The Hungarian Grand Prix brought to a close the first half of one of the best F1 seasons in recent memory.
With two of the greatest drivers to have ever lived going head-to-head for the championship in two different cars, as well as several other stand out performers and moments, it has been a drama-filled and incident-packed year to date.
It is therefore only right to reflect on the first half of the 2021 season ahead of what promises to be an exhilarating climax.
Best Drivers: Max Verstappen and Lando Norris
Both Verstappen and Norris have been the standout performers on the grid thus far.
Prior to his DNF in Hungary, something that was not his fault, Norris had finished in the top five in nine out of ten races. This streak included three podium finishes in Imola, Monaco, and Austria respectively.
His only finish outside of the top 5 came in Spain, where he finished eighth, part of a 15-race points scoring streak, the longest in McLaren’s history.
Had he not been taken out by Valtteri Bottas at the Hungaroring, the McLaren driver looked good to extend this run, appearing to challenge Sergio Perez for P3 before the Finn misjudged his breaking point and ran into the back of him.
Incredibly, such results mean that Norris currently sits in third in the championship with 113 points, ahead of both Bottas and the Red Bull of Perez, both of whom are in faster cars than the Brit.
Norris is also comfortably outperforming teammate Daniel Ricciardo, beating him in nine of the eleven races so far (Hungary would surely have made that ten from eleven) to sit 63 points ahead of him in the driver standings.
It is a similar story with Verstappen who, along with Norris, has been the most consistent performer on the grid.
Since his incident-packed start to the 2018 season, the Dutchman has really matured, meaning he now looks ready to win a championship.
While he has made mistakes, they have been minimal. For instance, he ran wide in Bahrain when overtaking Hamilton and subsequently gave the place back too quickly, collecting dirty rubber that prevented him from challenging the Mercedes driver again. He also extended track limits on a qualifying lap that would have given him pole in Portimao.
Indeed, rather than these mistakes preventing him from leading the championship going into the summer break, it is more a case of back luck striking Verstappen.
His tyre blew up when leading in Baku, for example, costing him a guaranteed 25 points and a 7-point swing over Hamilton.
The collision with the Brit at Silverstone wiped the Dutchman out of the race, while the consequent red flag allowed Mercedes to fix the damage on Hamilton’s car, helping him to win the race.
In Hungary, Verstappen was helpless as Bottas swiped the right-hand side of his car, making his Red Bull virtually undriveable and thereby ruining his race.
Excluding the incidents at these three tracks, Verstappen has finished first or second in every other race this season, including three consecutive victories in France and at the double-header in Austria during which it looked as if the Dutchman would run away with the title.
The Red Bull driver, along with Norris, has therefore been the driver of the season so far.
What about Hamilton?
Despite leading the championship, Hamilton has operated at a level just below Verstappen and Norris.
This is due to the fact he has made bigger mistakes than both. In Imola, for example, he ran wide through the gravel, going from second to seventh as a result.
In Baku, he threw away a minimum of a second-place finish after accidentally flicking a switch that affected his brake bias, leading him to drop to the back of the grid following the restart after Verstappen’s tyre blowout caused a red flag.
He has also had slightly more luck than both, especially his main title rival.
Specifically, a red flag soon after Hamilton’s incident in Imola bunched the grid up, allowing him to make amends for his mistake by finishing second. There was also the aforementioned crash with Verstappen at Silverstone in which the Mercedes driver came out the better of the two.
Nonetheless, he has still performed at a very high level, as evidenced by the fact he is leading the championship.
Most Underperforming Driver: Daniel Ricciardo
The Aussie could be excused for his underwhelming (by his standards) start to the season as he made clear he was having a difficult time adjusting to his new McLaren car.
As the season has progressed, however, that excuse can be used less and less, especially as other drivers that moved teams for the 2021 season, namely Carlos Sainz, have performed well.
Ricciardo has been comfortably beaten by teammate Norris, something that very few expected coming into the season.
There have been some solid results in Spain, France, and Silverstone. However, there have also been some real low points, none more so than in Monaco where Ricciardo was lapped by his teammate, only managing to finish in twelfth as Norris finished on the podium.
The Aussie has also been comprehensively beaten by Norris in qualifying, often struggling to get into Q3 while Norris has been mixing it at the front.
Viewed as one of the best drivers on the grid coming into 2021, Ricciardo has therefore endured a difficult and disappointing start to life with McLaren, with the car clearly having more pace than he has showed thus far.
Best Race: France
There have been several great races, alongside some absolute barnstormers, so far this season.
In Bahrain, Portugal, and Spain, Verstappen and Hamilton went head-to-head, battling directly for the lead.
Imola, Baku, and Hungary are noteworthy for the sheer craziness that ensued.
Silverstone also deserves a mention because of the severity of the collision between Verstappen and Hamilton, the first time the two rivals had crashed in such a manner.
