Max Verstappen season 2021 compared with Sebastian Vettel season 2010

Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel are drivers who have had a lasting impact on the history of Formula 1 and the Red Bull Racing team.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing finally broke through an impenetrable Mercedes fortress that has been built since the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era in Formula 1 in 2014. The team now has two young and dynamic drivers as drivers – Champions written in the history books.

Since Red Bull Racing entered Formula 1 in 2005, they have become a force to be reckoned with. While they were on the verge of greatness for a few years, their real highlight came in 2010 when Sebastian Vettel became the Austrian team’s first world driver champion. The dominance of the Milton Keynes-based team at the top of the sport there remained for three more years, with 2011 and 2013 remaining almost unchallenged for Vettel and the team.

Since 2014, Red Bull has had to withdraw some positions in the overall standings. They struggled to consistently challenge Mercedes and Ferrari in the early phases of the turbo-hybrid era from 2014 onwards. As Max Verstappen got stronger and faster than the car beneath him and Ferrari faded in their poor performance after 2019, Red Bull was often the main challenger for Mercedes in their almost unchallenged run since 2014.

After Max Verstappen won the world championship from the clutches of defeat this season, the question arises how Verstappen and Vettel fare against each other at the height of their careers. While Vettel doesn’t yet have a car that can help him fight for his fifth title, Verstappen is still able to return next year to defend his crown.

Apart from the fact that Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are the only Red Bull Racing driver champions so far, they have a few other important things in common.

Both young riders, promoted by Toro Rosso, are extremely fast, able to get the most out of the machine among them, and have an absolutely uncanny ability not to give up under any circumstances.

Sebastian Vettel 2010 vs. Max Verstappen 2021

The two championship races that took place in Abu Dhabi gave Red Bull their first and fifth drivers’ championship in a unique way.

While Sebastian Vettel dominated the race from the start, led almost every lap and then crossed the checkered flag to victory, Max Verstappen’s race was much more dramatic.

Dr. Helmut Marko, the main advisor to the Red Bull team, said that the title fight in 2021 bore no comparison to how Vettel defeated the rest of the field in 2010. He said:

“That was a completely different situation. At that time there were four drivers in the championship battle. Besides our drivers there was [Fernando] Alonso and Hamilton. “

Hamilton’s first escape, Red Bull’s lack of pace to challenge Mercedes for a pass on the track, confusion over pitting strategy under the VSC and Safety Car, and the one-lap championship race were some of the most important Highlights of the race. Max Verstappen, who wrested the world title from Lewis Hamilton just a few corners before the checkered flag, sums up perfectly how hectic and challenging this title fight was for him.

Although their races were very different in their respective ways, both drivers had to face different challenges to win. While Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton competed in a winning take-all duel, Sebastian Vettel competed against three other title contenders in the last race in 2010.

Vettel, his then teammate Mark Webber and McLaren’s then duo Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso drove to Abu Dhabi in 2010 and fought for the title in the last race, with Alonso leading the overall standings.

Why is Verstappen’s 2021 season higher than Vettel’s 2010?

Even if Sebastian Vettel had to defeat several title contenders on the field in 2010, there is a crucial difference between the two title-defining finals.

Red Bull was the dominant car on the grid that year; no other car was as strong and fast as her. The talent of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso kept them fighting for the fight until the end. Vettel achieved an almost impossible task in 2010: He won the world championship without leading the drivers’ championship even once in the entire season.

In comparison, Mercedes and Red Bull were equally fast and strong throughout 2021. Mercedes has dominated since 2014, but this time it is thanks to the Red Bull engineers and mechanics that they gave Max Verstappen a car that could fight for the title straight away.

While Red Bull gave Verstappen the car to win the title, he still had to compete in almost every race against Hamilton, the undisputed champion since 2017. Both Mercedes and Hamilton showed their all-time bests every weekend, and Red Bull and Verstappen had to put all their energy into reaching that position.

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@ Max33Verstappen paved the way for poles, podiums, points, wins …

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@ Max33Verstappen led the way for poles, podiums, points, victories …

Despite this tough competition, Max Verstappen led the overall standings several times in 2021, led almost 50% of the laps driven this season, never crossed the finish line outside of the top 2 except at the Hungarian GP and finished the race with a record of 18 Podiums in the year.

As for the sheer dominance over the rest of the field, Max Verstappen was on a whole new level of driving in 2021. He drove with centimeter accuracy for most of the year and it would have been difficult to really lose this championship in the end.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the closing stages of this championship, it can be argued that Max Verstappen deserved the championship win, given his outstanding performances throughout the season.

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The F1 community has now recognized Max Verstappen for his achievements on the track and to understand, respect and appreciate him, as well as his masterful pass to Lewis Hamilton.

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