The 2021 campaign has brought us the most fiercely competitive battle to be crowned Formula One world champion in recent memory.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have held something of a monopoly over the ultimate prize in recent years but Red Bull have been developing their own gem who could dominate the sport for years to come.
Max Verstappen may only be 24 but he's already shown that he has the ability to challenge the 36-year-old Hamilton all the way until the end of the campaign.
Hamilton has backed his title rival to ‘win the right way’ ahead of their hotly-anticipated season-deciding race in Abu Dhabi.
Yet a dramatic final crash would not be out of the question considering the amount of times these two have gone wheel to wheel - here's the full recap.
A clean battle between Hamilton and Verstappen showed early signs of turning competitive in Italy as the Red Bull driver forced his rival wide following some late braking.
Hamilton found himself on the sausage kerb to avoid a big collision and Verstappen went on to win the race, despite starting two places behind the British driver.
Hamilton said after the race: "Max got a better start than me and then I think I was slightly ahead going into turn two but I was basically avoiding us coming together.
"Max was just coming and coming and coming across.
"Of course, we had that touch and I had to use the exit, take those big kerbs but I'm grateful I just got it through it."
Verstappen and Hamilton begun on the front line and made an equally good start to the race.
The Red Bull driver took a more assertive route into the first corner, taking Hamilton by surprise and forcing him wide once again.
While Verstappen took the lead on this corner, Hamilton's patience paid off in the end as he went on to win the race.
“I’m continuing to love this battle we are having,†said Hamilton afterwards.
“I didn’t know whether we would be able to follow them as closely as we did in the end.
“Obviously, Turn 1, the start was not ideal and we are going to have to review it and see how we can do better in the future.
“But as soon as we got passed in Turn 1, I was like, ‘OK, switch into a different mode’. It was actually a really good day.
“I learned a lot about Max today, perhaps more than all the other races put together."
This was the day when the rivalry between the two kicked up another gear after Verstappen took control in the standings with three GP wins in a row.
But a race at Silverstone was always going to bring added motivation for Hamilton and the hometown hero was trailing after the the sprint qualifier.
Going into the race on Sunday, Hamilton was determined to come out on top and that resulted in some fiercely competitive racing in the early stages.
Going into a corner neither driver backed out of a wheel-to-wheel duel which ended with Verstappen's rear right wheel and Hamilton's front left colliding and sending the Dutch driver into the barriers.
As a result of the collision though, Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty but eventually overtook Charles Leclerc at the death to seize victory.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner did not hold back in his criticism of Hamilton as he told Sky: “It shouldn’t be like that to be honest with you.
“Max has incurred a 51g accident. Lewis Hamilton’s a world champion, he shouldn’t be making manoeuvres like that.
“It’s unacceptable. The biggest result from that today is he was uninjured.
“He’s had to go to hospital for precautionary checks after a 51g accident, so I hope Lewis is very happy with himself.â€
Horner added: “For me, that’s a hollow victory.â€
A furious Verstappen wrote on social media: "Obviously very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us in any way and doesn't do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track.
"Watching the celebrations after the race while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour."
Hamilton replied, saying: "I just don't feel like he needs to be as aggressive as he is.
"We are going down to Turn Six and he's bumping wheels with me. I was quite a long way up the inside into Nine and none of us backed out and that was the end result.
"I've managed for a long time without colliding with someone but when someone is just too aggressive these things are bound to happen."
After losing and then reclaiming his place at the top of the drivers' championship, Verstappen's rivalry with Hamilton was really getting intense.
Another sprint qualifier saw the Red Bull driver head into the race in pole position while Hamilton was fourth.
A pit-stop mishap midway through the race put the drivers on a collision course as Hamilton emerged from the pit lane with Verstappen coming up fast on the straight.
The British driver came out alongside Verstappen and while the Dutchman had just enough room to get around the first corner as they drove wheel-to-wheel, the Red Bull man was squeezed going into the next and after choosing not to bail out of the duel the two cars collided.
