Formula One Technical Director Ross Brown believes that the sprint qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is the best before the expansion of the competition system in 2022.
In a dramatic weekend match in Brazil, Max Verstappen won the top qualifying championship on Friday, and Valtteri Bottas won the sprint on Saturday and won Pole position, followed by Lewis Hamilton's victory in the exciting main event on Sunday.
Hamilton started sprinting behind the grid and rushed to fifth to improve his starting position in the main game. In the end, he started to win from 10th after a free throw from the grid.
His progress on the court is the highlight of an interesting sprint game, which has more fireworks than the first two games held at Monza and Silverstone in 2021.
The sprint plan also leads to more meaningful action on Friday, when qualifying matches will take place instead of normal practice matches.
"In my opinion, Saturday's F1 Sprint was the best of the three games," Brown wrote in a column on the F1 website. "It has a lot of moves, a lot of battles-including Lewis opening the way on the court.
"This is a great Saturday afternoon entertainment, an appetizer to the main course on Sunday.
"We also had a wonderful Friday, and the drama of qualifying was very strong. We can never underestimate the impact of Sprint on Friday.
"There is only one hour of practice, which will bring some danger to the rest of the weekend because the team is not prepared."
Brown previously revealed that F1 plans to double the number of sprint weekends in 2022 to six, and is considering some small but important changes.
Currently points are only awarded to the top three drivers in the sprint, but they can be increased to the top 10 to align with the main race and encourage more bold overtaking.
New cars that promote overtaking are already on the market next year, and Brown has accepted that the official pole position award should be after Friday's qualifying instead of Saturday's sprint.
He added on Wednesday: "We believe that Sprint has a very solid foundation and will discuss with the FIA and the team in the coming weeks to provide more details on the six race plans for 2022.
"There are some things we need to adjust, but Brazil shows that Sprint is a great addition to the weekend.
"It makes Friday, Saturday and Sunday important moments that excite us all."
With three more races in the F1 season, Verstappen led Hamilton by 14 points in the first Qatar Grand Prix this week, and the team standings are also gaining momentum.
Brown added: "We have seen two championships this year."
"The Brazil game is just another twist in a fascinating story. It's great. No one knows what will happen next.
"Before going to the final in Abu Dhabi, we have two new venues in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to visit. The track there has undergone a series of modifications. The stage has been set up."
The history book will remember Max Verstappen as the 2021 Formula One champion.
However, anyone who is lucky enough to fight Lewis Hamilton back and forth will never forget how close Verstappen is.
As the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix continues, Stats Perform looks at the numbers behind this exciting championship battle and its epic ending.
The title was decided on December 12 (the last day of the season), which is the latest victory in 62 years since Jack Brabham won the US Grand Prix.
Hamilton's end-of-season state prevented Verstappen from ending his victory before that, and instead entered the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a score of 369.5 points.
Only once before had the top two stay at the level before the final Grand Prix of the season, when Emerson Fittipaldi defeated Clay Regazzoni in a duel at Watkins Glen in 1974.
In an interview with Stats Perform this week, Fittipaldi stated that he "has never experienced such pressure in my career" because they are in a "duel".
The Brazilian recounted how Regazzoni tried to knock him off the track and discussed the possibility of Verstappen (leading in winning the game) doing so before the Abu Dhabi tiebreaker, so the profit margins are very good.
The standings are still not as tight as the record in 1984, when Niki Lauda led Alain Prost by half a point, who won the decisive Portuguese game, but the point was that his opponent took second place.
However, this was the first time a competitor surpassed another in the final lap of the season to win the championship.
Although Verstappen was widely regarded as Hamilton's biggest competitor in the preseason, he never really led the championship at the beginning of the year.
However, at the Monaco Grand Prix, things changed, and the Dutchman-his country's first champion, the 15th country to win-was about to finish the job.
In fact, if Hamilton had a firm foothold in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen could have maintained this record because the driver led the standings in the most race weeks without winning the championship (14). After the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, he received a rather unpopular honor from Carlos Reutman, but his name appeared on the trophy 7 days later.
This season’s 10th victory at the Yas Marina Circuit-and his 10th pole position-raised Verstappen's 2021 podium total to 18, the most in a year by any driver in F1 history once.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have reached the stage 17 times each in a season, and Hamilton has done this in five different seasons. Of course, there are 22 Grand Prix races, which is the longest F1 season ever.
