Max Verstappen put himself in the best possible place to win his first world championship, as he took pole position for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His title rival Lewis Hamilton will line up alongside in second, as Lando Norris secured his best qualifying since the Russian Grand Prix to start in third.
It was all about the first run in qualifying three for Verstappen, as Red Bull decided to use his teammate Sergio Perez to give the Dutchman a tow in the middle sector. Verstappen was over half-a-second up on Hamilton after this first run in Q3, with Lewis losing time thanks to a small lock up in turn five.
Mercedes elected not to use the tow on their final run, and although Hamilton improved, he remained over three tenths of a second behind Verstappen, whose time of 1:22.109 was good enough to secure a tenth pole position of the season.
Mercedes had to settle for a frustrating P2 & P6 in qualifying – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Sergio Perez managed to slot his Red Bull into fourth place, while it was a bad qualifying session for Alfa Romeo-bound Valtteri Bottas, who finds himself sandwiched between the Ferrari’s of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in sixth position. Yuki Tsunoda recovered from having his first lap deleted after a small mistake in the final corner to put the Alpha Tauri in eighth position, with Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo rounding out the top ten.
One small note of optimism for Mercedes is that they were able to get into the final qualifying session on the medium tyres, with all the other runners having to use the softs. Verstappen’s time on the mediums would have been good enough to get him into Q3, but concern about track evolution – and a potential flat spot on the yellow-walled tyres – meant he elected to go out again on the soft tyres.
There is the potential for the qualifying results to change, as plenty of drivers complained about traffic, especially during the second qualifying session. Fernando Alonso felt he had been held up by Ricciardo in the final corner, as the Spaniard just missed out on the top 10 and will line up eleventh. Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovanazzi and Sebastian Vettel were the other drivers eliminated in Q2. Vettel was particularly frustrated about the traffic in the final sector as the drivers were preparing their tyres for the final runs, with the German even coming to a complete stop at one point.
The main moment of drama in the first session came when Mick Schumacher launched a bollard onto the racing line, which was then collected by Lando Norris. This did cause a red flag with just over five minutes remaining, but didn’t cause issues for those towards the top of the order.
It wasn’t the ideal sign-off to George Russell’s Williams career, as he was outqualified by Nicholas Latifi, with the highly-rated Brit failing to improve on his final run. They will line up in sixteenth and seventeenth, with Kimi Raikkonen starting his final grand prix from eighteenth position. The two Haas’ take their usual spots on the back row of the grid, with Mick Schumacher outqualifying Nikita Mazepin by six tenths of a second.
Many people thought that the changes to the Yas Marina circuit would suit the Mercedes package better than the Red Bull one. Alas, it is Verstappen who starts in the perfect position for tomorrow’s race, with the lights going out at 13.00 GMT.
Jehan Daruvala took his second win of the year in the first Yas Marina sprint race after a race-long battle with Felipe Drugovich, while Oscar Piastri sealed the Formula 2 Championship by beating out his teammate Robert Shwartzman on track.
Daruvala started the race from reverse grid pole ahead of his Carlin teammate Dan Ticktum. The polesitter had a clear run down to the first corner as Ticktum was slow off the line and passed by both Drugovich and Liam Lawson. Behind them the two Premas of Shwartzman and Piastri jumped from seventh and tenth to fifth and sixth respectively behind Ticktum.
Ticktum tried to retake third from Lawson on the opening lap but struggled for pace with an apparent car issue. Within two laps he was under pressure from Shwartzman and Piastri, who both passed the Carlin for fourth and fifth on lap 3.
By this point in the weekend Shwartzman was Piastri’s only remaining rival for the title and had to finish in third at the least to keep his title hopes alive. On the following lap after clearing Ticktum he set the fastest lap and started hunting down Lawson for that crucial third.
Shwartzman took the final podium place from Lawson on lap 6, but his rival Piastri was only half a second behind Lawson himself. After taking the fastest lap, Piastri then overtook Lawson for fourth on lap 7.
Robert Shwartzman, Prema (Bryn Lennon, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA F2)
At the front of the field, Drugovich was told by his UNI-Virtuosi team to clear Daruvala as fast as possible, as the two Premas were closing rapidly on the leading pair. Drugovich closed the gap to within a few tenths, but each time he got close enough to press for first place Daruvala responded with enough pace in the first sector to protect himself throughout the rest of the lap.
On lap 12 Drugovich pressured Daruvala into a mistake as his tyres began to fade, and momentarily got ahead as he dived up the inside of Turn 9. But Daruvala managed to stay side by side with Daruvala as they went down to Turn 12, and by the end of the corner Daruvala was back out in front.
As Daruvala and Drugovich battled for the lead, Shwartzman and Piastri closed up to within half a second behind them. But instead of pressuring the leaders, the Premas started battling each other as Piastri put the attack on Shwartzman for third.
With three laps to go Shwartzman locked up going into Turn 6 and opened the door for Piastri to take third. Shwartzman tried to fight back around the outside of Turn 9, but Piastri held the inside line and kept ahead.
