For the first time in its 71-year history, Formula One will head to Qatar this weekend for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, but will it be the start of Max Verstappen’s three-race run-in towards his first title?
A spectacular drive from Sir Lewis Hamilton saw him reduce Verstappen’s advantage at the top of the tree to 15 points in Brazil, meaning that the championship is still anyone’s game, and this will the latest in a long line of tense races between Mercedes and Red Bull.
Hamilton’s remarkable win was his sixth of 2021 – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Unmistakably, this has become a bitter and strenuous rivalry between two of the best teams the sport has ever seen, among an historic title race for the ages. Friday and Saturday in Brazil were met by no shortage of controversy as Hamilton was pushed to twentieth for Saturday’s sprint due to a technical rear-wing infringement, and tenth on Sunday after an ICE change.
Things on track will be no less extravagant either. Verstappen and Hamilton were involved in another contentious moment in Sao Paulo, as their wheel-to-wheel action featured the title rivals both going off at Turn Four, with Hamilton eventually passing and beating the Dutchman to victory. The same passion that went into the battling, and indeed Mercedes’ eccentric celebrations of Hamilton’s overtake, will surely be poured into the racing this weekend, in what could be another nail-biter.
So, where are we racing? Formula One will be using the Losail Circuit in Doha, which is also home to the now traditionally season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar in MotoGP. The 5.3 kilometre circuit has hosted 17 races in MotoGP, with the polesitter winning seven of those races. How does that translate to Formula One? Well, it does not really, but it is a reasonably tricky circuit where the drivers will likely have to be a little daring to overtake.
Qatar has hosted 17 races in MotoGP – Courtesy of Ducati
In terms of the favourite for the race, we do not really know that either. Over the course of the 16 corners, there is only really one long straight, with several technical corners making up the rest of a track that will require technical prowess from both car and driver, meaning that while Red Bull should have the advantage, this should be another exceptional fight between Verstappen and Hamilton, and qualifying will be an entertaining watch on Saturday.
There will also be much focus on the Constructors’ standings. Just 11 points separate Mercedes and Red Bull, while Ferrari lead McLaren by 21.5 following their impressive weekend in Brazil. This will make for another fascinating watch, with a focal point being placed on the battles for first and third in the teams’ standings. With just three rounds to go including this one, this is an enormously vital Grand Prix.
In what has been a simply remarkable and unique season of racing in Formula One, 2021 takes us to pastures new as the Losail circuit plays host to round number 21 of this most unpredictable of seasons.
Sir Lewis Hamilton closed the gap to Max Verstappen to 15 points after an incredible recovery from tenth saw him win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The victory was Hamilton’s third in Brazil, and perhaps one of his most important yet.
Polesitter Valtteri Bottas was soundly beaten off the start by Verstappen, while contact with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gave McLaren’s Lando Norris a puncture, severely hampering his race before it had even begun.
An intense battle between Sainz and his team mate Charles Leclerc resulted in both Prancing Horses going off at Turn Four, with Bottas doing exactly the same thing in front of them. This opened the door for Sergio Perez to take second place and give Red Bull a temporary 1-2.
Among all the chaos, Hamilton had made his way from tenth, a position he was forced down to after his five-place penalty, up to fifth on the opening lap. He then passed Sainz into fourth, before he was allowed through into the podium places by Bottas.
A clumsy move from Yuki Tsunoda would then play massively into Mercedes’ favour, as the Japanese barrelled into the side of Lance Stroll through Turn One. The Alpha Tauri’s front wing was therefore shattered all across the track, bringing out the Safety Car. That brought Hamilton onto the back of the Red Bulls, and the race was on.
LAP 6/71 – SAFETY CAR
We're behind the Safety Car, with debris being cleared from the track after Yuki Tsunoda loses part of his front wing#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1pic.twitter.com/WPX31JtGtg
It took nine laps after the end of the Safety Car period for Hamilton to be able to challenge Perez, passing the Mexican into Turn One, before Perez re-passed him immediately into Turn Four. One lap later however, Hamilton got ahead once more and this time kept the position.
On lap 27, Hamilton stopped onto the Hard tyres, one lap before Verstappen. The undercut gained Hamilton 2.5 seconds, increasing the pressure on Verstappen. Sainz and Norris then went side-by-side into Turn Four, with Sainz staying ahead and there was this time an absence of contact between the two former team-mates.
Some more debris would then fly off the floor of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. This was bad news for Red Bull as Perez had already pitted but Valtteri Bottas had not. He then got a free stop as a result of the full course yellow, getting him ahead of the Mexican.
