The rivalry intensified at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, where Verstappen took pole position. Hamilton won the race. At the following round in Emilia Romagna, Verstappen took the lead from Hamilton at the first turn in rainy conditions and went on to win.
The championship lead changed hands for the first time at the Monaco Grand Prix. After pole-sitter Charles Leclerc failed to start, Verstappen won the race to take the lead of the standings for the first time in his career. This followed a sequence where Hamilton had won in Portugal and Spain to maintain an early advantage.
The battle was characterized by several high-speed collisions. At the British Grand Prix, the two drivers collided on the opening lap. Hamilton recovered to win the race, while Verstappen was forced to retire . A second major collision occurred at the Italian Grand Prix, ending both drivers’ races.
The rivalry extended to technical disputes between the Red Bull and Mercedes teams. Concerns were raised regarding the flexibility of the rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B. Red Bull lodged an official protest against Mercedes’ use of the dual-axis steering (DAS) system , though the protest was rejected . The DAS system itself was banned for the 2021 season.
Hamilton and Verstappen entered the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tied on points. Hamilton led the majority of the race after taking the lead at the start. However, a late-race crash by Nicholas Latifi brought out a safety car with seven laps remaining. Red Bull pitted Verstappen for fresh soft tyres, while Hamilton remained on track with older hard tyres.
Race director Michael Masi directed that lapped cars would be allowed to overtake the safety car. The race was restarted with one lap remaining. Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap to win the race and the championship.
The finish in Abu Dhabi prompted Mercedes to protest the results, but the protest was dismissed. The FIA acknowledged the controversy and initiated a review of the incident, leading to structural changes in race control. Michael Masi was removed from his role as race director and replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. A virtual race control room was also implemented to assist the race director. A final report in March 2022 confirmed that the race results were final and could not be changed.
The 2021 season concluded with Verstappen as the first-ever Dutch World Champion and the first Honda-powered champion since 1991. Despite losing the drivers' title, Mercedes secured their eighth consecutive World Constructors' Championship. The season was the first in the turbo-hybrid era where a non-Mercedes driver won the title and the second time an engine supplier other than Mercedes powered a championship-winning car in that era.
Source: The primary source for this article is the Wikipedia article “2021 Formula One World Championship”. Information regarding specific incidents, such as the collision between Gasly and Leclerc at the British Grand Prix , and the Red Bull protest against the Mercedes DAS system was also consulted. The corpus does not provide details on Hamilton experiencing a puncture during the Bahrain Grand Prix.