Almost four years after Abu Dhabi 2021, doubt persists, but for some, the verdict is clear: Max Verstappen did not steal it. He confirmed it.
Abu Dhabi 2021 continues to debate. Almost four years after this dramatic final which offered Max Verstappen its first title of world champion, to the detriment of a Lewis Hamilton in search of an eighth historic coronation, the controversy remains lively. Recently, Jenson Button, 2009 world champion and former Hamilton teammate, rekindled the embers with an analysis as lucid as it was decided.
For Button, and this since the start, the commissioners’ decision to let only certain delaying cars before the revival was “incoherent” and clearly “created an unjust situation” for Hamilton. A maneuver which, according to him, offered a decisive advantage in Verstappen, then equipped with new tires, to melt on its rival and exceed it in the last round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But if the Briton castigates the arbitration, he never questioned the talent of the Dutchman.
Because beyond this controversy, the 2009 world champion has no doubt about the value of Verstappen. For him, since Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull driver confirmed that he was well above the lot. “It is the most complete F1 pilot that has ever existed. Max can do things with his car that no one else can do ”He said in remarks relayed by NextGen-Auto, welcoming technical virtuosity and the instinct of the quadruple world champion.
Words and evidence on track
Button does not in any way minimize the achievements of his former teammate, with whom he shared three seasons at McLaren (2010-2012). But according to him, Verstappen has this “Small something extra” that changes everything. “Lewis had an incredible natural talent, capable of taking out the perfect tour at any time. But by thinking about it, it is Max who can do more with an F1 than anyone ”he cuts.
These words find echo on the track. In 2025, Verstappen continued to dazzle despite a Red Bull in a clear decline. The Dutchman has already won five podiums in twelve races, including two victories, and remains the only pilot capable of standing up to the McLaren and extracting the maximum essence of a capricious package.
Lewis Hamilton, now at Ferrari and having a better efficient equipment, struggles to transform his good starting positions into podiums. Always placed, never winning: the Briton remains for the moment blocked at the gates of the Top 3. A dynamic which, for many, comes to confirm the words of Button. Since Abu Dhabi, Verstappen has continued to legitimize its status. The truth seems to have broken out.
