The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix, and held around the world. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing-Honda won the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, having claimed 10 race wins across the season. Verstappen became the first-ever driver from the Netherlands, the first Honda-powered driver since Ayrton Senna in 1991, the first Red Bull driver since Sebastian Vettel in 2013 and the first non-Mercedes driver in the turbo-hybrid era to win the World Championship. This season saw the return of Aston Martin since 1960 after Lawrence Stroll invested into the British marque.
Honda became the second engine supplier in the turbo-hybrid era to power a championship-winning car, after Mercedes. Four-time defending and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished runner-up. Mercedes retained the Constructors' Championship for the eighth consecutive season.
The season featured a close year-long battle for the title between Verstappen and Hamilton, with BBC Sport's Andrew Benson describing it as "one of the most intense, hard-fought battles in sporting history". The two drivers exchanged the championship lead multiple times during the season and the title contenders were involved in major collisions at the British and Italian Grands Prix as well as minor collisions at the Emilia Romagna and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. Both drivers entered the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tied on points, which ended with a controversial finish, as it was deemed that race control did not handle a late safety car period fully according to the regulations. Verstappen produced a last lap overtake on Hamilton after a late safety car restart on the final lap of season to win his maiden World Drivers' Championship. Mercedes initially protested the results, and later decided not to appeal after their protest was denied. A review of the incident led to key structural changes to race control, including the removal of Michael Masi from his role as race director and the implementation of a virtual race control room, which assists the race director.
This was the first season since 2008 where the champion driver was not from the team that took the constructors' title. The season was also the final season in the sport for 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.
Entries All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli. Each team was required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars.
+EntrantConstructorChassisPower unitRace driversNo.Driver nameRoundsAlfa Romeo Racing OrlenC41Ferrari 065/678899Kimi RäikkönenRobert KubicaAntonio Giovinazzi1–13, 15–2213–14AllScuderia AlphaTauri HondaAlphaTauri-HondaAT02Honda RA621H1022Pierre GaslyYuki TsunodaAllAllAlpine F1 TeamAlpine-RenaultA521Renault E-Tech 20B1431Fernando AlonsoEsteban OconAllAllAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin-MercedesAMR21Mercedes-AMG F1 M12518Sebastian VettelLance StrollAllAllScuderia Ferrari Mission WinnowFerrariSF21Ferrari 065/61655Charles LeclercCarlos Sainz Jr.AllAllUralkali Haas F1 TeamHaas-FerrariVF-21Ferrari 065/6947Nikita MazepinMick SchumacherAllAllMcLaren F1 TeamMcLaren-MercedesMCL35MMercedes-AMG F1 M1234Daniel RicciardoLando NorrisAllAllMercedes-AMG Petronas F1 TeamMercedesF1 W12Mercedes-AMG F1 M124477Lewis HamiltonValtteri BottasAllAllRed Bull Racing HondaRed Bull Racing-HondaRB16BHonda RA621H1133Sergio PérezMax VerstappenAllAllWilliams RacingWilliams-MercedesFW43BMercedes-AMG F1 M12663Nicholas LatifiGeorge RussellAllAllSources:Official entry lists:
Free practice drivers Across the season, five drivers drove as a test or third driver in free practice sessions. Callum Ilott and Robert Kubica drove for Alfa Romeo Racing at two and three Grands Prix respectively, while Roy Nissany and Jack Aitken drove for Williams at three Grands Prix and at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, respectively. Zhou Guanyu drove for Alpine at the Austrian Grand Prix.
+ ConstructorPractice driversNo.Driver nameRoundsAlfa Romeo-Ferrari9888 Callum Ilott3, 94, 8, 11Alpine-Renault37 9Williams-Mercedes4589 Roy NissanyJack Aitken4, 7, 922Source:
Team changes
McLaren announced that they would change from using Renault power units to ones built by Mercedes, resuming the McLaren-Mercedes partnership that ran between and . Racing Point became known as Aston Martin. The name change was brought about by the team's part owner Lawrence Stroll investing in the Aston Martin marque making its return to the sport since 1960. Renault became known as Alpine, taking on the name of Renault's sportscar brand.
Driver changes
Four-time World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel left Ferrari at the end of the season after racing with the team for six seasons. Vettel's seat was taken by Carlos Sainz Jr., who had left McLaren after two seasons. Daniel Ricciardo moved from Renault to McLaren, where he replaced Sainz. Ricciardo was replaced by double World Champion Fernando Alonso, who drove in Alpine's first season, having last raced in for McLaren.
