Tag: Mercedes

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F1 2021 season

Saudi Arabia 2021 – Red Flag!

Race Report

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…

Don’t miss out!

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F1 2021 season

The finale: Who will be World Drivers Champion 2021?

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 will be everything. Sunday, we crown a champion. Don’t miss it.

Session times (British Standard Time) & local time:

Practice 1: 9.30am/ 1.30pm

Practise 2: 1pm/ 5pm

Practise 3: 10am/ 2pm

Qualifying: 1pm/ 5pm

Race: 1pm/ 5pm

Don’t miss it!

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F1 2021 season

Qatar 2021 – Bono, Our Tyres Are Gone!

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?

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Imola 2021

As we came from a nail biting season opener in Bahrain. With RedBull and reigning world champions Mercedes battling it out from Race 1 and being extremely close to each other in terms of pace, both in quail and race.

Officially named as,

Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell’emilia Romagna 2021

The venue made a return to the F1 calendar to help during the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Fondly remembered as the ‘San Marino GP’. With a circuit length of 4.9km. It offers a lot of history and amazing opportunities for racing.

RACE

The track was wet at the start. With the rain in the region pouring over the track. All the running in the practice sessions was put to the side, as drivers tried to gauge the driving conditions. Teams ran through the various options to setup the car and race strategy. A partially wet quali session meant the teams had limited but crucial performance data to plan ahead. Charles Leclerc stepped over the limits as he tried to warm up the car up on the formation laps, no damage done but some info gathered about his Ferrari in that condition.

The race started tentatively in the wet conditions, as everyone got up to speed in the conditions. Both the Red Bulls mugged Hamilton into Turn1. As Hamilton tried to keep with the Bulls, he got forced wide and over the sausage kerbs. Taking damage on his car and losing an endplate on his front wing. However the wet conditions meant that the performance loss was not significant.

IMOLA, ITALY – APRIL 17: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 launches off a raised kerb during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 17, 2021 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

As we move our attention to the rest of the field, a thick envelope of spray limits us to follow along on the timing screens. Meanwhile the Wiliams of Latifi got into a spin, as he rejoined the track the poor visibility made Mazepin disappear in the spray. Resulting in contact sending Latifi in the barriers making him the first DNF of the race, Mazepin continued on as only his front left tyre came in contact. 

As his teammate saw the Safety Car come out, Mick Schumaker smashed his front wing while weaving on the main straight to get temperature into his tyres. Closing the pitlane due to the debris left at the pit exit. As Mick went around the circuit, he had to go around once more as the pitlane was still closed; taking care not to lose the part of his front wing dangling through a couple of wires. The debris was cleared and the safety car came into the pits. Max dipped into a wet patch sending him into a spin, good for him that Lerclerc slowed down and he recovered quickly.

Max pulled off a controlled restart. Pulling a steady gap from the pack. An exciting fight between Gasly, Norris (who came so close to a front row start in qualifying) and Sainz kept the audience on their toes, as the drivers found grip in the damp conditions and battled hard for the mid-points positions. At this point in time, Valterri Bottas was hanging on the edge of the points places. Starting from P8 the finnish driver was having a difficult weekend till this point.

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-21. 18.04.2021. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, Italy, Race Day. – http://www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com © Copyright: Charniaux / XPB Images

As the first round of pit stops rolled around, Red Bull pulled the trigger first from the top 2 teams and pulled a clean stop for Verstappen. Hamilton’s tyre change on Lap 28 was a slow 4 second stop (this was before the Technical Directive for pit stops came into effect). As the wet tyres take a few laps to warm up, it took a while for him to start putting in decent lap times. However it wasn’t enough, as it was evident on Lap 31 when Hamilton was lapping Russell at Turn 9 but had to go off the relatively dry racing line. Sending him into a gravel trap, effectively slowing him down just before clipping his front wing at the barrier. By the time Hamilton reversed out of that abrupt stop taking care not to get stuck in the gravel trap, he was a lap down from the Max who was leading the race.

But something else was happening nearby on the main straight. Russell was overtaking an out of place Mercedes of Valtteri in P9 when the rear of the Williams snapped out and crashed heavily into Valtteri. Spewing debris all over the place. Mick and Kimi witnessed the incident happening right in front of them, having to drive straight through the debris. This brought a red flag. Allowing the Merc team to check Lewis’s car and fix the sensor probe with some good old duct tape. Having this presented a golden opportunity for Hamilton to unlap himself and limited damage in the end by resuming in P8

As the race resumed on Lap 35, Max once again took supreme control and took the pack racing again. Norris and Leclerc benefitting from the chaos ahead were in the podium places on pure performance. Norris made good use of the situation and moved into P2 within the first lap from the restart. Tsunoda unfortunately spun while following closely, resulting in his good performance from the weekend reduced by 10 places. Perez suffered a similar fate. The Mexican driving the RB16B for the first time in wet conditions during a race situation and in P14 but adapted well to finish P11 at the end of the race. Just at the cusp of the points.

