamilton plot armor, please.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the USA. Throughout his life he was always told that French was the language of romance, but it was English that he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, rock, Formula 1 and pretends to be a racing driver in simulators. Most of all, he just likes to write about it. More articles from Kurt.
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