Daruvala, Drugovich and Piastri took the three podium positions with Shwartzman in fourth. Lawson and Ticktum came home in fifth and sixth, with Theo Pourchaire and Guanyu Zhou taking the final points.
Looking at the results, the inaugural Saudi Arabian GP was a fairly bog-standard race. It was the perfect result for the championship battle as well, with Lewis Hamilton’s victory over Max Verstappen meaning the two are tied ahead of this weekend’s finale at the re-designed Yas Marina circuit. Anyone who watched the race though will have been left with a bitter taste in their mouth, no matter who they want to win.
Jeddah looked like being a fairly dull race for the first few laps, but this changed when Mick Schumacher lost his Haas at Turn 22, in an almost identical manner to Charles Leclerc earlier in the weekend. This is where the issues with the FIA’s rulebook started being exposed. Mercedes pitted both drivers, with Valtteri Bottas hanging back more than what is allowed by the regulations, in order to cost Verstappen as much time as possible should he choose to pit.
The Dutchman stayed out, with Red Bull perhaps sensing that a red flag was not far away, where they would be able to get a free tyre change. Lando Norris and others don’t think this should be allowed, but it was certainly a mistake by Mercedes to leave themselves vulnerable to this – especially on a street circuit where any accident is likely to lead to a red flag for barrier repairs.
Hamilton got a superb restart (perhaps helped by the fact that he’d strayed a bit more than the required 10 car lengths behind Verstappen, allowing the Red Bull’s tyres to cool), but Max did what he is getting an unfortunate reputation for doing. He skipped over the kerb at Turn One, retaining the position and also allowing Ocon to jump Lewis. Behind, Perez was the catalyst for a shunt between Latifi and Mazepin, causing all three to retire and leading to another red flag.
This is when Formula One turned into an episode of Deal or No Deal. Masi ‘offered’ Red Bull an opportunity to demote Verstappen to third, behind Ocon and Hamilton. Why an offer, and not an outright order? Because race direction don’t have the power to dish out punishments, and it is at the team’s discretion to follow their instructions, even though failure to do so nearly always leads to a time penalty.
Verstappen was forced to start third for the second restart following his illegal move during the first – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull unsurprisingly took the offer, but Verstappen made up for earlier with a wonderful move up the inside into turn one to regain the lead. We then saw the best of the two title protagonists, as they traded fastest laps, with the gap constantly hovering at around one second. This was despite multiple – albeit necessary – VSC interruptions for debris, another sign of Sunday’s scrappy nature.
The biggest dramas however were yet to happen. Hamilton took advantage of the double DRS to get a fantastic run on Verstappen into the first corner, but the Dutchman’s determination to stay ahead forced both cars off the circuit, with the Brit unsurprisingly annoyed over the radio.
Then came the synchronised slowdown shenanigans. Max was told to ‘strategically’ give the place to Lewis, and he tried this on the run to the final corner, in order to take advantage of DRS on the main straight. Lewis slowed down as well, reluctant to pass. Scenes very reminiscent of Baku in 2017 followed, as Hamilton collided with the rear of the Red Bull, with both cars fortunate to only have minor damage. Mercedes say Lewis was unaware that he was being let by. If so, why would he hang back in what appeared to a deliberate attempt to ensure he had the DRS into Turn 1? Red Bull say Max only braked to let Lewis through – if so, why did he do it while on the racing line?
Verstappen received 15 seconds of penalties for all of this, five during the race for the initial defence, ten afterwards for braking on the straight. He also let Hamilton through for the lead, with the Brit rather foolishly squeezing Max off track, which could well have led to a steward’s enquiry. With cooked tyres and a damaged diffuser, all Verstappen could do was watch Hamilton streak away to victory, leaving us all with the prospect of an explosive show-down in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen was penalised not once, but twice during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
It’s easy to blame Verstappen or Hamilton for those incidents, as well as the various comings together throughout the season – the majority of social media has picked a side. But would any of this have happened if the FIA hadn’t allowed things to fester throughout the past few seasons? Yes, we want to see people race hard, but it needs to be fair and preferably on the race track. Drivers feel they can go for ridiculous, one-in-a-million moves, knowing that acres of tarmac run-off await. A small gravel strip on the edge of the corner might make people think twice about running off circuit, and probably would have led to Verstappen getting penalised during the Brazilian GP. That may well have stopped him attempting the moves we saw in Jeddah, and therefore stopped Hamilton feeling the need to retaliate through the final corner.
Verstappen was no penalised for the Turn Four incident in Brazil – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
Alpine may also feel hard done by, as Bottas’ safety car antics didn’t lead to a penalty, despite others being previously penalised for the same offence. This inconsistency has become endemic in Formula One, and may well become pandemic throughout motorsport. If the greatest drivers in the world can get away with it, what’s stopping youngsters on their way up the ladder thinking they too are immune to the rulebook?
Esteban Ocon agonisingly missed out on a podium finish in Saudi Arabia – Courtesy of Renault Sport Media
This Sunday should be a mouth-watering championship finale as the winner takes it all. Hopefully, it is great racing we are talking about in a few days’ time, not shoddy stewarding and Dick Dastardly driving.
