Hello friends, let’s take a trip down memory lane way back to Valencia in the year 2012 for a race weekend that perfectly sums up the 2012 season.
Background History:
Entering race 8 of the 2012 season each of the prior 7 races had been won by a different driver and no driver seemed to have a proven edge over the rest of the competition. The hometown hero would be Fernando Alonso following a P2 in Barcelona a few short weeks prior, looking to be the first driver of the season to win multiple races. It would be a weekend full of drama and memories.
Qualifying:
Qualifying went underway and at the end of Q1 the 8 drivers eliminated were as followed: VER, WEB, PET, DLR, KAR, PIC. The most shocking exit in Q1 being Mark Webber who won in Monaco just 2 races earlier. The end of Q2 saw the shocking exit of Alonso as well as exits from MSC, MAS, SEN, PER, KOV, and RIC. This shocking quali result for Alonso meant an uphill battle if he wanted to bring home triumph to the incredibly loyal Spanish fans. Q3 saw Sebastian Vettel take a 33rd career pole followed by HAM, MAL, GRO, RAI, ROS, KOB, HUL, BUT, and DIR. This would set the grid for what was sure to be an excellent race given how shaken up the grid was. Pole Time: 1:38.086
Race:
If I had to describe this race in 1 word I’d say chaotic. lights went out and immediately Vettel pulled off into a significant lead. Alonso made up places and was a man on a mission. Grosjean even overtook Hamilton to get into a podium place. Lap 33 saw a shocking turn in the tide of the race as we saw race leader Sebastian Vettel slowing at an alarming rate until he was eventually forced to retire, a brutal end to an incredible weekend. Further heartbreak struck on lap 40 when a podium certain Grosjean suffered the same fate as Seb when his car came to a slow stop. In what seemed to be an incredible battle between 2 race winners between Maldonado and Hamilton we saw Maldonado live up to the memes when he punted Lewis into a wall ending Lewis’ race and ruining his own race in that light, the bitter Spanish Alonso fans cheered as Lewis hit the wall as now it was a sure race win for the Spaniard. Amidst all of the chaos the legend Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes had made it all the way up to 3rd with Kimi in 2nd a beautiful sight for Ferrari fans in terms of nostalgia. At the checkered flag we saw Alonso take his second win of the season with the Ice-Man in P2 with the great Schumacher rounding out the podium. The rest of the top 10 went as follows: WEB, HUL, ROS, PDR, BUT, PER, and SEN, a beautiful recovery drive for Webber to muster solid points for Red Bull. An emotional view seeing Schumacher taking the podium for the last time in F1.
The 2021 season has finally reached its dramatic climax, and in 2021 fashion, it was anything but normal.
We can finally crown a champion, and Max Verstappen has earned his first title after an incredible season. Lewis Hamilton takes second in the race and in the championship, and while he is understandably disappointed, the seven-time champion showcased his amazing talent once again. Valtteri Bottas finished in 6th place for Mercedes in his final race with the team before his move to Alfa Romeo. Sergio Perez failed to finish the race for Red Bull following an issue with his engine.
Source: autosport.com
Carlos Sainz finished in third place for Ferrari after starting the race in fifth. Not only that, but Ferrari finally secured third place in the Constructor’s championship. After a tough couple of years for the Italian team, they’ll be extremely happy with that result. Charles Leclerc finished in tenth place after a risky pit stop during an early virtual safety car didn’t pay off as expected.
Source: formula1.com
What will have passed many people by following the crazy result of the race was the 4th and 5th places of Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. The Italian team did an excellent job throughout the race, and while they were unable to secure fifth place in the Constructor’s championship, they have clearly shown that they are a force to be reckoned with. I for one am extremely excited to see what they do next!
McLaren’s Lando Norris appeared to get himself back on track (excuse the pun) this weekend, after qualifying in 3rd place and showcasing the talent we’ve come to expect from him. While he eventually finished the race in 7th place, he did enough to cling onto 6th place in the Driver’s Championship, an excellent result for the British driver.
It was an unfortunate weekend for Alfa Romeo, and for fans of the sport who were saying goodbye to their two drivers. Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi both failed to finish their final races in the sport. We wish them both the best in the future and will miss seeing them on track.
Race week review
The stakes had never been higher, Max Verstappen on the verge of becoming a world champion, possibly the first non Mercedes champion since Sebastian Vettel in 2013 and Lewis Hamilton on the verge of glory, gunning for his 8th world championship.
During the week, many celebrities and social media personalities showed their support for Verstappen and Hamilton. F1 shared their messages on Instagram, wishing both drivers the best of luck.