Verstappen came in again for more Hard tyres, three laps before Hamilton – the undercut increasing the gap to the seven-time champion. Following his stop onto Hard tyres, Hamilton insisted that he should have been on Mediums, while team mate Valtteri Bottas believed that the one-stop strategy was the better option, and that Mercedes had “thrown away an easy one-two.”
Hamilton, however, persistently closed on Verstappen, and on lap 48, it all kicked off. Hamilton attempted to move round the outside of Verstappen at Turn Four, with the Dutchman forcing the reigning champion off and even running wide himself.
After noting the incident, Michael Masi declared that it was not worth an investigation, cue fury from the Mercedes pit wall aimed at the Safety Delegate.
But Hamilton would not be denied. 10 laps later, he got a super run through Turn Three, and flew past Verstappen going into Turn Four, prompting a celebration born out of rage and frustration from Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff.
Sergio Perez then pitted late on and stole the fastest lap away from Valtteri Bottas, as Hamilton took victory from Verstappen. Bottas took the final podium spot in third.
An excellent Sunday for Ferrari saw them soundly beat championship rivals McLaren – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari press
Ferrari capped a fine weekend, extending their advantage over McLaren in the battle for third with a 5-6 for Charles Leclerc and Sainz. Pierre Gasly muscled his way past Esteban Ocon to finish seventh, with the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso behind them in ninth. Lando Norris took McLaren’s only point in tenth after a power loss forced team mate Daniel Ricciardo into retirement, while the contact with Tsunoda proved the end of Lance Stroll’s race too.
Hamilton showed his remarkable pace, tenacity and skill on Sunday in Brazil, and he and Mercedes have let Verstappen and Red Bull know that they are still very much in this title fight.
Here we are: the final round of the 2021 season. And what a season it’s been, ending as always with the Valencia Grand Prix.
Qualifying:
Jorge Martin (Ducati) got a surprise pole with 1:29.936 from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) in second, who crashed directly after taking pole just before Martin stole it from him. Jack Miller (Ducati) also finished off the front-row getting third place. Valentino Rossi who finished his last qualifying session before retirement secured tenth place.
Race:
Both the Repsol Honda riders were not to participate in the race as Marc Marquez was still suffering from his last crash and Pol Espargaro took a heavy fall during the qualifying on Saturday – an unfortunate end of the season for Honda.
However, it was a weekend for only one man. A sea of yellow filled the grandstands as audiences flocked to see Valentino Rossi for one last time. With only the hope of finishing in the top 10, would he be able to make it?
Martin got off to a flying start and led from Miller and Bagnaia, however Joan Mir (Suzuki) had other ideas and soon took 3rd from Bagnaia, pushing him back to 4th, leaving him sandwiched between the two Suzuki’s.
Lap 2 saw Miller pass Martin for 1st place but Martin was in a fighting mood and took it straight back again, seeing his chance Mir also passed Miller to take 2nd. Pecco didn’t want to miss out on a podium place and was side-by-side with Jack on the straight – beginning of lap 3 and managed to take the position from him. Next was Rins’ turn to battle Miller, coming out on top for 4th and also claiming fastest lap.
While one Ducati rider was getting beaten up, the other soon took 2nd place from Mir, knowing he had to hunt down Martin, for any hope of a victory. But while on a high, Rins also passed his team-mate on lap 4 of 27.
Could things get any worse for Miller? Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) was next to pounce, taking 5th place from him. But, the Ducati was unbeatable on the straight and soon took the place back. Fabio chose another place to again pass Jack later on the same lap.
Lap 5, turn 6 saw Takaaki Nakagami take an early exit from his race.
Meanwhile at the front Bagnaia closed down on Martin and kept checking for the right place to pass but Martin proved a difficult one to get a good place to do so. The two Suzuki’s also looked like they were ready to fight the Ducati’s for 1st and 2nd.
Rookie of the Year. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was where he wanted to be, in the top 10, in 10th place but Enea Bastianini (Ducati) passed him to take the spot. Could Rossi do anything about it?
Miller and Quartararo continued to have mini battles for 5th place while Bagnaia continued to watch Martin for any weaknesses. With 18 laps to go Bagnaia attempted a pass on Martin but it didn’t stick.
With all front riders on the same tyre set-up (hard Michelin tyres on the front and medium on the rear) it was an even battlefield.
Suddenly on lap 11, turn 6 one of the front riders crashed out of the race. Rins was in the gravel leaving the two Ducati’s to battle it out on their own in front and leaving his team-mate to take 3rd position, with only a 0.726 second gap between him and them.
