Verstappen World Champion: These races made the difference in 2021

Max Verstappen is the 2021 Formula One world champion. Not only is he the very first Dutchman to achieve that, it is also the first non-Mercedes driver since 2013 to win the title. The Red Bull Racing driver has made the difference to Lewis Hamilton in several races this season. We've listed the decisive weekends for you.

Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna

At the circuit of Imola, Lewis Hamilton starts on pole position. Sergio Perez manages to beat Verstappen in qualifying, the only time this season, and the Dutchman starts third. Verstappen has an excellent start on the wet track and takes the lead on the first lap. When Hamilton spins off the track on the 31st lap, Verstappen looks to make a big mistake, but because the race is stopped, the Briton can continue and finishes second.

Monaco Grand Prix

Verstappen qualified in second place, but because Charles Leclerc didn't start Verstappen entered the first corner in the lead. He will not relinquish that lead again. Hamilton has a weekend to forget. The Briton qualified only seventh and could not get past Pierre Gasly in the race. As a result, the Mercedes driver also finished seventh in the race.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

In Baku, Verstappen was on his way to his third win of the season, but five laps before the finish things went wrong. Verstappen suffers a blowout and crashes hard on the start-finish line. At the restart, Hamilton is second behind Perez and looks to take the lead in the championship from Verstappen. An overenthusiastic attempt to overtake Perez at the first corner throws away Hamilton's chances and he finishes only fifteenth. Had Hamilton not stalled, he probably would have won the race and taken a big hit on Verstappen with 25 points more than the Dutchman in Baku.

Belgian Grand Prix

The most bizarre Formula One weekend of the season. Qualifying turns out to be the highlight of the weekend after the race only lasts a few laps behind the safety car. On the wet track of Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen takes pole position, but more importantly, George Russell in the Williams takes second place ahead of Hamilton. With qualifying also becoming the race result, Russell takes precious points away from Hamilton in a position he probably wouldn't have been able to hold in the race.

Russian Grand Prix

At the start in Sochi, things aren't looking too good for Verstappen. The Dutchman will start from the back of the grid, with Hamilton on the second row. Verstappen is able to move up to the front of the grid, but can only manage a seventh-place finish. A late rain shower throws everything out of kilter, however, and thanks to a clever tyre strategy from Red Bull, Verstappen eventually finishes second to Hamilton, minimising the damage from his engine change.

Turkish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton gets his fourth engine of the season and as a result, gets a ten-place grid penalty. Bottas and Verstappen are on the front row of the grid together, but the Mercedes is simply too fast on the Istanbul circuit. Hamilton manages to work his way through the field, but the Briton only manages to finish fifth. With his second-place Verstappen takes over the lead in the world championship from Hamilton, which he would not relinquish for the rest of the season.