In FP1, Verstappen led Bottas and Hamilton, with the teams testing out the new adjustments to the circuit and getting used to it. Abu Dhabi had some changes to the track, getting a new turn 5 and turn 9, along with changes to sector 3, making a lap around the circuit 10 seconds quicker.
In FP2, Mercedes showed a lot of pace, the gap between Verstappen and Hamilton 6 hundredths of a second; while Ocon and Bottas completed the top 3 for that session. Kimi Raikkonen, in preparation for his final Formula 1 race spun in his Alfa Romeo.
Source: autosport.com
The final practice session saw Hamilton come out on top again, with Verstappen not quite able to respond but finish ahead of Bottas in FP3. The Alpha Tauri showed good pace, placing 6th and 7th.
For the final qualifying of the season, no mistakes could be made by either championship contender if they wanted to have a good start for the race. There was a long straight into the first corner, meaning anything could happen in those few meters.
Some surprising exits from Q2 were from Gasly and Alonso, who had made in into the top 10 shootout for the majority of the season. A good session for McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in 3rd and 5th respectively meant that they would have a good view of all the action up front.
Perez was to start 4th and Bottas 6th, a little further behind their teammates for the final race but Mercedes had all but secured an 8th constructor’s title.
Max Verstappen missed out on pole position in Saudi Arabia with what looked like it was a cracking lap but fell short at the final corner when he clipped the wall. He made no mistake in Abu Dhabi where it mattered most and with a stellar lap, took pole position from his championship rival, Lewis Hamilton.
Source: thetelegraph.co.uk
What looked like a dominant race win for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was snatched away after the safety car came out in the final few laps and Red Bull seized the opportunity to change for a fresh set of soft tyres. With one final lap of racing, Verstappen made the move and crossed the line to bring home his first world driver’s championship in the sport.
With controversy among decisions made in the closing stages of the race, Mercedes protested the race classification as well as car #33 under the safety car and both protests were rejected after an investigation post race, to which Red Bull and Max Verstappen could finally celebrate.
Source: planetf1.com
Mercedes put forward another intention to appeal but withdrew this appeal on Thursday morning, the day of the prize giving ceremony Max Verstappen would attend. Lewis Hamilton would be knighted on Wednesday, his work and efforts celebrated by the British Commonwealth.
Neither team boss Toto Wolff nor Hamilton attended the gala, with Wolff suggesting there was no guarantee that Lewis would return to the sport after the finale’s events.
The FIA have since put forward a statement on how it aims to change certain aspects of the sport to avoid a situation like Sunday’s again.
With all of the regulation changes scheduled for 2022, we can only hope for an even better season ahead.
2022 schedule:
Source: Formula1.com
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The two title rivals separated by just 5 points. The balance could go to either of them. However the main focus of these two teams will be to secure the Driver’s Championship, as the new regulations will bring in uncertainty that would unsettle the grid noticeably.
Lewis Hamilton the reigning world champion will be looking to maximise the potential of the W12 with his quite fresh engine which was first used in Brazil and has run only in two races till now i.e. Brazil and SaudiArabia GP
His Finnish teammate will have plenty of engine options to choose the most reliable one from. Valterri having taken double the freely available engines this season will try his utmost to support his team to win both the titles.
To support Max in the race Sergio Perez will put to use all the tyre management and racecraft as he can in the RB16 he has been driving from the start of the season. While having Perez retire early in the SaudiArabian GP was not good for the championships, it meant that the mileage he would have put on otherwise from the race was saved. So a slightly higher engine mode seems possible.
Since this is the title decider, I would expect the engines to be cranked up to their highest power mode in which they would finish the race. A possibility would also be that one of the four drivers takes a fresh engine along with the penalty and sets it to self-destruction mode to challenge the tidal or support their teammate. It would be extreme but isn’t unlikely due to the amount of wear the engines have taken from the intense title fight all season long, but this possibility cannot be ruled out.
So will the Brackley outfit finish the turbo hybrid era in total dominance taking their eighth title, equaling the number of titles by a single team sharing the spot with Mclaren (3rd most titles by a team) or will the Austrian energy drink company win against their first dual with the Mercedes, returning to its former glory after a drought of 6 years since their last title with Sebastian Vettel in 2014?
A battle 244 points behind
Ferrari vs. Mclaren
P3 (-4)
Both teams started small as racing teams and now world class automobile manufacturers, both stumbled while chasing the title and now close to recovery to the front of the grid. Separated by 39.5 points, the teams will fight for that P3 position in the standings.