The gap slowly decreased as Mir caught up to the Ducati’s, closing the gap down to 0.493 seconds. Was Mir in for a chance of winning?
13 laps till the chequered flag and Bagnaia attempted to take the lead again. This time he was successful and took the lead over the finish line to mark the half-way point in the race. Mir and Miller still followed closely behind.
Taking the lead. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
But Bagnaia was soon pulling away from the rest of the field and the gap quickly got to 0.320 seconds. Was Martin starting to feel the results of being ill the night before? Martin had a nice position in 2nd with 1.316 seconds ahead of Miller, who had managed to pass Mir for 3rd with 10 laps to go. The Australian didn’t want to stop there though and he picked up the pace to close down on Martin. With 8 laps until the end the gap had decreased further to 1.285 seconds. Miller had said previously that he saw no point in playing it safe in the last round and wanted to get onto the podium and he did just that. He took fastest lap on lap 21 and continued to bring the gap down further still.
With 3 laps to go Miller had clawed the gap down to 0.317 seconds, was he able to pass for 2nd?
Last lap and last dance of 2021 saw Bagnaia leading with a gap increase of 0.914 seconds over the other two Dukes. But there was nothing the two riders could have done to change the results and Bagnaia won from Martin and Miller, who took the last podium place. The same three riders that had dominated qualifying also dominated the race.
Bagnaia took his fourth win in a row and Martin secured Rookie of the Year.
But the weekend was all about one man – the GOAT – Valentino Rossi. Yellow flags waved vigorously as he crossed the line in 10th place and all the riders stopped at the edge of the track and waited for him to come to them. Each one cheering, clapping and receiving a personal hug from the man that transcended the sport and made it what it is today. A very fitting farewell to an absolute legend who marked the end of an era.
Everyone wanted to say Thank You! Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
But we also said farewell to another Italian rider – Danilo Petrucci who also left Moto GP and will be competing in the Dakar for KTM. He will also be sadly missed.
Top Ten Race Results:
1st
F. Bagnaia
2nd
J. Martin
3rd
J. Miller
4th
J. Mir
5th
F. Quartararo
6th
J. Zarco
7th
B. Binder
8th
E. Bastianini
9th
A. Espargaro
10th
V. Rossi
Bagnaia wished to dedicate his race win to his Hero Valentino and I would like to say it has been a privilege and a joy to watch the career of the Titan of Moto GP, all the way from those 125cc days to Moto GP.
On behalf of everyone who has been a fan – old or new – we THANK YOU!
Taking his final bow. Courtesy of: Moto GP BT Sport Twitter page.
#GrazieVale
The 2021 season may be over but it will all start again in March 2022. Will a new victor emerge? Can Quartararo secure his crown? Will we see old riders come back to the fray? Whatever happens we will be there.
(Featured image: courtesy of: Moto GP Twitter page).
Valtteri Bottas took pole in sprint qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Interlagos after a blistering start from second place saw him take the lead on the very first lap from Max Verstappen. The Finnish driver, starting on soft compound tyres, had an amazing launch off the line and never looked back after. Verstappen was slow to get off the line and the Dutch driver was visibly distraught, reporting gear sync issues on his radio during the race and had to settle for P2.
The star of the race however was Lewis Hamilton, who started all the way from the back of the grid due to a disqualification from Friday qualifying. The English driver’s car was found guilty of a technical infringement of the DRS system and he was punished for it. Saturday was a different story however as the seven-time world champion picked off cars lap after lap as if it were virtually nothing. He eventually finished P5, after making up 15 places in the span of 24 laps but will be starting only P10, thanks to the engine penalty that he will have to serve on raceday.
Hamilton was forced to start the sprint last after a technical infringement saw him disqualified from Friday qualifying – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Carlos Sainz put up quite a show besides Hamilton, as the Spaniard had a great start from P5, which put him ahead of Sergio Perez into 3rd. The Ferrari driver then held of the Mexican after a great display of race-craft on soft tyres that were falling off all the time. He will be hoping for more of the same as each and every point for Ferrari from here on would be crucial in the race for third place in the Constructors’ Championship. His teammate Charles Leclerc on the other hand had an underwhelming race after he could only manage a P7 finish.
McLaren had a mixed outing on Saturday after Lando Norris managed to make up places to P6 after eventually falling prey to an amazing overtake from Hamilton on the final lap, while Daniel Ricciardo lost places during the race and could only finish P11. The British team have it all to do tomorrow during the race if they are to not let Ferrari get away further ahead in constructor’s standings.