On lap 60, Hamilton overtook Norris to take P2. The young Brit put up a good defensive drive keeping the 7-time world champion behind for a few laps, until Lewis got into the perfect position using all of his experience and performance from W12 to move up on the second step of the podium.

IMOLA, ITALY – APRIL 18: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda takes the chequered flag during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Max Verstappen finally broke the Italian curse by winning in Imola, the talented driver not being able to finish a single Italian race in the previous season. A comfortable win for the title challenger who drove clinically through the race and managed the tyres well. Resulting in Hamilton finishing 22 second behind with Lando Norris right behind him. The Papaya car gave another career best finish of P3. The track did not dry up significantly, having the cars limited from their full potential. Hamilton also took the fastest lap, putting it clear of the next best lap by Max by around 6 tenths of a second.

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Redemption Day – Monaco 2018

This week we look back at a glorious weekend for Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull at the Monaco Grand Prix of 2018. There were some bitter memories from 2016, as Ricciardo who was set for victory in Monte Carlo, lost the win to Lewis Hamilton after an agonisingly slow pit stop, which was very uncommon for Red Bull. The normally cheerful Daniel Ricciardo, rightfully, couldn’t hide his pain at the loss and aimed to right that wrong in 2018.

Source: 3legs4wheels.com

Qualifying

Not many overtakes occur at Monaco, so qualifying position was key. It was, and still remains one of the most important qualifying sessions on the calendar. Ricciardo’s teammate, Max Verstappen did not participate in the session as a gearbox change was due for the young driver and there was not enough time to change it and run the car in the session. A yellow flag in the last minute of Q1 due to Sauber’s Charles Leclerc brought it to a shaky end, meaning anyone behind the Monegasque driver could not complete their final lap. At the end of Q1 Hartley, Ericsson, Stroll, Magnussen and Verstappen were out.

Nico Hulkenberg of Renault just missed out on Q3 behind Pierre Gasly, outqualifyied by his teammate Carlos Sainz for the second time in a row after he had been dominating the Spaniard all season. Drivers out in Q2 were Hulkenberg, Vandoorne, Sirotkin, Leclerc and Grosjean.

The final showdown in Q3 was the defining moment of the weekend, heaps of pressure to get that perfect lap. Luckily for Ricciardo, he was in a world of his own, setting a lap time that put him on provisional pole by four tenths of a second, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who were battling it out for the championship. On the final flying lap, Vettel was able to take second place from Hamilton, sealing the pole position for Ricciardo and Red Bull- the second at Monaco for the Aussie.

Source: Reddit

Race

Ricciardo and Vettel were close at the start after getting off the line quite well but the Red Bull driver kept the German behind him. His teammate Verstappen, who started at the back of the grid due to not participating in qualifying made up places on the opening lap by overtaking Grosjean and Magnussen. The Dutch man was up to 16th by lap 7.

Source: Motor Sport Magazine

A smooth pitstop for Ricciardo on lap 17 by Red Bull as they aimed to cover off their rivals, Ferrari who had already sent Vettel in for a pitstop. By lap 28 panic set in for Ricciardo and the Red Bull team as Ricciardo reported that he was “losing power” to his team over the radio, to which they unfortunately told him that the problem “would not get any better”.

Source: F1.com

Fernando Alonso of McLaren had to retire the car due to a gearbox issue, while the battle for 9th place was getting interesting between Sainz and Verstappen who had made his way up the field. Sainz, in defending against Verstappen, cut the chicane but the Red Bull driver did not wait for the stewards intervention and overtook Sainz himself.

On lap 72 Brendan Hartley was warned by his team that Leclerc behind him had a problem but just seconds later Leclerc went right into the back of Hartley due to a brake failure- resulting in a DNF in his first ever home grand Prix.

Source: eMercedesBenz

Ricciardo managed the issue with his car well, winning the grand prix by 7.8 seconds to Vettel and Hamilton. Second place for Vettel meant that he closed the gap to Hamilton in the championship to 14 points. It is from this race win we have the iconic image of Ricciardo diving into the famous Red Bull swimming pool.

