Formula 1 is set to make the trek to Barcelona this weekend for the fourth round of the 2021 F1 season.
Formula 1 heads to Spain this weekend for the Spanish Grand Prix, marking the fourth round of the 2021 Formula 1 season. And by all accounts, it's shaping up to be a riveting contest with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton squaring off against Max Verstappen according to the last year of the current rules cycle.
Last month, Hamilton emerged triumphant in Bahrain, underscoring his championship pedigree with the trademark smart driving and decision-making that has led him to the pinnacle of the sport. It was an intense race that saw Hamilton challenged by Verstappen thoroughly. In fact, the Dutchman had the lead at one point only to hand back the position because he had overtaken by running off the track. All told, the intense race ended in favour of Hamilton only just.
Verstappen threw down the gauntlet once again, weeks later in a riveting contest at Imola that resulted in a triumphant run for the Dutch driver, underscored by a faultless drive under tricky wet circumstances.
Last weekend, in Portugal, Hamilton once again proved victorious as Verstappen continued to fall foul of the track limits regulations.
As it stands, Hamilton leads the standings with 69 points while Verstappen nips at his heels on 61 points. After this top tandem, McLaren's Lando Norris comes in on 37 points, Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas on 32, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on 28 and Sergio Perez on 22.
Thus, with Mercedes and Red Bull drawing first blood on the 2021 Formula 1 season, the two F1 teams are again expected to lead the charge at the Barcelona circuit. How their rivalry unfolds will likely set up the pecking order in Spain this weekend across sports betting markets.
As it is, Lewis Hamilton has the slightest edge over Max Verstappen in the betting, but that in of itself is no guarantee of anything. After all, it's merely an 8 point difference in the standing that the pair takes into the upcoming, highly anticipated high-powered racing contest on the Iberian Peninsula.
McLaren's Lando Norris sets up attractively as a potential threat to the top tandem of Hamilton and Verstappen, if the pace he showed at Imola and Portugal were any indication. Ferrari are set up advantageously to shake things up in Spain thanks to Charles Leclerc, while Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri with Pierre Gasly (7 points) could do some damage.
Imola represented one of the most riveting contests at the start of the 2021 Formula 1 season, with Verstappen closing the gap on his arch rival Hamilton to a point. However, when all was said and done, the Dutch driver won the race most comfortably.
Verstappen is the only driver in the eyes of many that can give Hamilton a run for his money, if not potentially, even, the only driver that could dethrone the celebrated Brit from his perch atop the F1 standings this season as he attempts to clinch an historic eighth world championship.
Denying Hamilton is no mean feat of course. The Briton is undeniably one of the best drivers this generation has had the privilege to see, if not the best of all time. And he is poised to become the most decorated driver in Formula One history, if he becomes an eight-time world champion across a staggering 23 races.
In 2020, the British driver matched the legendary Michael Schumacher with seven world championship titles and overtook the German driver for race wins. Surpassing those records in his words was "the biggest challenge" of his career.
Lewis entered F1 in 2007 and made an instant impression. Although his maiden season didn't result in season-ending triumph, he established himself as a contender to spot. A fact that he underscored in his ensuing season when he clinched the title for McLaren in dramatic fashion in Brazil, becoming the youngest champion at the same time in the history of F1 racing at the age of 23. And he never looked back.
Throughout his career, Hamilton has been a model of consistency and the driver all others looked to beat. He set the standard by which all were measured. And that didn't change when he moved from McLaren to Mercedes in 2014 as he picked up another title in his first year with the Silver Arrows. Indeed, Hamilton's stint with the German brand includes title wins in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
When asked about his success, Hamilton reflected that consistency was "one of the biggest challenges that any athlete in the world faces." It was a quest that he took to heart and that paid dividends.
"A lot of it is also collaboration" added Hamilton. "Working with your engineers, just challenging your engineers and having them challenge you and raise areas where they can see better ways of working together."
There's not much left for Hamilton to overcome in terms of his peers and past history. He's practically broken every record there is to break, which puts him in the unique and enviable position of setting new records as he enters his 15th year in Formula One. From here on, Hamilton has the opportunity to distinguish himself as the best ever driver that ever graced the sport.
To ask his fans, Hamilton has already done enough to prove he's the best driver that ever graced the sport. The title of "greatest ever" isn't something that is awarded lightly in any sport, subjected to much debate. For those that love sport though, in particular F1 racing, it's impossible not to appreciate what Hamilton has done for the sport and how he's elevated the competition around him.