The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz look settled in the SF21 with the last update brought at monza, in the energy departments to be giving them an edge over Mclaren who shifted development to 2022 before the prancing horses did. The triple header was where the papaya coloured team fumbled with their point scoring record in this season. The team which will be running a special livery featuring art from a local artist would be aiming to score enough points to overtake the scarlet scuderia, to make it two P3 constructor finishes in a row.
Ferrari would look more poised to take the honours owing to the better race management in the latter parts of the season, but you never know the fate of hand and how the drivers would take to the newly modified circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Whatever the result of this duel, it would show the significant improvements both teams have made from lack of competitiveness in recent years; pulling away from the rest of the mid-field and being closer to the front runners than we have seen in a while. Two iconic teams, one position.
121
points after
Alpine vs. AlphaTauri vs. AstonMartin
P5 (-7)
Alpha Tauri started the season with high expectations of themselves with team principal Franz Tost targeting a P3 finish in the constructors table. Which was not a tall order, looking at the package the Italian team based in Faenza having a strong package this season. But where the points have been lost in extracting performance from the setup and numerous incorrect decisions from the pitwall. The weather in Abu Dhabi isn’t expected to cause any trouble, that would certainly be good knowing that for Pierre. The Frenchman lost big points opportunities due to incorrect strategies especially in wet weather conditions.
Alpine have been looking strong in the recent races. Being able to get their car setup working well and taking opportunities in front of them: HungarianGP, Alonso’s podium in Qatar and the almost podium for Esteban in SaudiArabia
Aston Martin haven’t been impressive in the later half of the season, often struggling with car setup and numerous mistakes by the drivers. They do have potential as shown by the podium finishes achieved in Baku and Hungary(Note: Sebastian was disqualified after the race due to insufficient fuel). But this puts the Silverstone based team in position such that mathematically only a P6 or P7 finish is possible in the constructors championship.
Williams vs. Alfa Romeo vs. Haas
P8(-10)
The back runners separated by 11-12 points. Have participated in the action ahead of them quite often, taking risks more than those ahead could afford to. But points won’t come easy unless one of them finds a way to sneak into the top 10 from an opportunity from the cars ahead of them.
Williams does have a good car but operates in a very narrow window. What they have been consistent at, are the right strategies to get good points. A double points finish at Hungary was evidence that the team has started its recovery journey from the bottom of the table. Also the podium finish for george at the “BelgianGP” gave them a good lead during the season, while the others had to count their points one-by-one.
Alfa Romeo has dropped the ball a few times. Mainly broken radios for Antonio, the Italian who wouldn’t have a seat next season missed out on positions to grab some good points in races. While Antonio has been impressive with delivering qualifying performances, his race pace has been not upto the experience that Kimi puts out. The Finnish driver who will finish his F1 career this season has decided to retire and would surely try to give the team a good final race to remember.
Haas: A season-long test session for them. Getting in two rookies used to the systems in F1 has been an intense process for them. Committing to developing their 2022 car.
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And with that, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has come to an end – and what a race it was!
It was Lewis Hamilton who won the race for Mercedes after a long 50 laps, including two red flag periods. Hamilton won despite sustaining contact during the race with second place finisher and Championship rival Max Verstappen. Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas came home in third place, barely ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who was overtaken as they reached the finish line.
Source: Marca.com
Speaking of Esteban Ocon, it was an excellent race for Alpine, who were able to widen the gap by 29 points to Constructor’s Championship rivals Alpha Tauri. It may be fair to say that Alpine will be walking away with 5th place at the end of the season!
Ferrari had yet another strong weekend, showcasing the talent and teamwork that has come to be expected of them this year. Finishing in 7th and 8th place, the two teammates battled it out throughout the race while always keeping it clean. It is extremely likely now that we will see them keep the third place in the Constructor’s Championship which they have held for quite some time.
Source: News.sky.com
It was a mixed bag for McLaren this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo was able to come home to finish in 5th place, a very good result for him and the team, and bringing valuable points to the Surrey-based team. However, British driver Lando Norris continued his poor streak, finishing the race in 10th place. Hopefully we will see him regain the race pace we have come to expect from him soon.
Another driver who deserves recognition this weekend is Antonio Giovinazzi. In his penultimate race in Formula One he showcased the talent that put him in the sport in the first place. Finishing in ninth place on one of the slowest cars on the grid isn’t an effortless achievement, but Giovinazzi made it look easy. I’m sure I speak for a lot of us when I say I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Italian driver.
Race Week Overview
Source: Reuters.com
The week leading up to the race was not the most eventful one we’ve had during this season but all of the tension and pressure still remained. Media outlets posted the possibilities of Max Verstappen winning the championship in Jeddah but at the end of the weekend, the championship could still swing either way at Abu Dhabi.