The historic Hamilton waits for eight o'clock
The landmark Hamilton really wanted — the eighth championship allowed him to surpass Schumacher — eluded him, but it was another historic season for the truly great men in the sport.
Although Verstappen may be on top of the world now, he still has a long, long way to go to match Hamilton's extraordinary longevity.
At the Spanish Grand Prix in May, Hamilton won his 100th pole position, and this was the first person to achieve this result. Then, he completed a century of race victory at the Russian Grand Prix in September.
Schumacher (68 strokes, 91 wins) is second only to Hamilton in both categories, and Vettel is far ahead of active challengers (57 strokes, 53 wins).
Hamilton won at least one Grand Prix for the 15th consecutive season in 2021, tying Schumacher's achievement, and this record is bound to drop in 2022.
The 2021 Formula One championship race will be mentioned in the next few years.
Max Verstappen (Max Verstappen) achieved an extraordinary victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, surpassing Lewis Hamilton in a sensational final lap to win the championship.
Stats Perform reflects the key games of an exciting season.
EMILIA ROMAGNA Grand Prix (April 18)
Hamilton's rapid start hinted at another year of dominance, as he won three of the first four Grand Prix games. In that race, he also won two pole positions and reached 100 in his career; in his unprecedented century, the other drivers on the grid had a total of 129 pole positions.
The first sign of a real championship race came in the second race week, when Hamilton started from pole position but did not win. In the rain in Imola, the Mercedes man crashed in front of the red flag. The accident involved current and future teammates Valtery Bottas and George Russell.
Although Hamilton returned to second place, he reflected on "I made the mistake of a long time for the first time" because Verstappen digressed.
Verstappen responded to Hamilton's strong performance with his own four victories in five games, even though he endured a period of frustration beyond his control in a Grand Prix.
In this increasingly exciting battle, the second truly dramatic moment was Verstappen's tire blowout when he won in Baku, even though his teammate Sergio Perez was the winner.
Red Bull found further comfort in Hamilton's results: the tragic P15. However, for the defending champion, this meaningless return is not necessarily an accident. He had already foreseen the problem after finishing seventh in the last Monaco street game.
This back and forth reached its peak at Silverstone. Verstappen’s first three consecutive victories in his career opened the gap with Hamilton’s 32 points, while Mercedes is in the worst record of invincibility in the hybrid era (five games), but the difference between the two competitors The first high profile contact slowed the momentum of the Dutch.
Verstappen won the first sprint but failed to hold a lap in the main event. Hamilton was sent into an obstacle while attempting to overtake in Copse Corner.
Although Hamilton continued to win and close to within 8 points-despite being fined 10 seconds-Red Bull team leader Christian Horner was angry at his "dirty driving", which he claimed cost the team 1.8 million GBP. Red Bull's appeal for more severe punishment was rejected.
After the Silverstone circuit gave Hamilton a narrow lead before the mid-season break, Hungary's P2, but the recovery at Spa did not proceed as planned by the Silver Arrow superstar.
The bad situation meant that a delayed race started behind the safety car, then was warned by a red flag and then cancelled two laps later, enough for the grand prix to be completed to reward half a point-Hamilton, ranked third, described the decision as " It’s all about money".
Verstappen defeated Russell to get pole position, and therefore won a valuable victory this season.
Verstappen once again led Hamilton before the Italian Grand Prix and protected this position in the race-albeit in an unorthodox manner.
Neither Verstappen nor Hamilton finished the Grand Prix because the Dutchman grabbed the curb and landed on top of Mercedes while trying to overtake his opponent. The halo protected its drivers.
"I'm so grateful that I'm still here," Hamilton said afterwards, and Verstappen was fined from the grid in the next game. Due to the P2 in the Monza sprint, the Red Bulls still expanded his advantage.
The Sochi event summed up the unpredictable nature of the season. The momentum has been oscillating back and forth throughout the weekend. This was initiated by Red Bull's call to change Verstappen's engine and put him in the back row of the grid.
Hamilton ranked fourth after a crash in the pit lane in qualifying, but when pole positioner Lando Norris crossed three laps from the finish line in a more dangerous situation, Hamilton put himself in the championship position.
This means Hamilton's long-awaited 100th F1 victory-in his 281th race-but only ahead of Verstappen, who returned to P2 brilliantly.
São Paulo Grand Prix (November 14)
The Americas Tour gave Verstappen a firm grasp of the situation before the final Brazil race. He defeated Hamilton in the final game in the United States and then won in Mexico. He is also looking for more happiness in São Paulo.
