It was the eleventh round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship,[2] and it was won by Esteban Ocon for Alpine-Renault.

As of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ocon's win remains the most recent achieved by a French driver in Formula One.

Additional debris fencing was installed at the thirteenth corner before the event, while minor modifications were made to the pit lane entrance and exit.

[8] Robert Kubica drove in the first practice session for Alfa Romeo Racing in place of Kimi Räikkönen.

[13] The second part of qualifying was stopped after a crash by Sainz,[11] caused by a wind gust making the car unstable.

After hitting Norris, Bottas slid into the other Red Bull of Sergio Pérez, taking him out of the race.

Lance Stroll also left his braking too late, and attempted to avoid a collision by taking to the grass on the inside, but collided with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who then forced Daniel Ricciardo to spin as a result.

[26][27] As the cars came into the pit lane to change tyres and come out for the restart, an unsafe release from Alfa Romeo caused Kimi Räikkönen to collide with Nikita Mazepin, taking the Haas driver out of the race.

Hamilton pitted after the fourth lap, putting the Alpine of Ocon into the lead with Vettel chasing close behind.

[38] Williams moved up to eighth in the championship, ahead of Alfa Romeo, after both their drivers scored for the first time since 2018.

[39] As a result of their roles in causing multiple-car collisions at the first turn of the opening lap, Bottas and Stroll were each given five-place grid penalties for the Belgian Grand Prix.