There were many safety concerns about the track shared by some fans online. Nobody really knew how the track would work, with some saying it had “the speed of Monza” but “build of Monaco”, it was the fastest street circuit of the year.
This safety concern was tested over the course of the weekend when there were mutiple crashes in F2, which left drivers injured, while Charles Leclerc went into the barriers in FP2 and Mick Schumacher during the race which went on to produce multiple safety cars and red flags.
The track itself wasn’t cleared until the Friday of free practice, another issue many voiced their concerns about.
Lewis Hamilton dominated FP1 and 2, but Verstappen went on to top FP3. Qualifying was as tense as ever, P1 could have been anyone’s but, in Q3 as Hamilton went P1 from his flying lap, there was Verstappen who was the last out on track, setting purple sector times in sectors 1 and 2, looking a real threat for pole position but just at the final corner he lost the end of the car which brought his charge to a close when he clipped the wall. He would start the race in 3rd, behind Valtteri Bottas.
After a very thrilling race, Lewis Hamailton saw the chequered flag in 1st place, Max Verstappen in 2nd and Valtteri Bottas just beating Esteban Ocon to 3rd place on the line.
Source: Essentiallysports.com
For the final race of the season, we head to Abu Dhabi, where the title contenders are level on points. It could be anyone’s race. The constructors’ championship has not been decided but it is in Mercedes favour. It’s all to play for…
Abu Dhabi. It’s the final race of the season. Everything is still up for grabs. It couldn’t be any more high-stake.
The veteran, Lewis Hamilton is the 7 time champion of the world, currently tied with the legend Michael Schumacher; but the Brit is looking for his 8th championship so he can be crowned the outright king of F1, just one more record to add to his name.
The young gun, Max Verstappen is a charging bull, aiming to be world champion for the first time. He is looking to join the other greats before him. He’s equalled the record for the most podiums in a season, finishing 1st or 2nd in 17 races this season. The championship would be the icing on the cake.
It’s been an intense battle from start to finish. The title lead switching 5 times during the course of the season. Two rivals going head to head to get the glory. It’s never been closer. The two protagonists go into the finale level on points, this feat only achieved once before in the past 71 years of Formula 1.
This means everything. And for one man, it willbe everything. Sunday, we crown a champion. Don’t miss it.
Session times (British Standard Time) & local time:
It’s the 16th of April 1942, a time of unrest and confusion as WW2 ravaged Europe and Asia. In a town called South Shields roughly 2 hours north of Leeds and 4 hours from Silverstone, Clare and Owen Williams gave birth to their son Francis Owen Garbett Williams. As a young man in the late 50’s he took a ride in a friends Jaguar, and that is where the desire began. Frank wanted to go fast, he had a short career as a driver and a mechanic but his true calling came in 1966. He founded Frank Williams Racing Cars which he funded through his work as a traveling grocery salesman. He ran in Formula 2 and 3 with his driver Piers Courage accumulating two second place finishes in the 1969 season. 1972 saw the first Williams built F1 car which was crashed and destroyed in its very first race. All hope however wasn’t lost thanks to Walter Wolf a Canadian oil guru that helped to fund the new Williams Racing outfit.
The 1979 British Grand Prix would be the day the years of hard work and dedication would pay off when the Williams FW07 piloted by Clay Regazzoni would go on to take the checkered flag bring Frank Williams his first victory, little did he know it was only up from there. The 1980 F1 season would see Alan Jones win the first of 7 drivers titles as the team also took their very first constructors title to wrap up the season. A self made team in only its 3rd season in the sport had done the impossible and rose to the top of motorsport. Between 1981 and ’97 the Williams team would achieve the drivers title 6 more times and Frank saw his team claim 114 grand prix victories.
Frank Williams was not only a class above for motorsport but also for his country, receiving a knighthood in 1999. Sir Frank stepped down from the Williams board in 2012 handing the reigns to his daughter Claire, but would stay at Williams under the role of team principal. There will never be another Frank Williams, his dedication and gifts to the sport we all love is still in full effect after all of these years. We as fans know that without his integrity and work ethic we wouldn’t have seen the talent’s and giants of the sport that we see to this day. We remember him not only as a giant of the motorsport world, but also as a hero to not only us but to his family and everyone who got the chance to call him a friend. His ability to seek out talent and empower those around him have not only created past champions, but has and will form future champions. Thank you Sir Frank Williams may your name forever be immortalized in the art we call motorsport.
