The Formula One 2021 season was full of excitement and surprises all way along. Throughout the course of the last nine months, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton kept their fans glued to their screens as they put on a title fight for the ages.
Their grueling battle ended in a controversial yet an iconic moment at the Abu Dhabi GP. Max Verstappen made a late lunge on Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the race to snatch the title away from him. In a season which seemed like a proper Hollywood movie, there was absolutely no shortage of drama.
Former F1 driver, Joylon Palmer had plenty of choices when he was asked to pick his moment of the year. Palmer picked the Silverstone GP opening lap as the moment, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had their first high intensity crash.
Max Verstappen went spinning into the walls, as Lewis Hamilton went on to claim a victory in front of his home fans. The two title contenders gave it almost everything on that opening lap, before the tangled at the Corpse.
“There were so many epic and iconic moments in 2021, but the only choice possible in the end was the first clash of the titans at the British Grand Prix,” Palmer added.
“A packed-out Silverstone, a scorching Sunday afternoon, the Saturday Sprint switching the starting order and adding to the tension. And then lights out and straight into unabated fury between the best two drivers at the front of the field, neither willing to back down,” he continued.
Joylon Palmer explains why he picks Silverstone GP as the moment of the year
Max Verstappen had won the sprint race the day before, as he made a move on Lewis Hamilton. However, in the main race, the Briton was just not going to yield as they fought each other brilliantly on the opening lap. At one moment it seemed as if Max Verstappen was ahead, and the other it seemed that Lewis Hamilton made a successful move.
“Side by side brilliantly for half a lap before Hamilton looked to the inside at Copse and tagged Verstappen’s right rear. How they hadn’t tangled before Copse was a miracle given how both were driving,” said Palmer.
This particular moment was very crucial from a championship point of view as things got heated up between Red Bull and Mercedes. Before the British GP, Max Verstappen seemed to be in command of the championship race, having won three consecutive races.
“In the end this was a moment that encapsulated the 2021 season, sparked the title race back into life, and ramped the tensions between all at Mercedes and Red Bull,” said Palmer.
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