Pierre Gasly , who had a brilliant qualifying session on Friday could not repeat the feat for the sprint race after a poor start cost the Frenchman places from P4. He lost three places at the start and come the end of the sprint race, he could only finish P8. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda also went backwards in the sprint race after the Japanese driver could only manage a P15 finish.
It was a decent outing for Esteban Ocon in the Alpine as he made up a couple of places in the sprint race and managed a P9 finish. Fernando Alonso however could only manage a P12 finish. It is not all lost for the French racing team as they can still aim for a decent points finish come raceday. Aston Martin had a slightly better Saturday than Friday after Sebastian Vettel made up a single place to finish P10, while Lance Stroll managed to make up a couple of places to P14.
Alfa Romeo had a difficult sprint race after teammates Giovinazzi and Raikkonen collided on lap 2 and the Finnish driver was spun round at Turn 1. Giovinazzi still managed a decent P13 finish but it was not the case for Raikkonen as he could only recover as far as P18. He will be just ahead of both the Haas cars who are set to start with Schumacher P19 and Mazepin P20. George Russell was finally beaten by a Williams teammate on a Saturday for the first time as Nicholas Latifi held on to finish P16, while Russell had to settle for P17.
Verstappen might have lost out to Bottas for pole but the Dutchman comes out of the sprint race after extending his advantage to 21 points over his challenger Lewis Hamilton. The championship race is not over by any means, especially after the way that Mercedes and Hamilton have performed in the sprint race today. A brief showing of the main event on Interlagos was seen today and the race is sure to be a thrilling event come Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest man on track in Brazil on Friday afternoon after a blistering lap to put his car on pole for the sprint race. A fresh engine on the back of his Mercedes, combined with the flair of the 7-time world champion, meant that the British driver beat his competition by a whopping four tenths of a second. This lap might become highly significant in the course of the championship battle as it shows Mercedes are not going to give up easily in the remaining races.
Hamilton’s main challenger Max Verstappen is ready to start the sprint race from P2 on the grid with the Dutchman admitting that Mercedes were faster than Red Bull and that he was happy to be second. The one thing that Red Bull will be looking forward to in the sprint race is that even if Max Verstappen finishes where he starts and Hamilton beats him, he would be on the pole for the main race as Lewis Hamilton has a five-place grid penalty owing to an engine change.
Hamilton will start five places back from his sprint finishing position due to an ICE change – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas is set to start from a handy third place for the sprint race on Saturday. The Finnish driver will be looking to put behind the misery of Mexico and hope for a strong weekend this time around, and the podium hero from Mexico Sergio Perez will be staring alongside him from P4 in the second Red Bull.
Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri continued his stellar form on Friday as he put in a lap which was good enough for him to start the sprint race from P5. The Frenchman is just ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclrec in P6 and P7 respectively for the Saturday sprint and will be looking to stay there come race day. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the other AlphaTauri could only manage a lap good enough for P13 and will be looking to make up places in the sprint race.
McLaren will be looking to make up ground in the sprint race with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo starting at P8 and P9 and crucially behind the Ferraris. As a result, they are already on the back foot for the weekend in their bid to trump the Italian team for third place in the constructors championship.
A positive day for Ferrari means that they will start tomorrow’s sprint ahead of both McLarens – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
Fernando Alonso of Alpine will complete the top 10 grid spots for the sprint race tomorrow after his lap in Q2 was good enough for him to just to get into Q3. Esteban Ocon will be starting the sprint race on P11 from the grid and will be looking to make inroads into the top 10 spots on the grid for the main race on Sunday.
Aston Martin had a Friday qualifying to forget after Lance Stroll got knocked out of Q1 and the same befell Sebastian Vettel in Q2. They will be starting P16 and P12 respectively and will be hoping for a better Saturday than a Friday. Both the Alfa Romeo cars have got out of Q1 on Friday and will be starting with Kimi Raikkonen P14 and Antonio Giovinazzi P15 respectively. It seems that Alfa Romeo will be playing a bigger role off track during the final days of the season as they are set to announce Bottas’ partner for the next season soon.
George Russell in the Williams was finally beaten by teammate Nicholas Latifi in the knockout format qualifying but it is not all lost for the Briton as he could still pass his teammate and maintain his 100% record vs him in qualifying. The Williams will line up with Latifi at P17 and Russell at P18 respectively. Both the Haas cars will be starting with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin on the last row of the grid.