Last weekend marked Formula One’s first visit to Qatar, and it definitely gave us a very interesting race, especially in terms of strategy.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took his 102nd win, pushing him a little bit closer to championship rival Max Verstappen – only eight points separate the two drivers going into the final two races. Hamilton pulled off an excellent second victory in the triple header, his seventh win of the year. However, his teammate Valtteri Bottas did not have a similarly glowing weekend, starting the race off with a three place grid penalty (for a yellow flag infringement in qualifying) and eventually being hit with a bad puncture. While the team were able to change the tyre, they eventually retired the car.
Source: Skysports.com
It was a good weekend to be a Red Bull supporter – a five place grid penalty for Max Verstappen following events in qualifying dropped him to P7 on the grid, which he made back up extremely quickly. The Dutchman also received a valuable extra point for the fastest lap, which has helped him in the championship battle. As for Sergio Perez, a bad qualifying left the Mexican starting the race in eleventh place, but he was able to turn this into an excellent fourth place result for the team.
Source: Planetf1.com
Alpine once again showcased some excellent teamwork, and this time it resulted in a podium place for Fernando Alonso, his first since 2014. Teammate Esteban Ocon showed some excellent defending skills in order to help his teammate keep third place, and did the best he possibly could across the entire race.
Ferrari were a little slower this weekend than has come to be expected of them – but still managed to finish with both drivers in the points, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc 7th and 8th respectively. The team were also able to pull of an excellently quick double-stacked pit stop, and both drivers were able to make Qatar a one-stop race.
McLaren fans will be glad this triple header is finally over, as it has not been a good one for the British based team. Fuel management throughout the race meant that Daniel Ricciardo finished outside of the points once more, and a detected puncture and emergency pitstop for Lando Norris left the British driver in P9, meaning the team took home only 2 points in Qatar.
Source: Autoweek.com
Race week review
The inaugural Qatar grand prix proved to be just as exciting as the races this season have been with intense press conferences, penalties, new signings and more. At the beginning of the week, Alpine announced current F2 championship leader Oscar Piastri as their reserve driver for the 2022 season. Some hours later, Alfa Romeo announced what many had been specualating for some time, that Antonio Giovinazzi would leave the team at the end of the season. Shortly following that, it was then announced that F2 driver Guanyu Zhou would be his replacement and team up with Valtteri Bottas next season.
Mercedes requested the right to review the incident on lap 48 of the Brazilian grand prix between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. This meant that the team wanted permission of the incident to be looked at for the possibility of a penalty for Max Verstappen.
Source: Skysport.com
The drivers had very little experience at the track at Qatar, with most getting experience from practicing on the sim. Only Sergio Perez and Nikita Mazepin had raced on the track before.
In FP1 the drivers were trying to understand the track, getting used to it and trying to find the limits. In this session Lance Stroll suffered a brake failure and Lando Norris suffered floor damage and a power issue. Verstappen, Gasly and Bottas formed the top 3 in sessions 1 & 2, with the Mercedes and Red Bull switching first position between in the 2 sessions.
Lewis Hamilton was in a world of his own in qualifying on Saturday, recording the largest qualifying margin in dry conditions this season. He lead Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas and the rest of the field in what seemed to be a tricky qualifying for most, especially for Sergio Perez who qualified 11th. Gasly who has continuously been impressive in qualifying throughout the season finished 4th and Fernando Alonso qualified in 5th place, a great result for Alpine. It was a disappointing qualifying session for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who only qualified in 13th place along with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo along side him in 14th.
Source: Formula1.com
Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture at the end of qualifying which left him stranded on the finish line where single yellow flags and double yellow flags were waved. Certain lap times that were set under these conditions were investigated by stewards with the results of these investigations announced less than 2 hours before the race on Sunday. The drivers under investigation were Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz. The Red Bull was under investigation for this infringement under double yellow flags while the others were for infringement under single yellow flags.
This would play a big part in the championship fight as Verstappen would serve a 5 place grid penalty dropping him down to 7th, while Bottas would serve a 3 place penalty. Sainz would not serve the penalty due to the team providing evidence that the Ferrari significantly reduced his speed when he saw Gasly even though he did not see yellow flags. The confusion with the situation came from the drivers not seeing yellow dashboard warning lights but yellow flags which may have been difficult for them to see, had been waved.
After a reshuffle of the grid so close to the start of the race, Hamilton lined up along side Pierre Gasly who was promoted to 2nd place and Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris in 3rd and 4th position. Verstappen’s great start allowed him to claim 2nd, which Red Bull called “damage limitation” and Fernando Alonso clinched his first podium in F1 since 2014, ahead of the charging Sergio Perez.