When his qualifying time-the fastest on the grid-was cancelled for violating DRS, Hamilton was ready to accept a five-place start penalty, which meant that even in the sprint race he returned from 20th to 5th. He must also start from the 10th position, where Verstappen claims P2.
It was a sensation that Hamilton yelled, leading Verstappen to win, and Verstappen pushed his opponent away early in the game and escaped punishment. Toto Wolff later claimed that these various factors against Hamilton "woke up the lion."
Saudi Arabia Grand Prix (December 5)
There was no room for error, Hamilton won again in Qatar, and then continued his good form in Saudi Arabia's extremely controversial situation.
Hamilton started from pole position after a crash in the Verstappen qualifying race, but the race has only just begun; last Sunday saw two red flags and a series of safety cars, which meant that Max could not escape Lewis after taking the lead.
Due to violations, Verstappen twice returned the position to Hamilton, and he was further punished for seeing the Dutchman brake and trigger the extra flash point of the collision. Hamilton sprinted for the second time ever, bringing the championship battle to the final Grand Prix.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (12th December)
Even if the two are in a decisive match in the standings, few people would have thought that the championship would come to an end in such a dramatic way. Hamilton looks to have won in the final stages.
The Mercedes man has surpassed the pole driver Verstappen since the beginning, and he has been ahead of him, although Red Bull claimed that his early actions were illegal, but he was still able to keep this position.
However, at the end of the game and the season, it was the Silver Arrows who were angry. The race director allowed Verstappen to challenge Hamilton on the final lap and win the final lap of the race-on par with the last date on the calendar, a championship title has been determined.
After the Red Bull star won the championship on Sunday, Max Verstappen praised him for "pushing each other to the limit" throughout the Formula One season with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton in the final lap of the decisive final race of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, winning the first F1 world championship in a controversial manner.
Hamilton, after entering the final stage of a healthy lead to Verstappen, was far from winning a record eighth time.
However, with four laps left in the Nicholas Latifi crash, Verstappen overtook Hamilton after the deployment of the safety car, and the British driver's advantage was wiped out on the final straight.
Mercedes immediately filed two complaints about the strange end of the race on the Yas Marina circuit, but the race management rejected these proposals-the German racing team intends to appeal the decision.
The final was almost the appropriate way to end the chaotic battle between Hamilton and Verstappen throughout the season. The Red Bull driver fondly reviewed his season-long game with the Englishman.
"Of course, in general, I think we really like it," Verstappen told reporters when asked about the battle between the two.
"We have our moments, but I think that in the championship battle, this is part of it. Now that the season is over, I think we can relax a little bit-but it has been very nervous.
"In the race, we are pushing each other to the limit in almost every race, and this is also true in our car. I think it's really nice to see.
"There are some difficult races, just physically, but also because you have been pushing hard and there is no lap to rest. It is so important to always strive to be perfect throughout the weekend-qualifying, competitions.
"[That] is difficult to be perfect in Formula One, because there is always something [things to happen]. A little lock can make a difference between P1 and P2. Among the championships we have, this is huge. So the level of attention required is very high."
When asked to comment further on Hamilton, Verstappen spoke passionately about his opponent, while he also reviewed an important first victory, even though his team failed to win their respective championships.
"I respect Lewis very much, but you know, I'm very happy that I won in general because it was a very difficult season with Mercedes and Lewis," he added.
"I don't want to be arrogant or say that it is a very satisfying thing to beat him. I just respect him very much. As a driver, I know that in terms of his achievements, he is a great driver, but I Glad we won it.
"I think even if you talk to the [Red Bull] team, they really want me to win this championship, but we are not the fastest throughout the season.
"So it's natural that you can't win the team championship. But we have done our best and we will not be disappointed with anything because we really maximized a lot of our results.
"Like I said, we did our best. Of course, we didn't perform well in the team championship, but we won the drivers."
Verstappen has hinted in the past that a world champion is enough to satisfy him for the rest of his career.
Now that this feat has been achieved, he concluded that any further success is only an additional reward.
"No, of course, I will continue to drive, but of course, in terms of achievements, I have achieved everything in Formula One now, so everything that follows is just a reward," he continued.
"People always doubt,'Ah, you know influential or something else'. There are also criticisms.
"But I think what these moments teach you again is that you have to continue to believe in yourself and your beliefs, you know, and being a strong person in this regard is always effective for me."
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