With the title fight reaching its climax, every point is set to make a difference from here on. The sprint race is going to be important in this context as the winner is set to get 3 points from it while the 2nd place gets awarded 2 points. With Hamilton and Verstappen starting first and second, this could prove to be important with any points advantage that one could rake up on the other. A short version of what racing in Brazil would be like is set to be the feature tomorrow as fan favorite track Interlagos returns to the calendar after last year’s absence.
Max Verstappen extended his title advantage to 19 points last weekend in Mexico City, and with four rounds to go, Formula One now heads to the scene of many championship classics – the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Instant thrillers such as 2008, 2012 and 2016 spring to mind, and the championship has been decided six times at the 4.3 kilometre track, but that will not be happening this weekend. 107 points remain up for grabs, so there is still plenty of time for Lewis Hamilton to turn the tide and claim a record-breaking eighth championship.
But Brazil is traditionally a reasonable rack for Red Bull, and they have won here five times, with the first coming in 2009 via Mark Webber during Jenson Button’s crowning moment. High altitude coupled with tight corners make for a technically demanding lap, while also necessitating an enormous amount of fitness and concentration on race day. Mercedes, however, have largely dominated since 2014, and have taken the chequered flag four times in Sao Paulo. Since the beginning of the Hybrid era, Ferrari have won just one race, and their increasingly impressive strength this season makes for a promising weekend in their fight with McLaren for third in the Constructors’ standings.
And this is the reason for the fanfare at Brazil. McLaren’s last win in the V8 era arrived at Interlagos, and there will be an opportunity for themselves, Ferrari, and possibly even Alpine to fight it out for the podium come Sunday. This is a notoriously unpredictable weekend, making the title race ever the more gripping in Brazil.
The Woking-based team are another in need of a good race this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo T-boned Valtteri Bottas at the start in Mexico, and would eventually finish outside the points, while Lando Norris claimed just one point in tenth, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz taking fifth and sixth respectively. McLaren now trail the Scuderia by 13.5 points, and their dual will be another fascinating watch until Abu Dhabi in December.
An impressive points haul from Ferrari saw them re-take third from McLaren – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
These fights are not all; Sergio Perez’s momentous home podium in Mexico, coupled with Valtteri Bottas’ horrible day from pole has resulted in Red Bull sitting just one point behind Mercedes. The Constructors’ title will surely also go down to the wire, and with just four rounds left, the tension between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff will likely be immeasurable.
Furthermore, it is not as if there is no history between the two teams here. Michael Schumacher moved over to aid Sebastian Vettel during his title-winning recovery in 2012, and Verstappen has competed with Mercedes for victories here over the years, winning in 2019, and claiming a sensational podium in 2016 following his infamous save.
We will see the last of the three sprint events take place in Brazil, with the sprint race on Saturday potentially playing a key role in the outcome of the race on Sunday. And of course, we all know what happened in each of the first two sprint weekends of the season.
This will be an incredibly pivotal weekend for the championship, and two-time winner here Lewis Hamilton will be fully aware of the importance of a strong result to keep himself in check with Verstappen. But can the Flying Dutchman take the win and put himself further out of reach? The Brazilian Grand Prix promises to be another classic.
Max Verstappen wins with a dominant performance after a lap 1, turn 1 overtake. Hamilton finished P2 but local hero Perez finished in P3, celebrating with the crowd after an excellent performance.
After an unexpected first front row lock out of the season for Mercedes, the anticipation was high! With Bottas finally entering the battle this year it was thought that both teams would use both cars to full advantage and team orders would be in play.
Lights out and Hamilton got a better start than Bottas going side by side into turn 1 but Verstappen from behind had a blistering second phase and went around the outside of both Mercedes in turn 1 with Hamilton moving into P2. Bottas between them both began to back out, causing Perez to take avoiding action onto the grass but the McLaren of Ricciardo behind locked up and tapped Bottas on the inside spinning him. Further back Ocon, Schumacher and Tsunoda got caught up in the cars slowing and avoiding Bottas now facing the wrong way. Ocon was sandwich between Tsunoda on the inside and Schumacher on the outside, both hitting the Alpine and causing damage to their cars. This brought out the safety car before the end of lap 1.
Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the field at the start (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images/RedBull content pool)
On the restart and through the stadium section Verstappen launched leaving Hamilton to go through a slow corner and gets away comfortably. The rest of the pack followed suit with some attempts but no successful passes, with Giovinazzi challenging Sainz for P6 but not able to make it stick. Bottas was now out of play for Mercedes, the strategy needed to change as Hamilton fights the Bulls.