The Barbórka Rally is a legendary event for motorsport enthusiasts from Poland and beyond. The name of this event comes from the name Barbara and is always organized around Barbara’s name day. This year’s edition was the 59th in Polish motorsport history. After a two-year break (in 2020, the rally took place in a virtual version), the cars returned to the streets of Warsaw and the surrounding area, and their engines warmed fans who were waiting for emotions.
Credit: Albert Radomski/ThePitCrewOnline
The rally started on Friday, December 3rd with a stage in Pruszków which was a new addicion to this event. The stage itself was distinguished by the entrance to the roof of the shopping center. The first stage of the Barbórka rally was won by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Rally Evo2), building an 8-second advantage over the second team.
Top 5 after the first stage:
K. Kajetanowicz / M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2)
M. Marczyk / Sz. Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +8.40 s
W. Chuchała / S. Rozwadowski (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +9.89 s
J. Szeja / M. Sheya (Hyundai i20 Rally2) +12.18 sec
M. Ratajczyk / J. Szcześniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +13.06 s
Credit: Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline
Saturday morning began with an episode organized on Autodrom Słomczyn. The stage consisted of two laps – on stadium and on stadium-gravel stage. The stage itself caused problems for the drivers – especially the two jumps entering the second lap. This episode was another prey for the LOTOS Rally Team, at the helm of which was Kajetan Kajetanowicz. The leader of the rally table left Słomczyn with an advantage of 11.64 seconds.
Top 5 after two stages at Autodrom Słomczyn:
K. Kajetanowicz / M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2)
M. Marczyk / Sz. Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +11.64 s
W. Chuchała / S. Rozwadowski (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +17.89 s
M. Ratajczyk / J. Szcześniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +19.05 s
J. Szeja / M. Sheya (Hyundai i20 Rally2) +20.89 sec
Credit: Albert Radomski/ThePitCrewOnline
After two stages, the Barbórka Rally has come to Warsaw. The third stage, which consisted of two laps, was located on the Służewiec horse racing track. This stage was won by Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak, who added a few precious seconds to the advantage over the second team in the field, which included Miko Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (ORLEN Team).
Top 5 after a stage on the Służewiec horse racing track
K. Kajetanowicz / M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2)
M. Marczyk / Sz. Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +20.31 sec
M. Ratajczyk / J. Szcześniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +35.58 s
W. Chuchała / S. Rozwadowski (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +39.33 s
J. Szeja / M. Sheya (Hyundai i20 Rally2) +39.35 s
The last stage, which was included in the general classification of the rally, took place on the Bemowo track. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak were second to none and strengthened their advantage by adding a second, which contributed to the victory in the Barbórka Rally. For Kajetanowicz there is 8th victory in Rally Barbórka in his career and as well 8th consecutive (first in 2013).
Final classification of the 59th Rally Barbórka:
K. Kajetanowicz / M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2)
M. Marczyk / Sz. Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +21.09 sec
M. Ratajczyk / J. Szcześniak (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +39.76 s
W. Chuchała / S. Rozwadowski (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +41.37 s
J. Szeja / M. Sheya (Hyundai i20 Rally2) +42.10 p
Credit: Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline
From Bemowo, the rally moved to the center of Warsaw to Karowa Street. The Barbórka Rally ended with a stage that was not included in the general classification. It was a separate competition. For many fans, this stage is the most iconic and is the quintessence of the Barbórka Rally, which could be seen in the full stands. Low temperatures did not prevent the fans from watching the competition live on Karowa Street. The start of the stage was preceded by an impressive drifting show. This episode was also captured by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak. For Kajetanowicz it is the 9th victory in the special stage at Karowa street.
After 21 races, 20 countries visited, and 1,242 laps of racing, the 2021 Formula One world championship is about to be decided. As if the excitement were not already enough, this weekend will be the first time in 47 years that the title contenders have entered the final round dead level on points.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been battling it out for the world championship hammer and tong since day one in Bahrain. Ultimately, the surprise has not necessarily been that they have gone into the final round so tight – it is not even that shocking that they have entered this week with absolutely no disparity between them. The surprise has arrived in how they got there.
Hamilton and Verstappen have come to blows several times in 2021 – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
The two have been involved in several extremely tense and contentious moments over the course of the year, prompting an incrementally personal rivalry between their respective team bosses – Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.
This title race already looked as though it was going to be spicy over the course of the opening few rounds, with the Briton and the Dutchman running a fine line at Imola, Portimao and Spain. Eventually, it would all come to a head at the British Grand Prix in July. The now-infamous collision at Copse prompted a furious Verstappen to criticise Mercedes’ celebrations after Hamilton had won the race while the 24-year-old lay in a hospital bed.
Mercedes’ celebrations riled Verstappen after his 51G crash with Hamilton on Lap one in Silverstone – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
It never really died down from there, with a nasty-looking crash at Monza, followed by their off-track excursion at Sao Paulo following. And of course, the recent Saudi Arabian Grand Prix gave us the most bizarre collision yet, with Hamilton running into the back of the Red Bull as Verstappen slowed to let him through having pushed him off the circuit moments earlier.