Vettel moved to Aston Martin, where he replaced Sergio Pérez. Pérez, who had previously signed a contract to drive for Aston Martin's predecessor, Racing Point, until 2022, moved to Red Bull Racing where he replaced Alexander Albon, who was Red Bull Racing's reserve and test driver for the 2021 season. Pérez became the first driver since Mark Webber in to join the team without being previously a Red Bull Junior Team member.
Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who had raced for Haas since and respectively, left the team at the end of 2020. 2020 Formula 2 Champion Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, took one of the seats at the team while the other was filled by Nikita Mazepin, who finished fifth in the Formula 2 Championship.
Yuki Tsunoda, who finished third in 2020 Formula 2 Championship, graduated to Formula One with Scuderia AlphaTauri, replacing Daniil Kvyat, who moved to Alpine as their reserve driver. Tsunoda became the first Japanese Formula One driver since Kamui Kobayashi in .
Mid-season changes During the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Kimi Räikkönen tested positive for coronavirus. He was replaced at Alfa Romeo Racing by reserve driver Robert Kubica, who last raced at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, driving for Williams. Räikkönen was also replaced by Kubica at the subsequent Italian Grand Prix.
Nikita Mazepin tested positive for coronavirus during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, and was not replaced for the race as Haas did not field a third driver in free practice.
Calendar The 2021 calendar consisted of twenty-two events, which were subject to the permissive COVID-19 regulations set by local governments and the Formula One Group. The British, Italian and São Paulo Grands Prix featured the sprint qualifying format.
RoundGrand PrixCircuitRace date1Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir28 March218 April3Portuguese Grand Prix Algarve International Circuit, Portimão2 May4Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló9 May5Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo23 May6Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit, Baku6 June7French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet8Styrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring, Spielberg27 June9Austrian Grand Prix4 July10British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone18 July11Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring, Mogyoród1 August12Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot29 August13Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort14Italian Grand Prix Monza Circuit, Monza15Russian Grand Prix Sochi Autodrom, Sochi16Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul Park, Tuzla10 October17 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas24 October18Mexico City Grand Prix7 November19São Paulo Grand Prix Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo20Qatar Grand Prix Lusail International Circuit, Lusail21 November21 Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah22Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit, Abu DhabiSources:
The following rounds were planned, but were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Grand PrixCircuitScheduled date Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal Marina Bay Street Circuit, SingaporeJapanese Grand Prix Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka Albert Park Circuit, MelbourneSources:
Calendar expansion and changes from 2020 to 2021 Liberty Media, the sport's commercial rights holders, announced that there would be scope for the 2021 calendar to expand beyond the planned twenty-two races of the 2020 calendar. The sporting regulations were amended to allow for a maximum of twenty-five Grands Prix per year. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, which was originally intended to be held as a one-off event in 2020, was the second round of the championship. The Portuguese Grand Prix, which was originally intended to make a one-off return in 2020 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, was the third round of the championship. The Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, which was originally intended to be a one-off race in 2020, was the eighth round of the championship, meaning the circuit hosted back-to-back races for a second season in a row. The Dutch Grand Prix was revived, with the race taking place at the Circuit Zandvoort. The race marked the first time the Dutch Grand Prix has been run since . The Dutch Grand Prix had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, which was originally intended to make a one-off return in 2020, was the sixteenth round of the championship. The Qatar Grand Prix made its debut, with the race held at the Lusail International Circuit, the venue which has hosted the Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix since 2004. Further plans to have the Grand Prix into the calendar on a 10-year contract from onwards at a new purpose-built circuit were also revealed, before being retained in Lusail. The race took place at night, the fourth venue which hosted a night race after the Singapore, Bahrain and Sakhir Grands Prix. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix also made its debut, with the race held on a temporary circuit in the city of Jeddah. Further plans to move the Grand Prix to Qiddiya City in 2023 were also made public, before being retained in Jeddah. The race also took place at night, becoming the fifth venue to host a night race after the Singapore, Bahrain, Sakhir and Qatar Grands Prix. The Vietnamese Grand Prix would have made its debut, with the race scheduled to take place in the capital Hanoi on the Hanoi Circuit. The Vietnamese Grand Prix had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grand Prix was dropped from the 2021 calendar because of the arrest on corruption charges of former Hanoi chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung, a key official responsible for organising the race. Further changes to the calendar are planned following the disruption to the 2020 championship brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic: The Azerbaijan and Monaco Grands Prix returned to the calendar. These Grands Prix were removed from the re-issued 2020 schedule because of the logistical difficulties associated with establishing a street circuit on short notice.