Lap 25 and the cat and mouse game between the championship rivals was in full swing with Verstappen managing to open up the gap. However, Perez was putting in a solid performance and it looked increasingly likely that Hamilton would spend most of the race defending from Perez rather than attacking Verstappen. Hamilton’s teammate had made his way up to P12, following Ricciardo all the way through the pack and were now behind Norris.
Hamilton was the first to pit on lap 30 but it didn’t work out for them coming out behind Leclerc in the Ferrari, who thankfully for Mercedes, pitted the next lap. This put Hamilton in P4, behind Gasly, but was nearly 2 seconds per lap faster than Verstappen on fresh hard tyres. Gasly pitted which meant Hamilton had clear air, at this point both RedBull’s said their tyres were good and looked to be going longer.
Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images/RedBull content pool)
However, lap 33 and car number 33 came in for a quick stop from the team. Importantly he was now on fresh mediums comfortably ahead of Hamilton. Sergio Perez was leading the race having not pitted. He is the first Mexican driver to lead a Mexican Grand Prix. Often known as a master on the tyres, he stayed out for a longer stint saying that the tyres were good and wanted Verstappen to hold up Hamilton while Perez was holding the lead.
On lap 40 Perez finally pitted for hard tyres, coming out behind Hamilton. Bottas pitted a lap later but had a very slow stop. The front left wheel nut got stuck, meaning he had a 12 second stop, bringing him out in P15. The Finn’s day going from bad to worse.
Sainz looking faster than Leclerc puts in the call for a team orders switch. In a bid to stay ahead Leclerc started to make mistakes. Eventually there was a clean swap between the 2 drivers.
Lap 56 and Perez had now closed the gap to Hamilton to 3 seconds, gaining nearly 3 tenths on him each lap. Hamilton begun to make unusual mistakes under pressure as he went off track at turn 12, bringing in the RedBull even more. Just 4 laps later Perez was within DRS, gaining on Hamilton every straight. Hamilton was also suffering behind a lapped Norris. Due to the turbulent air Hamilton couldn’t get within the 1.3 second requirement for Norris to be shown blue flags. When they eventually were shown, Norris moved aside and let both cars through, keeping the battle alive.
The Mercedes began to overheat in the traffic, Hamilton told to lift and coast to give the brakes a chance to cool. At this point Perez had dropped out of DRS and then caught in traffic it neutralised the battle for P2.
Verstappen was nearly 20 seconds in front on lap 65 and was dominating this race. However, Bottas pitted for a set of used soft tyres in an attempt to take away the fastest lap point from Verstappen. This was a strategy call from Mercedes because Bottas wouldn’t get the point for the lap as he was still down in P14.
With 1 lap to go Bottas pitted again for a fresh set of soft tyres because the positioning hadn’t worked for Mercedes. Perez was now back within the DRS range for 1 final charge at the 7 time world champ to get on the second step of the podium. However, through both DRS zones he couldn’t get quite close enough, so Hamilton manged to hang on to P2.
Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix but Bottas achieved fastest lap right at the end. Hamilton P2, but the home hero, Sergio Perez finished in P3. This is the first time a Mexican driver has been on the podium of his home Grand Prix, when this time last year he didn’t have a seat for the 2021 season. He put in a solid performance all race, chasing down Hamilton and added to RedBulls constructors’ points, meaning they now lead both championships. This is a great way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Adrian Newey’s first win in Formula 1.
Third placed Sergio Perez celebrates in parc ferme. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/RedBull content pool)
Verstappen goes to Brazil next week with a 20 point lead over Hamilton. The gap is getting wider but 1 DNF could swing this championship either way. The pressure is still on both drivers to perform at their best to complete the job. The question now is can Verstappen hold onto his lead or can Hamilton use his experience to claw back the points?
Returning to Portugal for the second time this year it was Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati) turn to take pole and with it a new lap record – 1:38.725 also claiming his fifth pole in a row. Teammate Jack Miller took 2nd on the grid from last years champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) in 3rd – taking his first front-row start in 2021.
This year’s newly crowned champion however was down in 7th on the grid.
Race:
Clear weather conditions meant that the track was perfect for the race ahead.
Missing from this weekends race though was last weeks winner Marc Marquez (Honda), who unfortunately suffered from concussion during a training session mid week. Brad Binder rode in his place.
Starting from pole position, Bagnaia got a slightly poor start but it didn’t stop him from going into first place from turn one. Leading from Mir and Miller. Joan took an early 2nd place from Jack, knowing full-well he needed to get a good start to his race.
