From F1 to the Indy 500 and WEC to WRC, it was a golden year of motor racing, captured by the world’s best photographers

August: Le Mans, France Late evening sunshine at Le Mans 2021 – although there had been a downpour an hour before the 4pm start and showers two and a half hours in. Porsches arrived thick and fast, with a dozen 911 RSR-19s starting the race James Moy Photography/Getty Images

 

November: Valencia, Spain Nothing lasts forever, although with Valentino Rossi his tenure on two wheels seemed like it might. His MotoGP career ended with a top-10 finish Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images

 

March: Bristol, US The last thing the NASCAR Truck Series Race on Dirt needed was biblical rain. It caused two postponements Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images		September: Monza, Italy Hitech’s Kiwi driver Liam Lawson set a fastest lap in the Formula 2 support of the F1 Grand Prix Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

 

July: Silverstone, UK The crowds were back at the British Grand Prix, with 140,000 on Sunday witnessing Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collide on the first lap. Here’s third-place specialist Valtteri Bottas beneath glorious English summer skies Antonin Vincent / DPPI

 

January: Neom to Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltic’s Lithuanian driver Benediktas Vanagas kicks up dust in the Martian desert environment of Dakar 2021, finishing 12th overall Charly Lopez

 

November: Losail, Qatar One of the problems of a desert grand prix is that tracks can be dusty, dirty and affected by wind. In Qatar, this led to wear on tyres – and bodywork Florent Gooden / DPPI

 

September: Monza, Italy Hamilton admitted that his halo had saved his life following this bump with Verstappen on lap 26 of the Italian GP. “It’s a big shock,” the British driver said. “We are taking risks out there all the time” Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images

 

October: Goodwood, UK Umbrellas were required at the 78th Members’ Meeting, but the conditions didn’t dampen the track action Jayson Fong		September: Monza, Italy Sébastien Ogier took his eighth WRC crown in nine years at the last rally of the season. In 2022 he will only take part in selected events. Elfyn Evans – your time has come Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

 

July: Silverstone, UK After a late duel with Alex Palou, Hélio Castroneves won his fourth Indy 500 (his first was in 2001) and was able to show the crowd his well- known celebratory Spider- Man routine after the race Penske Entertainment: Doug Mathews

 

October: Patajoki, Finland A season high for French driver Adrien Fourmaux in his Ford Fiesta WRC but he would end the rally in a more grounded seventh place McKlein

 

July: Silverstone, UK We’ve seen a lot of orange around F1 circuits this season but it was the home colours that were flying after the British GP Joe Portlock/F1 via Getty Images

 

August: Le Mans, France The 24 Hours – the 89th– saw its first Hypercars, with the Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria López leading the way James Moy Photography/Getty Images		June: Spielberg, Austria Red Bull again proved itself to be the king of quick stops, setting the fastest pitstop times in 13 of the year’s 22 races. Mercedes topped the times just twice all year Mark Thompson/Getty Images

 

November: Sakhir, Bahrain A double-header in Bahrain closed the 2021 World Endurance Championship, the final of which was an eight-hour race won by the Le Mans-conquering trio Conway, Kobayashi and López. In the Hypercar class of three teams, Toyota was first in every race Drew Gibson