This has led to whispers of Verstappen possibly utilising the Ayrton Senna technique from 1990, in which the Brazilian wiped out Alain Prost at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix to seal the title. By virtue of Verstappen having won more races, he would clinch the title were the two protagonists to fail to finish.
We are of course hoping that they do manage to keep it clean and, as Nico Rosberg affirmed in 2014, it is of course also partly down to Hamilton as well as Verstappen to ensure this happens.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton became embroiled in an intense rivalry during their four years as team mates – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
The finale then takes us to the 5.5 kilometre Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, where the title has been decided twice before, and will be again this weekend. Hamilton has a record-six wins at the track, but Verstappen won this race last year and, of course, whomever finishes ahead of the other takes the title, meaning a win guarantees glory for both of them.
But that is not the only battle that needs settling this weekend. Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are covered by just 8.5 points in the battle for fifth, which means it is also all to play for between them. Linking in with this, Ferrari need only score six points to seal third in the Constructors’ title from McLaren – the Scuderia are set to take a significant step forward from last year’s finishing position.
Ferrari are six points away from sealing third in the Constructors’ standings – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
Interestingly, every qualifying battle has already been settled prior to the final round, with Pierre Gasly beating Alpha Tauri team mate and rookie Yuki Tsunoda a clean-sweep 21-0.
This is it then. All square, all to play for. It is winner takes all at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen will contest his 349th and final race in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and we take a look through a sparkling career for the Iceman.
Raikkonen began his career in 2001 with Sauber; he was identified by the team as he dominated through the Formula Renault UK as rookie winning seven out 10 races in 2000.
He had the experienced Nick Heidfeld alongside him who took a fantastic podium in Brazil, whilst Kimi took 6th on his debut then retired consecutively following on from that result. At Austria and Canada in the mid-Season he finished 4th – the highlight of the 2001 Sauber career. Others then began to take notice; another Finn Mika Hakkinen having a torrid having won two championships on the bounce. Mclaren talks were ongoing and it was agreed Hakkinen was walking away, and Raikkonen would replace him at the then-known Silver Arrows Mclaren Mercedes for 2002. Hakkinen, after this announcement in September, did manage to win once more with the pressure off.
The 2002 Season started off well for Kimi, earning his first ever podium with third at the opener Melbourne with the fastest lap. However, the car did have reliability issues which held up, the BMW-Williams also a strong contender for this Season. Mclaren finished third that year due to the reliability issues of the MP4-17, and Kimi retired from 10 out of 17 races. The highlight of the Season for Kimi was P2 at Magny-Cours – his highest finish to date and double podium. Himself and David Coulthard finished P5 & P6 respectively in the Championship.
2003 was the year Kimi came into his own at Mclaren; Coulthard took his final win of his career at Melbourne but the ever-present Ferrari of Schumacher wasn’t on the rostrom for the first-time since 2001. Mclaren then took victory again at Kuala Lumpur and Raikkonen finally took the first victory of his career, 39.286 clear of Rubens Barrichello in a dominant display. It took Ferrari until the fourth round before they won but Kimi was on the podium in second. He didn’t win again in the year but was on the podium six times, unfortunately missing out on the title by 2 points to Schumacher, scoring 91 points.
In 2004, Mclaren unfortunately went back to MP4-17 levels of reliability. It was so poor that in the Summer we saw the reveal of the MP4-19B. Raikkonen’s best finish was fifth in Canada, and upon returning to Europe Kimi got back on the podium at Silverstone with second. The highlight of 2004 came when he won the Belgian GP at Spa, and a strong end to the Season with a podium with F1’s first venture to Shanghai and at Brazil.
In 2005, Kimi was the bridesmaid once again, but this much different in terms of how it came to fruition. Kimi had his most successful year with seven wins, winning at Monaco and once again at Belgium. His most fought out win also came in this Season – a fantastic P17 to P1 – overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella on the outside of turn one on the final lap. Alonso won the title, but with new points system he ended up 21 points ahead of the Iceman.
In 2006, as per the previous Championship campaigns, development was slow, but better than 2004. He managed to score podiums in the first two races, and a further three in the first half of the season. Paddock rumours began to float round he was looking elsewhere to find that elusive Championship after those results. Those rumours came true; he was heading to Ferrari to replace Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, and it was announced at the Italian Grand Prix of all places. Kimi got his best result of P2 of the year matching Melbourne – a sign of things to come?
In 2007, Kimi headed into the scarlet red Ferrari, and it couldn’t have gotten off to a more emphatic start, winning the Season opener in Australia. Two more podiums followed at the so-called flyaways that start the traditional Season. After three rounds we had Kimi, and both Mclaren drivers of Alonso and upcoming rookie Lewis Hamilton all on 22 points. The Season headed to Europe and went to the Americas before heading to France and Britain where Kimi’s challenge began; he was behind but won both races at Magny-Cours and Silverstone. Hungary onwards Kimi was not off the podium; he won again in Belgium, which has become a true favourite of the iceman as it was his third victory at the circuit. He was 17 points behind title leader Hamilton with two races remaining; he surely couldn’t be the bridesmaid or lower again as Alonso was only 12 points behind. He won the final two races of the calendar whilst others faltered. Hamilton had his moment entering the pits at Shanghai, resulting in a no-score and a puncture at Brazil which allowed the 17-point swing, giving Kimi his first World title.