Lap one, sector 2 saw an early finish for Danilo Petrucci (KTM) as he crashed out, ending his penultimate race before retiring from Moto GP.
The Portimao track is an undulating track with plenty of ups, downs and tight corners, meaning that mistakes are easy to do. There were a few riders that went wide by the end of lap 2, but one rider that seemed to be reveling on the circuit was home-boy Miguel Oliveira (KTM), who had a great start and was up into 10th, taking 7 places with 23 laps till the end.
Down-hill on the track. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
All eyes were on Bagnaia though, who was out in front. He had gained fastest lap and had already started to gap from Mir. Bad luck surely couldn’t strike twice for the Italian? Having crashed from the lead last time out in Italy.
Newly crowned Moto GP champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) soon took fastest lap in 6th place. While in front of him Alex Marquez (Honda) and Jorge Martin (Ducati) scrapped for their positions.
Pecco responded to Fabio, gaining fastest lap and soon took two fastest laps in a row. The Italian was not going to give up this win. Meanwhile, A. Marquez also didn’t give up on his surprising 4th place fight with Martin and soon held firm with it, with Miller next in his sights. Marquez had chosen to have a medium front Michelin tyre and a hard rear, while all 3 riders in-front of him had opted for both medium. Would his tyre choice be a deciding factor later on in the race?
Lap 7, saw Iker Lecuona (KTM) fall foul to the track as he went wide, leaving his comfortable 8th place and rejoining the race down in 12th. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) was not so fortunate and also made a mistake, which caused him to crash out of the race on turn 1.
Meanwhile, at the front Bagnaia was metronomic and had managed to gap a slightly larger lead from Mir with a 0.663 second lead and Mir having a 0.944 second lead over Miller – who still had Marquez close behind.
In a race of his own. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Lap 12 saw Marquez pass Miller for 3rd. Was Marquez finally getting to grips with his Honda? He was certainly having an impressive race. Whilst Quartararo and Martin battled for 5th position, Quartararo hit a bump on turn 13 and almost crashed, leaving him to wait a little longer before he could make another move.
Still in the lead and looking strong, Bagnaia was 1.501 seconds ahead of the Suzuki in 2nd and only half-way through the race could he keep this pace up? Not only was Bagnaia’s Ducati looking in good form, so were the other 3 Ducati’s. Miller remained in 4th from Johann Zarco (5th) and Jorge Martin (6th). Keeping Fabio behind in 7th.
Bagnaia could indeed keep his pace up and was in complete control and was remaining consistent. With 11 laps until the end he had broke away from Mir and had a gap of 2.410 seconds. Mir was ahead of Marquez by 1.195 seconds. The front leaders were in their own race away from the rest of the pack.
But, Quartararo needed to make up spaces and soon found a way past the Ducati blockade, passing Zarco on lap 19. The two Frenchmen had a mini battle with Zarco being the victor and with that he also passed his teammate to take 5th place with 6 laps to go. Fabio followed suit and also passed Martin but on lap 21 of 25 (turn 5) he made his first major mistake of the season and crashed, creating his first DNF of 2021. After which, Martin also lost another place to Pol Espargaro (Honda).
Whilst all that was happening behind him, Miller was hunting down Marquez. Miller passed but Marquez passed straight back. On lap 22 Miller managed another pass and that time kept hold of it. Marquez was not going to let him have it that easy though and remained glued to the rear of the Ducati.
However, the race was quickly drawn to an end with marshals waving red flags. With only 2 laps until the checkered flag, Iker Lecuona tried to overtake Miguel Oliveira but ended up taking them both out. Both riders have been confirmed to be okay. As the race was more than three-quarters of the way through there was to be no restart and the results were as they were the lap prior:
Top ten race results:
1st
F. Bagnaia
2nd
J. Mir
3rd
J. Miller
4th
A. Marquez
5th
J. Zarco
6th
P. Espargaro
7th
J. Martin
8th
A. Rins
9th
E. Bastianini
10th
B. Binder
A. Marquez gained his best finish this year and with it the top independent racer this time out. Also worth noting was top Yamaha finisher Valentino Rossi who finished in 13th place, completing his penultimate race this year.
Congratulations all round. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Bagnaia took his 3rd top spot on the podium for 2021, claiming that he “enjoyed every single session this weekend”, Miller took his 4th podium of 2021 having looked confident and in great form all weekend.
Championship standings:
1st
F. Quartararo
267
2nd
F. Bagnaia
227
3rd
J. Mir
195
4th
J. Miller
165
Ducati also claimed the Constructors Championship this weekend and Zarco took Best Independent Rider of 2021.
