Max vs Lewis
Nobody in the beginning of 2021 F1 season would have imagined that we will be heading into the last race at Abu Dhabi with the two main title challengers at equal points. It is still bonkers to think that after 21 races both Max and Lewis are exactly at 369.5 points.
This season finally we have a battle of the equals. Both Mercedes and Red Bull had strong cars. Both dominated certain circuits, both tried to build momentum but then things changed. Not just the drivers but also the team Principles Toto and and Christian have given enough drama, going at each other and not leaving an inch in defending their drivers.
Team-mates need to deliver
The second drivers – Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes and Sergio Perez for Red Bull had an equally important role to play in fight. However it must be said that while both shined at times, they have performed below expectation. Valterri having lost his Mercedes seat is just a shadow of his former self and nowhere near challenging Lewis like the previous years. Sergio Perez came in Red Bull with high hopes and 10 years of F1 experience. However even he has proved to be no match to the insane talent of Max Verstappen.
Max and Lewis – as different as they can be
The two title contenders are as different as they can be. Lewis belongs to the old guard and Max is the young gun. Lewis already has seven World Championships under his belt and is gunning for a World Record 8th one. Max is the prodigy, the youngest F1 driver and now hunting for his maiden F1 title. Lewis is calm, composed and calculated. Max is aggressive, unrelenting and a hard racer. Lewis talks about feelings and emotions. Max is objective and rational. Lewis is what one would call a ‘woke’ person. He cares about the world – Racism, Climate change, LGBT rights etc.. He has other interests like Fashion and Music. Max only talks about racing and nothing else. They are like Yin and Yang.
Throughout this season we have seen Max and Lewis coming head to head in almost all the races. Sometimes it has been fair, sometimes a bit rough and sometimes downright ugly. Things have only gotten worse in the last few races as the season is coming to an end and Championship tighter than ever.
The last run is a winner takes all race. He who wins the race will win the Championship. Let us hope that there is less ugliness and no touching/crashes in the title decider. Either way expect a lot of tears – both of joys and sorrows – at the end.
We F1 fans are very lucky to be witnessing such a close title fight between two protagonists who cannot be more different than each other. We missed seeing another legendary but different era pair – Ayrton Senna and Micheal Schumacher – fight each other but this time we are blessed.
Thank you Formula 1