In 2008 the defence began woth a collision, with Kimi fortunate to score due to a race of attrition with P8 and Barrichello later disqualified. However, a spell on the podium thereafter included two wins in the flyaway run, before F1 headed back to Europe. The 2008 Season had its moment in the Canadian pit lane when Hamilton wasn’t looking under safety car conditions, hitting Raikonnen which resulted in Kubica winning, leapfrogging both in the Standings.
Kimi Raikkonen was less than impressed after being wiped out by Lewis Hamilton at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
In France and Hungary Kimi took a further podium but a poor string of results at the normally favoured track Belgium and the new Singapore circuit mathematically ended the iceman’s chance of retaining the title. His team-mate Felipe Massa and Hamilton fought that out, with Hamilton claiming his first championship. A further three podiums saw him finish third in the standings in 2008.
The 2009 Season brought in new regulations, and Ferrari seemed to be in the midpack and not at their traditional standards of the noughties era. Kimi scored four points in the first four flyaways before Europe began; the car development was rife this Season and we saw it with this car specifically. Prior to the Summer break at Hungary he took a fantastic P2, starting a podium streak and on returning to his trusted Belgium he took Ferrari’s sole win of his season. However, he was still 5th in Standings, with half the points of Jenson Button, and rumours were appearing that Kimi was looking away from Ferrari. He took another podium in front of the Tifosi at Monza and a further two points scores, before it was then revealed the team he was speaking to was to actually Mclaren, but the talks broke down so nothing came to fruition. Ferrari then agreed deals with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa for 2010.
Kimi took a two-year sabbatical and ended up agreeing to compete in WRC with Citroen with P5 Rally of Turkey 2010 best result. Agreements were made for Kimi to join Lotus F1, the former Renault program for 2012.
On his return to the Series with Lotus in 2012, Kimi finished a distant third behind the title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso but on review had a successful campaign with seven podium finishes across the year, only failing to finish in the points in China. He claimed the team’s first victory since Ayrton Senna in Detroit in 1987.
Kimi and Lotus looked like they built upon this as they won the Season opening race in 2013, and then took a further three second places, being ever consistent as he was in the black and gold machinery and was second in the standings after Spain. Upgrades begun to occur and Lotus weren’t as quick to match, and a further four races passed until Kimi was back on the podium; he still scored points but not to the high level needed. Germany and Hungary saw him take two second places, and Ferrari once again came looking for a driver as rumours were floating that Massa was looking at alternate drives. The Italian GP was on the 8 September and on the 11 September it was confirmed that Raikkonen, ahead of the new era of F1, would again race for the Scuderia. He took a further two podiums at Singapore and Korea but his Season ended early as he required some surgery on his back, still finishing fifth in the standings.
Kimi spent two years at Lotus before re-joining Ferrari – Courtesy of Pirelli Media
At the start of the hybrid era in 2014, Ferrari’s machinery wasn’t at the races, capped to a best of P7 in the early rounds of the year, getting lapped at Barcelona. While not being in the twilight years of his career just yet, albeit his 12th Season, Ferrari needed to improve. Results begun to pick up but no podium was yielded, with his best result coming at Belgium with a fourth-placed finish, scoring at 13 out of 19 races, ending just towards the bottom of the top 10.
in 2015 the Ferrari power unit was reviewed and had much more power but was still not on par with Mercedes. He had to retire from opener but matched his best result in the second race and saw the rostrum in the fourth round at Bahrain, generally being best of the rest in this Season as the two Mercedes battled it out. Second at Bahrain was the highlight of the Season but two further podiums at the night races of Singapore and Abu Dhabi also came, and he would finish fourth in the Standings – near enough trebling the points from the year before.
Further podiums for Kimi in 2016 saw the win get closer, finishing second twice in the year, behind Verstappen in that record breaking win at Barcelona. He had four podiums in the Season all very early on, with Austria being the latest.
2017 nearly matched Kimi’s points record of 207 points as he was on the podium seven times this . A nice spell of three consecutive podiums in the Americas late in the Season gave him the push to finish 4th. Hungary and Monaco were the highlight of the Season with second place finishes.
In 2018 Kimi took his final victory, setting a new record of 113 races between his previous win, as he made a one stop strategy work in Texas, COTA. The win was his first since Lotus in 2013 but also his first for Ferrari since 2009. He also took 12 podiums in his final Season for the team as it was agreed he would move back to his routes and Alfa Romeo which were born from Sauber where it all began from him in 2001. He finished third with 251 points, best ever points haul.
Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Raikkonen at Abu Dhabi 2018. Image courtesy of Ferrari Media
The twilight years started for Kimi and Alfa’s car was well prepared, a midfield contender, finishing in the points nine times in the Season of 2019, beginning with four consecutive finishes. In Brazil towards the latter end he managed to get a P4 with team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi P5, taking advantage of penalties and incidents to reel in the team’s biggest points haul to date since their return.