Source: RacingNews365.com
After the race Red Bull’s team principle Christian Horner was summoned by the stewards in relation to his comments about a marshal in the confusion of the yellow flag situation which was a breach of the International Sporting Code.
We head to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia next for the first time in what is the penultimate race of an exhilarating season. The gap remains 8 points in favour of Verstappen who looks to claim his first World Drivers’ Championship. But with the momentum behind him, can Lewis Hamilton stop him and become an 8 time world champion?
Make sure to like, share and let us know who you think will win the the World Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship?
Brazil finally returned to our calendars this year and it was a race well worth waiting for!
After a penalty in 2019 which dropped him off the podium, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dominated the entire weekend and took an amazing race win on Sunday. I think we can all agree that this was one of Lewis’ top races of all time. It’s times like this we remember that we really are witnessing history!
Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas finished in third place after starting on pole position – still an excellent result for the Finnish driver and another podium for the team he’ll soon be departing from.
Source: F1.com
Championship rival and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen came home in second place after a solid race from the Dutchman – with one little tussle with Hamilton in the closing stages of the race where both drivers ran wide. Verstappen still leads the drivers’ championship for the time being, and with three races remaining the battle is really heating up!
Sergio Perez came home in fourth place for Red Bull and ran away with the point for fastest lap – this is especially important now, at a time when every single point means something to the top two teams.
Italy’s Scuderia Ferrari had an excellent race this weekend, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz coming home in 5th and 6th respectively. The two drivers were the only ones apart from the top four who were not lapped, showing that the Ferrari engine really is becoming a force to be reckoned with. They maintain third place in the Constructor’s championship after a strong race result.
Unfortunately it was another poor weekend for British team McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo failed to finish the race, retiring his MCL35M due to a power unit issue. Lando Norris finished in tenth place and took home a single point for the team, after first-lap contact resulted in the British driver tumbling to the back of the grid.
Source: TechiAI
It was a good weekend for French team Alpine, with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso finishing in 8th and 9th place. Once again, the two teammates showed excellent skill and teamwork, being able to bring home some extremely valuable points to help them in their fight against Alpha Tauri for 5th in the Constructor’s championship.
Race week review
São Paulo was a spectacular weekend of racing but before lights out there was drama, and lots of it. Due to bad weather following the Mexico GP, many teams suffered delays in setting up in Brazil because freights were unable to arrive on time. This included different parts of the car like the engine, and many important structural bases used in the garages by the teams. Certain drivers and team principles arrived just in time for press conferences on Thursday. The curfew the FIA imposes on teams to finish work on the cars was lifted because of the delays but this meant that the hardworking guys and girls worked all night to makes sure everything was ready for Friday.
The argument of whether a sprint race is a good idea still remains, but it definitely brought some spice to the weekend as more drama enfolded. Friday saw teams take part in qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race, where Lewis Hamilton, was to serve a 5 place grid penalty for an engine change qualified 1st and his championship rival Max Verstappen was 2nd.
After the session the FIA announced that Hamilton’s car was under investigation because it failed maximum rear wing elements measurements when using DRS. Along with this, a video of Verstappen came into question when he was filmed touching Hamilton’s car under parc fermé conditions. The results of the investigation came the next day before the sprint race where it was confirmed that Max Verstappen received a €50,000 fine for touching Lewis Hamilton’s car under parc fermé conditions and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from Friday’s qualifying session, meaning he had a tough mountain to climb starting from last on the grid. In between all of this, in FP2 Fernando Alonso took first place, an impressive feat of the former champion but this result was overshadowed by the investigations of the FIA.
Valtteri Bottas used his brilliant start to get past his Red Bull rival Max Verstappen at the start of the sprint race, which he would go on to win. Bottas has an impressive stat with the sprint races this year (two wins and one 3rd place) which he accumulated 7 points. In just 24 laps Lewis Hamilton produced an incredible drive which saw him go from 20th to 5th on the grid. Some stunning overtakes were seen during the sprint race, notably from Lando Norris over Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton over Lando Norris.
The battle for 3rd in the constructors’ championship still looked to be in Ferrari’s favour as both car qualified higher than their McLaren rivals on Friday and Carlos Sainz would remain ahead of Lando Norris for the race on Sunday while Daniel Ricciardo would start 11th.
Source: Scuderia Ferrari Fans
The race was entertaining from start to finish, Formula 1 witnessing arguably one of Lewis Hamilton’s best drives in Formula 1, starting from 10th and winning the race ahead of Max Verstappen. The gap in the championship was closed down to 14 points while the difference in the constructors’ championship increased to 10 points in Mercedes favour with Bottas stealing the final podium position.