Source: Skysports.com

Hope you enjoyed that trip to the past! Make sure to stay tuned for future Flashback Fridays! You can find more content here on the blog and on our social media.

Written by Leslie Okafor

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F1 2021 season

Mexico 2021 – Tequila!

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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F1 2021 season

Austin 2021- Back In The USA

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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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Sahkir 2020

Russell keeps first F1 points as stewards fine Mercedes €20,000 · RaceFans
Source: Racefans.net

After the horrific crash Romain Grosjean miraculously endured the week before at the Bahrain GP, some team line-up changes were made ahead of the Sahkir GP which took place on the outer track in Bahrain. Pietro Fittipaldi replaced the injured Grosjean. George Russell had big shoes to fill when he took Lewis Hamilton’s place in the Mercedes as he had tested positive for COVID-19, while Jack Aitken was to race for Williams in place of Russell that weekend.

Sakhir GP: New track layout, new drivers - the big preview as F1 takes giant step into the unknown | F1 News
Source: Sky Sports

Much attention was drawn to George and how he would perform that weekend. Very quickly he showed his value to Mercedes as he continued to impress. He had never been outqualified by a teammate and was looking to continue this stat against Valterri Bottas. It was an intense qualifying as both the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc showed pace to challenge the Mercedes cars but it was a great qualifying for the team as Bottas and Russell qualified 1st and 2nd, with the Brit only missing out on pole by 0.026s.

Sakhir Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas just beats George Russell to pole for Mercedes one-two - BBC Sport
Source: BBC

At lights out George Russell got off to a great start, overtaking Bottas for the lead at the first corner. In that same lap, just behind them, as Verstappen and Perez were catching Bottas, Charles Leclerc tried to make a move into the corner but the Ferrari clipped the back of the Racing Point, causing him to spin. Along with this, Max Verstappen who looked to be fine in relation to this incident then lost control and went into the barriers alongside Leclerc, both of whom could not continue the race. Perez however, made it back to the pits and re-joined the race in last place.

The Sakhir GP as it happened
Source: Motorsport.com

On lap 7 Carlos Sainz overtook Bottas in a brilliant move but Bottas quickly took back the position. By lap 20 Sergio Perez had charged his way up through the field and back into the points, in 10th place.

Nicholas Latifi stopped by the side of the track on lap 55 which then brought out the Virtual safety car. Perez, who was on a set of hard tyres, gained many places as other drivers took the opportunity to pit for new tyres. By lap 56 he was in 4th place after passing his teammate Lance Stroll and on lap 57 Perez overtook Esteban Ocon for 3rd place.

Lap 63 saw the safety car deployed because Jack Aitken driving in the Williams, had hit the wall not far from the pitlane, losing his front wing. Mercedes did a double stack where Russell had a bit of a slow stop (5.3s) as the team struggled with the front right and Bottas had a nightmare pitstop himself when the team weren’t happy with how the tyres were fitted, his pitstop being 27.4s and he dropped from 2nd to 5th.

On lap 64 Russell, who was leading the race, was called back into the pits by Mercedes as he had been fitted with a mixed set of tyres. On lap 69 Perez would then lead the race once the safety car had ended, followed by Ocon and Stroll in the other podium places.

By lap 70 Russell had caught up to Bottas and passed him, on laps 72 and 73 the Brit had made his way past Stroll and Ocon also with brilliant manoeuvres. Bottas’ tyres were wearing down and Sainz, on fresher tyres used the opportunity to over take him for 5th place. Ricciardo and Albon followed suit and also overtook the Mercedes driver who was struggling in the latter stages of the race.

Sakhir GP: Race team notes - Mercedes - Pitpass.com
Source: Pitpass

Russell on the hunt for his first F1 win, had closed down the gap to Perez to 3 seconds but was called into the pit by his team on lap 79 for a puncture on the rear left tyre.

Sergio Perez saw the chequred flag on lap 87 to take his first win in Formula 1 and the first for Racing Point, while Ocon and Stroll completed the podium in 2nd and 3rd, a first podium for Ocon. Russell after his stellar qualifying and race only finished in 9th place after the puncture, earning him his first points in F1, while Bottas finished in 8th.

Conclusions from the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix | Planet F1
Source: Planetf1.com
Sakhir GP: Race team notes - Racing Point - Pitpass.com
Source: Pitpass.com

Hope you enjoyed that trip to the past! Make sure to stay tuned for future Flashback Fridays! You can find more content here on the blog and on our social media @thefastestsector (Instagram) and @_tfsofficial (Twitter)

Written by: Leslie Okafor