Kimi has spent the last three seasons with Alfa Romeo – Image courtesy of Sauber F1
Developments for cars came in 2020 at a different pace and levels. Alfa Romeo dropped to a certain extent, and while Raikkonen might not have been able to be a consistent scorer he was enjoying himself. In the shortened Season he scored two points finishes through the year at Mugello and Imola.
The swansong Season which we didn’t know until halfway through the Season began and was very much the nearly man in this Season until Baku, finishing P11-P13. He finished P10 at that race, along with Hungary. Kimi unfortunately did miss two races mid-Season due to COVID-19 and returned with an instant best result of P8 in Russia with the same result in Mexico. Points finishes might look likely in Abu Dhabi which would be a good way to end his career.
Kimi throughout his career in F1 had 19 Seasons, claimed 21 wins and 103 podiums with 18 pole positions. He has been involved in 349 Grands Prix which is the official record. The man of few words will be remembered for his wit, his nonchalant communication but, most of all, as a Formula One World Champion.
Hamilton wins a crazy race in Jeddah with Verstappen finishing 2nd and Bottas in P3. There were some controversial moments between the two and the track will come under some scrutiny. But its all square going into the season finale.
After a crash from Verstappen at the end of Q3 yesterday Hamilton appeared to have the advantage going into the race. However, no gear box change for Verstappen so he started P3 with only Bottas between him and his championship rival. All eyes were on turn 1…
Lights out and Hamilton had a clear get away from Bottas and Verstappen. Perez makes a lighting start nearly through to P4 but locked up in turn 1, having to give way to Leclerc into turns 2 and 3. Gasly had a terrible start losing out to Norris. After a disappointing qualifying Sainz made up 2 places with Russell falling back to P17 by the end of lap 2.
Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc battle for track position at the start (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool)
It was settled by lap 8 at the front but further back the DRS was helping the action. Daniel Ricciardo finally making it past the Alpha Tauri of Gasly while Alonso was losing places to Giovinazzi and Sainz. However, just as we thought we were settling in for the night, Mick Schumacher had a heavy crash running into the barriers at turn 22 after losing control the back end of the car on lap 10.
Many leapt into the pits, including Mercedes who double stacked the cars onto hard tyres. RedBull decided to stay out and gain track position and have fresher tyres later in the race. With another safety car were hoping to get another chance for a ‘cheap’ pitstop. Once the car was removed the FIA needed to make sure the barrier was safe and therefore the red flag came out. RedBull were able to change Verstappen’s tyres, ready for a standing start.
Restart lights out and Hamilton got a much better start than Verstappen, leading into turn 1 but Verstappen was later on the brakes. Hamilton shut the door on the corner, but Verstappen came back over the curb forcing Hamilton out of the move leaving a gap for Ocon to take P2. Bottas locked up going into turn 1 nearly taking out Verstappen put losing a place to Ricciardo.
2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images
Turn 3 and the drama happened. Perez was pinched between Gasly and Leclerc meaning Leclerc hit the back wheel of Perez who then spun into the wall. He was out and with the cars slowing around the incident all but 1 made it safely through. Mazepin, not knowing the cars around him were slowing, ploughed straight into the back of George Russell, both were then out of the race. Another standing start and after some negotiations Verstappen gave the place back to Hamilton but also Ocon, so Ocon started in P1 with Hamilton P2 and Verstappen P3.
3Rd time lucky and both Hamilton and Verstappen had a good start but with Verstappen on the medium tyres he had better grip and in the second phase he gained on Hamilton. Turn 1 and Hamilton was pinched between Ocon and Verstappen but all 3 made it fairly through the corner with Verstappen coming out on top. He then sped away leaving Hamilton to overtake Ocon the following lap. Thankfully all the cars made through the lap and we were racing again.
Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battle for track position at the second restart (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool)
Lap 20 and Verstappen reported lack of power which was just the battery topping up. This did allow Hamilton to catch up to within the DRS zone. It appeared that in the corners Verstappen was the faster car putting in purple sectors, but in a straight line the Mercedes had the upper hand. The battle was truly on.
Just 3 laps later and Tsunoda went deep into turn 1, Vettel thought he could take advantage, but he was tagged by Tsunoda trying to make the apex of turn 2. This only brought out the virtual safety car meaning everyone could maintain the gap. Tsunoda got the car going again and the VSC ended when he got to the pits. Tsunoda got a 5 second time penalty for the move while Vettel’s car suffered small damage. Green flag and the gap was still nearly 1 second between the championship rivals.
Yuki Tsunoda in the Pitlane for a new front wing (Photo by Andrej Isakovic – Pool/Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool)
Raikkonen was battling the already suffering Aston Martin but going into turn 10 the two collided adding to the damage. At this point there seemed to be debris all over the track. This ended up with 3 VSCs in succession causing Alonso to come on the radio calling for a full safety car which never came. On track this was keeping a close gap between Hamilton and Verstappen but did squash some of the excitement.