Nonetheless, somewhat surprisingly, it is France that takes the accolade of the best race to date.
Having produced a series of snooze fests since its return to the calendar in 2018, this year’s race was completely different.
For 53 laps, it was edge of your seat stuff, as the lead changed hands four times, Hamilton and Bottas pursued Verstappen lap after lap in the middle part of the race, before Red Bull pulled a Mercedes in Hungary 2019 and Spain 2021, pitting Verstappen for fresh tyres and allowing the Dutchman to overtake Hamilton for the win on the penultimate lap.
There were also overtakes galore in the midfield, making France the race of the season so far.
Worst Race: Monaco
By contrast to the best race, there was only one contender for the worst race of the season thus far: Monaco.
While good for the most prestigious race to return to the calendar after missing last season, it was largely a processional affair.
It was not helped by polesitter Charles Leclerc being unable to start since this allowed Verstappen to drive off into the distance, creating very little action or tension at the front of the race.
That being said, had there been any action, the TV directors would likely have missed it by cutting away to show a mistake by Lance Stroll.
Moment of the Season: Silverstone Crash
In wheel-to-wheel battles with Verstappen prior to Silverstone, Hamilton had been relatively timid, steering to avoid contact with the Dutchman in both Imola and Spain.
Faced with a 32-point championship deficit coming into the British Grand Prix, however, Hamilton made clear that he was no longer going to pull away from confrontation, instead sending his car up the inside of Verstappen going into the 180-mph Copse corner.
Causing an approximate $1.8 million of damage to the Red Bull, Hamilton went onto win the race, only adding to Red Bull’s fury.
Verstappen branded Hamilton as disrespectful on social media for his post-race celebrations. Helmut Marko, Sporting Director of Red Bull Racing, called for the Mercedes driver to receive a one-race ban.
Believing the 10-second penalty Hamilton received for the incident was too lenient, Red Bull even launched a protest for review, using reserve driver Alex Albon to recreate Hamilton’s racing line as evidence to submit.
The Silverstone crash was therefore the moment when the title battle really ignited.
Honourable mentions should also go to Ocon’s first F1 victory, Williams scoring their first points since Germany 2019, the surprising Baku podium, and full capacity crowds being allowed at Austria, Britain, and Hungary.
Best Performance: Fernando Alonso in Hungary
Keeping a Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton behind for 10 laps while you are driving an Alpine is a great achievement.
Keeping a Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton on softer and 8-lap fresher tyres behind for 10 laps while you are driving an Alpine is beyond remarkable.
Yet this is exactly what Fernando Alonso did in Hungary.
Producing a defensive masterclass, the Spaniard stalled Hamilton’s drive back towards the front of the race, effectively winning the race for teammate Esteban Ocon and demonstrating that he is still one of the best drivers on the grid at the age of 40.
Honourable mentions should also go to Russell’s Q3 appearances in both Austria and Silverstone, Norris qualifying in P2 in Austria, Verstappen’s performance in France, Hamilton’s performance in Bahrain, and Ocon’s performance in Hungary.
Predictions for the Second Half
In terms of the championship winner, Hamilton will just pip Verstappen.
As well as already topping the standings, albeit by a mere 8 points, history shows that the Brit gets stronger after the summer break. See, for example, the 2018 season, when a run of five consecutive wins between Monza and Suzuka saw Hamilton streak away from title rival Sebastian Vettel to win his fifth world championship.
However, whether Hamilton wins his eighth world title also depends on Mercedes keeping pace with Red Bull when it comes to car development.
In the last couple of seasons, the Silver Arrows have had such significant margins come the midway point of the season that they have switched focus to next season’s car, leaving Red Bull to close the gap and become more competitive come the end of the season. Despite Toto Wolff emphasising earlier on in the season that focus had already switched to the 2022 car, they cannot afford to do that this year since it will allow Verstappen and Red Bull to walk away with driver’s and constructor’s titles respectively.
Both drivers will also come together again in a race ending incident. This will occur at either the first or second chicane at Monza.
In terms of other predictions, Bottas and Perez should both overtake Norris in the championship standings, regardless of how well he drives in the second part of the season.
Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly will get on the podium. Both drivers have performed strongly this season, with the Frenchman having already finished third in Baku.
Ferrari will win a race, their first since Sebastian Vettel won in Singapore in 2019. With faster cars ahead of them, this will require a little bit of luck. However, both Sainz and Leclerc have been contenders for driver of the season thus far and will be ready to capitalise on any luck that comes their way.
Finally, George Russell will score points for Williams again. Again, one of the drivers of the season, he will translate his Saturday performances into another points finish on Sunday.
Whether or not these predictions comes true, the second half of the season is set up beautifully. Belgium cannot come soon enough.