Verstappen was pushed onto the sausage kerb after the collision between his rear right tyre and Hamilton's rear left and that flung the Red Bull car into the air before landing on top of the Mercedes' halo protection device.
Both drivers were forced to retire from the race as a result.
Red Bull described the crash as 'a racing incident' while Mercedes team principle Toto Wolff described it as 'a tactical foul' by Verstappen.
After the race, Hamilton said: "He just didn't want to give way today.
He knew when he was going into Turn 2 what was going to happen, he knew he was going over the kerb but still did it."
Verstappen also gave his version of events, saying: "I didn't expect him to just keep on squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, because he didn't even need to.
"He just kept on pushing me wider and wider and at one point there was nowhere to go.
"You need two people to work together to make a corner."
In the end it was deemed that Verstappen was 'predominantly to blame' and as a result was handed a three-place grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix.
Tension between the pair threatened to boil over in Austin before lights out was even underway following a dust-up in practice.
Red Bull had a poor start to the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, almost a second off rivals Mercedes in first practice, before making up ground in the second session.
Championship leader Verstappen had a difficult first outing, failing to complete his short-run due to traffic.
Then in the second session he found himself squaring up alongside Hamilton on the start/finish straight.
The inseparable title rivals were side by side heading up to turn one, with Hamilton passing the Dutchman into the hairpin left hander.
Verstappen was picked up calling Hamilton a “stupid idiot†on his team radio, before sticking his middle finger out of the car at the seven time world champion.
Hamilton reacted to Verstappen's putburst by saying: “I think at the core of everything there has to be respect.
“When I think about and I hear the things that come out of drivers’ mouths I do think about young kids watching us.
“There are kids watching us and they’re looking at us for inspiration and for guidance. There has been a lot of things that have been said which is definitely not good for young kids that are watching.â€
Verstappen ultimately recovered from a poor practice to pip Hamilton to the win in the US and extend his lead in the standings.
Hamilton reignited his dream for a record-breaking eighth world championship after securing a brilliant victory in Sao Paulo.
He was dealt a huge blow on Friday as he was excluded from qualifying and thrown to the back of the grid.
Hamilton reacted by driving from last to fifth in Saturday’s sprint race - although he was also handed a five-place grid drop for an engine penalty.
Following the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Hamilton over the radio: “Lewis, brilliant job, damage limitation. F*** them all.â€
Hamilton replied: “Copy. It’s not over yet.â€
Hamilton started 10th on Sunday after his series of penalties, but fought his way past Verstappen with just 12 laps left.
But the overtake wasn't without more controversy as on lap 48 race leader Verstappen forced the Brit off the track to protect his lead.
The stewards noted the incident during the race but concluded no investigation was necessary.
Mercedes have now announced they are seeking a 'Right of Review' on the "basis of new evidence unavailable to the Stewards at the time of their decision."
The penultimate contest of the season was one of the most nail-biting races of the year with drama happening throughout the spectacle.
One clash, however, stuck out from the rest and that was when Hamilton accused Verstappen of ‘brake testing’ him on lap 37 towards the end of the race.
Verstappen’s team told him to give the position to Hamilton but the Brit was caught off guard by his rival slowing right down before being rammed by his Mercedes challenger.
Hamilton labelled him ‘crazy’ over the radio and Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff fumed by throwing his headphones to the ground.
And both drivers have now spoken of the incident, with differing opinions over what happened.
“It was quite eventful,†said Verstappen.
“A lot of things happen that I don’t fully agree with but it is what it is, I tried on track to give my all. Nevertheless, I was still second.â€
Asked about the incident with Hamilton he said: “I slowed down, I wanted to let him through, I was on the right but he didn’t want to overtake and then we touched. I don’t really understand what happened there.â€
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards for the collision and Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty and two penalty points.
However, he kept his second place and goes into the finale level on points with Hamilton.