Lap 36 and with the VSCs ending the gap began to come down again between the front runners. Hamilton would gain by 6 tenths and then Verstappen would open the gap again in sector 1. Within DRS on lap 37 Hamilton went alongside and into turn 1 both of them ended up off the track. Halfway round the lap Verstappen was told by his engineers to give the place back. Slowing down Hamilton didn’t know what was happening and ended up hitting the back of the RedBull.
After conversations on the pit wall between the FIA and both teams the incident would end up being investigated after the race. However, the turn 1 incident was investigated, and Verstappen given a 5 second time penalty. This didn’t matter though, lap 43 and Hamilton got past Verstappen. It looked like Verstappen may have let him past so that he could nurse his tyres home because he lost a second every lap to Hamilton after that.
The battle was on for P3 though between Ocon and Bottas. Swapping places for the last few laps but on the final lap, Bottas had DRS and right on the line Bottas took P3 which was really importantly for the constructor’s championship. He joins his teammate on the podium in P1 and Verstappen in P2.
Race winner Lewis Hamilton, Second placed Max Verstappen and Third placed Valtteri Bottas stand on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Andrej Isakovic – Pool/Getty Images)
The championship goes down to Abu Dhabi with them on level points after Hamilton got fastest lap. Whoever finishes ahead will win the championship. 2021 has really delivered this year, 1 race to go next week.
Marcus Armstrong took advantage of a front row start in the first Jeddah sprint race to take his first win in the series, seeing off polesitter Liam Lawson.
Armstrong had wheelspin off the line and looked to drop behind Lawson, but found better acceleration in the second phase of the start. The two cars went into the first corner chicane side by side, but Armstrong muscled Lawson to the edge of the track and came out ahead.
Behind them, Ralph Boschung improved from fourth to third by passing Juri Vips. Further back there was contact between Guilherme Samaia and Marino Sato into the Turn 4 chicane, which left both cars stranded and brought out the safety car.
Ralph Boschung, Campos (Dan Mullan, Getty Images / FIA F2)
When the race restarted again on lap 4 it only lasted a few corners, as title contender Guanyu Zhou was tipped into a spin trying to pass Christian Lundgaard for sixth. Zhou managed to keep the car going albeit at the back of the field and with a broken front wing, and a brief virtual safety car was deployed to clear away the debris.
When the VSC was withdrawn on lap 5, Boschung in third started putting in fastest laps to close the distance to Lawson ahead. But with overtaking so difficult around Jeddah he wasn’t able to make a move for second place, and Boschung instead burned through his tyres and came under attack from Vips.
On lap 10 Vips blasted past Boschung for third under DRS on the start/ finish straight. At the same point on the following lap Boschung lost fourth place to Felipe Drugovich, and by the end of lap 13 he’d been passed by Robert Shwartzman, Lundgaard, Theo Pourchaire and Oscar Piastri to drop out of the points.
Robert Shwartzman, Prema (Bryn Lennon, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA F2)
The safety car made another appearance in the closing stages of the race when Pourchaire spun into the wall at Turn 22, the same place Charles Leclerc crashed during FP2.
When the race resumed it was with just three laps to go, and at the front Lawson put a renewed attack on Armstrong. The Hitech driver managed to hound the DAMS by just a few tenths of a second across the closing laps, but Armstrong’s defensive driving saw him hold off Lawson until the chequered flag and keep first place.
Lawson finished second ahead of Hitech teammate Vips, with Drugovich in fourth. Shwartzman crossed the line in fifth but dropped to sixth due to a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage earlier in the race.
Jehan Daruvala benefited from the penalty to finish fifth, after a bold move at the restart saw him pass both Lundgaard and Piastri. Lundgaard finished seventh behind Daruvala and Shwartzman, and Dan Ticktum took eighth place after passing Piastri for the final point on the last lap.
Piastri finished ninth and Bent Viscaal took reverse grid pole for the second race with tenth place. Jack Doohan was the highest of the F3 graduates making their debut this weekend with a P11 finish.
Formula 2 returns after a long absence this weekend, for the penultimate round of the 2021 championship at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Street Circuit.
When the cars take to the track in Jeddah, it will have been nearly 10 weeks since the last race of the championship in Sochi. The previous longest gap this season was eight weeks between Silverstone and Monza, and it was evident in the three races in Italy that several drivers were rusty after such a long time away from the track.
At this late stage in the season, with just two rounds and six races left to run, it’s going to be more important than ever for the drivers to renew their focus fast. And that’s especially true for the title protagonists Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou, as the championship could mathematically be decided in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Oscar Piastri, Prema (Joe Portlock, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)
Piastri currently leads Zhou by 36 points with 130 remaining in the final two rounds. That sounds like a slim chance to wrap up the title by this Sunday, but if Piastri outscores Zhou by 29 points across the weekend — the amount for a feature race pole and win — the title will be his.
It will be tough for Piastri to make up that kind of ground this weekend without some major misfortune befalling Zhou. But with such a long time off between races, that’s exactly the kind of scenario that could play out if the rust isn’t shaken off in practice.
But Piastri will have to watch out, too. With 130 points still to be won, everyone down to Richard Verschoor in tenth is still technically able to take the title. Most of those will likely be eliminated this weekend, but not all of them can be written off completely.