The race may not have been the biggest of spectacles and may have seemed a little subdued but these races need to happen to make the truly special races stand out. One thing is for sure though audiences are witnessing history with Ducati coming back to their previous winning ways, new championship contenders coming forward and with only one race to wrap up the 2021 season – Valencia is sure to be a show-stopper.
Formula One announce that they have signed a new deal with the Chinese Grand Prix organiser Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of People’s Republic of China and the Shanghai Administration of Sports and the Chinese Grand Prix Promoter, Juss Sports Group to extend their contract to 2025.
The race has been on the calendar since 2004 and seen some dramatic moments over the years. From Lewis Hamilton’s dramatic 2007 exit in the pitlane, to Nico Rosberg taking his maiden grand prix victory in 2012. Rubens Barrichello took the first victory in 2004 when driving for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso who had already wrapped up the world championship that year took victory in 2005 from pole. The Spaniard also took victory in 2013 for Ferrari. Mercedes have taken the most victories at the track with six wins. It is also the place that Michael Schumacher took his final victory during 2006, his last year at Ferrari.
Photo credit: Ferrari Media
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said:
“This is great news for all of our fans in China and we are delighted to announce this agreement that will see us racing in Shanghai until 2025. Our partnership with the promoter Juss Sports is incredibly strong and we look forward to continuing our long-term partnership. While we are all disappointed, we could not include China on the 2022 calendar due to ongoing pandemic conditions, China will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow and we look forward to being back with the fans as soon as we can.”
Of course, the race has been cancelled for the last two years due to the pandemic, so the promoter will be happy that they have secured the future of the event on the calendar for the next few years.
With 12 points in the title race and five races to go, the excitement is palpable and there is no telling whether it will be Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen claiming the Formula One championship trophy at the FIA gala in Paris next month.
Five and a half thousand miles to the west of the French capital however sits Mexico City and the 4.3 kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. This wonderful Mexican festival of racing was absent from the 2020 calendar by virtue of the Coronavirus pandemic, but thankfully one of the best racing weekends of the season is back.
Verstappen has claimed victory in two of the five races that have been held in Mexico since the return of the iconic circuit in 2015, and on both those occasions, his current title rival Hamilton was crowned champion in the culmination of his tense battles with Sebastian Vettel in 2017 and 2018.
Both of those Grands Prix had plenty in the entertainment department, as did Hamilton’s two wins in 2016 and last time out in 2019 – he displayed his wholesale brilliance with a mega stint two years ago to hold off Vettel en route to his sixth world title in the United States a week later.
Hamilton took victory with a remarkable tyre-saving performance in 2019 – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Speaking of which, the US Grand Prix two weeks back gave us one of our most tense duels yet between Verstappen and Hamilton this year, with the Dutchman producing a super stint of his own, holding off the current champion and taking the chequered flag only just ahead.
This extended his title advantage, which was crucial coming into the final few rounds, but will there be a resurgence from Mercedes this weekend?
This is a tough one, because Mercedes and Red Bull have traditionally been incredibly evenly-matched since 2017, and in a season that has been immensely unpredictable up to now, it is near enough impossible to foresee who will be on top come Sunday evening.
On the balance of it, it is a track that would tend to suit Red Bull better, with its short nature, the twisty middle sector, and the fact that Honda’s power seems to have been a match for Mercedes this season, but the Silver Arrows will still fancy themselves on the first two straights of the lap.
Ferrari have also been relatively strong here over the years, which gave us the enticing prospect of at least four potential winners in 2019, two years after Sebastian Vettel took a stunning pole position in 2017 before the race went upside down for the German. This will give them hope coming into this weekend, but McLaren lead them by a slender 3.5 points in what has been a splendid fight between them in 2021, so expect more side-by-side action similar to what we witnessed in Texas last time out.
Sebastian Vettel took a superb pole position in 2017, before contact with Hamilton on the first lap cost them both in the race – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
That was likely one of the most fascinating battles we have seen on track so far this year, and Mexico has given us a lot of those moments over the last few years, and this will be a mouth-watering race.
That fact will also potentially bring the likes of Williams and Alfa Romeo into play for points-paying positions, so there is plenty of reason for excitement for a race that almost always delivers. And with Halloween having just passed, this will be one of the last times we get to see Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen race in Formula One, so make the most of it!
Lewis Hamilton will be fully aware that he needs a strong result to keep within distance of Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull team are eager to start landing the final blows in the title fight. Let the festival begin.