Source: Motor Sport Magazine
At the end of the celebrations, Lewis Hamilton was fined €25,000 for removing his seatbelt on the cool down lap. Also, during the weekend, Mercedes and Red Bull continued to battle it out as Red Bull spoke about an investigation into the flexing of Mercedes rear wing- an incident Red Bull had to make changes on their design earlier in the season. Toto Wolff was not happy that Red Bull had “changed” part of their rear wing without punishment but Christian Horner later claimed that it was a “repair”.
After all of that drama we now head to Qatar for the first time in a Formula 1 season. With what seems to be an interesting and exciting track, it could be anyone’s game and with everything still to play for, a lot is on the line. Who will be the winner of the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix?
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This weekend marked Formula One’s long-anticipated return to Mexico City. In a race that didn’t disappoint, it was Max Verstappen who dominated, with teammate and home hero Sergio Perez becoming the first Mexican driver to stand on the podium at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Source: planetf1.com
Lewis Hamilton started second on the grid and finished second in the race. While sometimes it seemed as though he could have gotten closer to the leading Red Bull, brake issues and general speed issues hampered the Englishman all day long, even being close to being overtaken by Perez, which would have resulted in a Red Bull 1-2 finish. However, this didn’t happen. As a result, Mercedes has barely clung onto first place in the Constructor’s championship, only a point ahead of championship rivals Red Bull. It was a dismal day for Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas, who tumbled to the back of the grid following first lap contact with the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo and being unable to make much progress throughout the race, eventually finishing in 15th place.
In contrast, it was an excellent day for the scarlet red Ferraris. Finishing in 5th and 6th place meant that the Italian team overtakes McLaren to take third place in the constructor’s championship, despite team orders switching the two drivers around periodically throughout the race. It can no longer be denied that Ferrari has stepped up from their performance last year and is now, once again, a team to be reckoned with.
In contrast, Ferrari’s closest rivals McLaren had a disappointing race – a rarity for the British based team. Only collecting one point thanks to Lando Norris finishing in tenth, the team has lost their advantage in the constructor’s championship. This wasn’t helped by the first lap contact between Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas – Ricciardo finished the race 12th and with no points, after starting in 7th. Nevertheless, it is expected that the British team will bounce back strong, so McLaren fans, never fear!
Source: motorsport.com
Race weekend review
News wise, not too much happened over the course of the week in Mexico. The amazing atmosphere did all of the talking as we saw on Friday from FP1, all the way to the podium celebrations on Sunday. Everyone was happy to see Sergio Perez on the podium, along with his son who also made an appearance in support of his father.
Source: Gpfans.com
Snippets of talk did occur in the F1 world, and not completely F1 related, but linked to the McLaren team, it was revealed that Nico Hulkenburg would decline the opportunity to race for McLaren Arrow in Indycar in 2022 for personal reasons. Alongside that, it was also revealed that Keven Magnussen was approached by Williams to join Nicholas Latifi in their 2021 line-up, meaning the team were prepared to drop George Russell, which Magnussen called “idiotic” by the team.
A few drivers took engine penalties this weekend, meaning 16 out of the 20 drivers had surpassed the allocated engine uptake. Stroll, after his crash in Q1 was already starting at the back because of a penalty, was joined by Ocon, Norris, Tsunoda and Russell. A disappointing qualifying session for Alonso and Alpine, who was knocked out by his teammate Ocon, who was taking an engine penalty in Q1. But the main drama took place in Q3 as everyone expected Red Bull to lead the field, but mistakes that cost the Austrian team meant a surprising 1-2 for Mercedes.
Source: FIA.com
Tsunoda was out on track in Q3, to give his teammate Gasly slipstream to qualify as high as possible but the home favourite Perez was distracted by the Alpha Tauri driver who was given instructions to make way for Perez. Tsunoda in an attempt to make way, went into the dirt, bringing some dust with him, which Perez seemed to be distracted by and in turn cost his Red Bull teammate time on his final flying lap as he was behind both cars when the melee occurred.
A lot of tension ensued when Tsunoda told the media he was worried about speaking to Helmut Marko. He took to social media, telling fans “he did all that he could” in that moment, to which he received a lot of support from fans. Christian Horner told the media they had been “Tsunoda’d” and this lead to major criticism of the two RedBull leaders as fans called Horner’s message an incitement for a mob against Tsunoda and that the team was a toxic working environment because it wasn’t the first time something like this was happening with Tsunoda and Marko. Franz Tost later came to defend his driver and said “Yuki did nothing wrong.”