Robert Shwartzman, Dan Ticktum and Theo Pourchaire sit third, fourth and fifth in the standings with multiple wins so far. Any slip-up by Piastri or Zhou will be gratefully received by this trio of drivers, who still have time to launch a late dark-horse bid for the crown.
What to expect from Jeddah
Ralph Boschung, Campos (Lars Baron, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA F2)
With Jeddah being a brand-new circuit and coming after such a long gap, there’s not much to go on when looking ahead to the race.
Piastri would be a good bet for feature race pole this weekend, given that he’s taken the last three poles in a row. But another driver who should come to Jeddah with high hopes is Juri Vips.
What we do know about Jeddah is that it’s a high-speed street circuit, which immediately brings comparisons to the “Monza with walls” sections of Baku. And during F2’s visit to Baku this year, Vips was decisively the driver to beat as he swept up two wins in a row and launched himself up the championship table.
Speaking of street circuit specialists, Ralph Boschung could be one to watch as well. The Swiss driver has scored six points finishes this year and each one has come at previous street tracks — not only that but they’ve all been top-six results, with the highlight being fourth place at Monaco.
Boschung and Campos are unlikely to be challenging for wins or pole this weekend, but a podium appearance could well be on the cards.
Driver changes
We might be nearing the end of the year but that hasn’t stopped the F2 grid changing up once again before Jeddah, as four drivers from the 2021 Formula 3 season are stepping up this weekend.
F3 vice-champion Jack Doohan will be making his F2 debut at MP Motorsport, taking the #11 car driven by Verschoor all season. He’ll be joined by Clement Novalak, who replaces Lirim Zendelli in the #12 and will be preparing himself for next year when he joins MP Motorsport full-time.
Olli Caldwell, who raced for Prema in F3 this year, will become the latest driver in the #20 Campos, which has been piloted by Gianluca Petecof, Matteo Nannini and David Beckmann throughout the year so far. Lastly, recent Williams F1 academy signing Logan Sargeant will replace Jake Hughes in the #22 HWA.
Jack Doohan will replace Richard Verschoor for the final two rounds. At Jeddah and Yas Marina, Doohan will team up with fellow F3 graduate Clément Novalak.
Richard steps aside due to funding issues. We've had a great season together where he won his first F2 race at Silverstone pic.twitter.com/46wX55YhZO
With just two rounds left of the 2021 Formula One season, Max Verstappen is presented with his first potential opportunity to claim the championship. Can he do so, or will Sir Lewis Hamilton take the title to the last race in Abu Dhabi?
Verstappen leads the current and seven-time champion by eight points following Hamilton’s stunningly dominant display in Qatar two weeks ago, giving him crucial momentum heading into the penultimate race of the season. In a year that has seen so many exhilarating and tense moments, there really is no telling who will be able to take the edge this weekend.
Sir Lewis Hamilton’s dominant display in Qatar put him eight points behind Max Verstappen – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
What they could of course both do without is further grid penalties, which have had their respective effects on both of our title protagonists. Barring any incidents or indeed regulatory controversy this weekend, this will be purely about pace and who can get the most out of their machines. The pressure will be on.
So too is there pressure in the Constructors’ battle; Mercedes lead Red Bull by 15 points in spite of having won two races less than their counterparts, meaning that they must top the Austrian team by 30 points in order to take the teams’ title. As a result, it looks very much as though Toto Wolff and Christian Horner’s incrementally grudgeful battle will be decided in Abu Dhabi as well.
The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz continue to streak away from McLaren, who only managed four points from the recent triple-header, and their push for third in the Constructors’ standings has thus begun to fade away. They trail the Scuderia by 39.5 points, meaning they must avoid being beaten this weekend by five points in order to remain in the fight. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo will be very aware that they need a result and a strong performance.
Ferrari are very close to beating McLaren to third in the Constructors’ standings – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press
So where will battle take place this week? For the first time ever, Formula One will visit the City of Jeddah for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, around the 6.1 kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Complete with 27 corners, it makes up one of the longer tracks F1 will visit this season, but the length is compromised by the sheer speed of the corners, with few heavy braking zones and plenty of concentration required from the drivers. Furthermore, with the close proximity of the barriers, crashes will be dangerous and potentially perennial throughout the weekend. We do hope, of course, that everyone is able to keep it clean.
With construction beginning just last year, fears quickly mounted as to whether it would be ready in time to host the race this year, but in a 12-month turnaround, the track has been completed and Jeddah is just about ready to welcome Formula One for the first time. In terms of the weather, temperatures are expected to be at around 30 degrees Celsius throughout the three days, and with the circuit overlooking the Red Sea, this will be a beautiful but savagely challenging setting for the drivers and cars.
If Verstappen is to claim the championship this weekend, he needs to outscore Hamilton by 18 points. This means the Dutchman either has to win with Hamilton finishing seventh – or sixth if Verstappen obtains the fastest lap – while a P2 for Verstappen will necessitate a complete failure to score points from Hamilton.
It looks very much, then, as though this title race is going to the final round in Abu Dhabi, but who will have the edge this weekend? Let’s find out during the first ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