Everything had blown over by Sunday morning as Horner then said “it wasn’t Tsunoda’s fault” and everyone was busy preparing for the race. All eyes were on the front as Verstappen’s blistering start and brave move around the outside of the two Mercedes essentially won him the race.
Source: Reuters.com
With not too much movement in the midfield, it meant that world champions, Vettel, Raikkonen and Alonso all scored valuable points. Vettel and Alonso are currently tied for the most overtakes of the season, only a few more races to go to see who wins that trophy.
Lewis Hamilton looks to put Mexico behind him as we move onto Brazil, still optimistic about the next few races. With 4 races to go and 19 points the difference, can the 7 time world champion do anything to stop Max Verstappen from clinching the title?
Source: zyri.net
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It’s been a long two years, but this weekend Formula One finally returned to Austin. In a fast-paced and exciting race it was Max Verstappen who came out on top, retaining his lead in the Driver’s Championship for another week.
A brilliant start from second place starter Lewis Hamilton put the Mercedes driver briefly into first place, before he was caught by rival Verstappen who would go on to lead and eventually win the race. His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished in an excellent third place considering the Mexican driver has been unable to access his drinks bottle after the first lap.
Ferrari were able to showcase their new and improved power unit with a dominating 4th place finish by Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc, who finished the race 25 seconds ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in 5th. Carlos Sainz, however, had a slightly more challenging race following a slow pit stop which left the Spaniard at a disadvantage, being overtaken by McLaren rival Ricciardo, and by Mercedes driver Valterri Bottas at the end of the race.
Ferrari’s constructor rivals McLaren had a difficult weekend in comparison, with Lando Norris only being able to achieve 8th place while teammate Daniel Ricciardo was in 5th. However, the British-based team remain in 3rd place in the Constructors championship for the time being – although Ferrari draw ever closer.
An unfortunate race day for Pierre Gasly began with questions of whether or not he would be able to start the race after his Alpha Tauri detected suspension issues. Although the Frenchman started the race, he soon retired the car due to the suspension problems. In comparison, teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a perfect race, showcasing impressive talents on track and finishing in ninth place.
All in all, at a race with 140,000 spectators, it was an excellent return to the United States for Formula One – it is clear that the sport is making waves across the country, which makes next year’s debut race in Miami all the more exciting.
Credit: Sportskeeda
Race weekend report
The fight for the 2021 World Driver’s Championship remains as close as ever. The weekend began with a 6 point gap in Max Verstappen’s favour, over the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton. By the end of the weekend after an intense final few laps, heading to Mexico for the Mexican GP, Verstappen now leads his rival with 12 points.
The weekend started off a little bit tense with Verstappen and Hamilton in FP2 fighting for position, getting their racing started early. The Dutchman was also caught up in traffic in that same session, which left him unhappy in 8th position.
Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso all took penalties for changing engines, meaning all three would start from the back of the grid. Aston Martin planned to use Vettel to give his teammate, Lance Stroll slipstream to help him qualify for Q3, but ultimately their plan failed as Lance Stroll was knocked out in Q1 while Vettel made it to Q2.
Credit: Automobilesport.com
There was the challenge of who would finish higher among the three penalty takers, Vettel came out on top as Russell’s deleted lap time in Q2 meant he would start at the very back of the grid.
The fight for pole position was close between the two championship protagonists but Verstappen left it late to clinch the top spot from Hamilton, while Perez made it a 1-3 for Red Bull and Valterri Bottas’ 5 place engine penalty meant he would start 9th after qualifying in 4th.
The race proved to be a great one, as all of the races this year have seemed to do. From lights out to the chequered flag we saw plenty of action along the way. It was revealed at the end of the race that Sergio Perez was left without water the entire race, in the scorching hot weather of Austin, Texas which left the driver fatigued. His strength and determination under these conditions which earned him 3rd place, only highlighted his excellent drive, nonetheless.
Credit: Sportskeeda
The USGP was watched worldwide, F1 attracted many celebrities who attended the race. The likes of Serena Williams, Ben Stiller, Rory McIlroy, Shaquille O’Neal and Megan Thee Stallion were all present for the action-packed race. The basketball star, Shaquille O’Neal even presented a trophy on the podium.
Credit: Motor1.com
There has still been very little information revealed about Antonio Giovanazzi’s future in F1, with many reports insisting that F2 driver Guanyu Zhou will be his replacement next year. There is still plenty of time for Alfa Romeo to decide the future of the team, but pressure is piling as they are the only team left to name a complete driver line-up for 2022.
The Mexican GP will take place on the 5th to 7th November, on a track that typically suits Red Bull, will Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes be able stop their rivals from stretching their lead?
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