Max Verstappen is the new World champion after a dramatic finish to what has been an incredible season. Hamilton gave it all he had but it came down to the final lap of the race after a safety car.
To start the day of drama Mazepin tested positive for Covid and was not able to race. It was too short notice for Haas so they ran with only 1 car.
Lights out and Hamilton gets a much better start leading Verstappen into turn 1. This meant Verstappen had the slipstream down the back straight, he made a lunge into the corner alongside Hamilton who had left the door open. It nearly ended in tears when the 2 touched as Verstappen went too deep and Hamilton had to go to the escape road, coming out ahead. The stewards decided that the gap had not changed from before the move and that Verstappen forced Hamilton wide and therefore did not investigate. Perez gained a place on Norris in turn 1 but Bottas had lost 2 places in the first lap so RedBull had both cars fighting Hamilton in his lone Mercedes out at the front.
Lewis Hamilton leads Max Verstappen and the rest of the field at the start (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images/Red Bull Content)
The RedBulls pitted first for the hard tyres on lap 14 and came out behind Norris and Leclerc. However, Leclerc went straight on at turn 3 so Verstappen only had to dispatch of Norris down the back straight. Hamilton responded just 1 lap later but came out P2 while Verstappen was in P4. This meant they now had tyres at the same level. With Perez in the lead RedBull tried to use their 2nd driver to hold up Hamilton.
On lap 17 Verstappen was pushing hard behind Sainz who was driving very well. In the penultimate corner Verstappen got caught int the dirty air and went very wide into the corner. This meant he had to wait another lap to overtake his former teammate using DRS down the back straight. So, on lap 18 the gap between Perez and Hamilton was shrinking but Verstappen was now in P3 catching the pair of them.
Hamilton had caught Perez on lap 20 but Perez was doing his job by making his RedBull by having a fantastic battle all the way from the back straight to the start/finish straight constantly swapping places cleanly and fairly. This gave Verstappen plenty of time to catch and the ordered swap between the teammates was clean making the gap between the championship rivals just under 2 seconds.
Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton battle for track position (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/Red Bull Content)
Lots of things were happening at the end of this season, including Kimi Raikkonen leaving Formula 1, and on lap 23 he came in for his final ever scheduled pit stop. Every fan around the world shed a small tear. Just 4 laps later and his career in formula 1 nearly ended in the barriers. He had a brake issue going into turn 9 and spun, brushing the barrier. He made it back to the pits, but he turned car off and had to retire from the race.
George Russell was also having problems with his gears right up until his power unit appeared to lose drive. He also had to retire from his last race with Williams before moving on the Mercedes next year. Not the end these 2 drivers would want.
The day went from bad to worse for Alfa Romeo because on lap 36 Giovinazzi stopped on track with gear shifting problems. This brought out the VSC and whilst some cars did pit, including both Ferrari’s but Mercedes decided to stay out. Verstappen and RedBull did pit coming out with a gap of 17 seconds behind Hamilton. So, with fresh tyres they were hoping to catch Hamilton as his tyres lose grip later on in the race. The battle was truly on.
There was a battle for the final points positions with Alonso losing places to both Alpha Tauri’s on lap 41 and 42. It was a tense fight from both Alpha’s, Alpine’s and Ricciardo. Leclerc was catching this pack hoping to get back into the points. Not too much further up the road Bottas was fighting Norris for P5. At this point Mercedes were still winning the constructors championship with the RedBulls in P2 and P3.
Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc compete for position on track during (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/Red Bull Content)
Lap 50, the gap at the from was down to 12 seconds but Verstappen had to get through the same traffic of that pack fighting for the last points positions. Norris came in with a puncture in the hard tyres from the curbs. This could have come into play for the 7 time world champion who was now running tyres over 30 laps old.
With 5 laps to go Latifi had a big crash into the barrier and a full safety car was deployed. In an odd choice Mercedes decided not to pit Hamilton to keep track position. Again, RedBull did pit Verstappen for new soft tyres knowing that if the race did restart that he would get a good jump on Hamilton who had heavily used tyres.
Perez pitted to retire the car at this point to retire the car and Mercedes had officially won the constructors title for the 9th year in a row. The stewards decided they wanted to see the race finish on a racing lap and therefore the lapped cars were not allowed through. It is not mandatory for the stewards or FIA to let the lapped cars through, the rule says they may be let through. However, they then changed their minds to let just 5 lapped cars in front of max through.
This set up a dramatic race to the finish with a 1 lap shoot out. Into turn 5 Verstappen used his soft tyres to his advantage. But Hamilton fought back gaining a slipstream on the back straight. Verstappen would come out on top though with Hamilton having to concede in the final complex.
Verstappen finished P1 and was therefore the new World Champion! Hamilton finished a very disappointed P2 but once out of the car both him and his dad headed straight to the Verstappen’s to congratulate them.
Max Verstappen is congratulated by Lewis Hamilton (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/Red Bull Content)
A shout out to Carlos Sainz who finished P3 helping his team to solidify their P3 finish in the constructor’s championship.
It was a crazy end to an amazing season. This may yet continue into the next few weeks with Mercedes questioning why only 5 cars were allowed through. Despite this both Hamilton and Verstappen have driven heroically all season and it will go down as one of the greatest championship rivalries of all time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hamilton wins the inaugural Qatar GP with Verstappen in P2 to bring the gap down in the championship. Alonso back on the podium since Hungry 2014 with a very solid performance. Tyre drama in the closing stages of the race meant the one stop strategy didn’t work for most that tried it, Russell, Latifi and Bottas suffering from punctures.
After another night waiting for the stewards to make a decision, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas got a 5 place and 3 place penalty respectively. This meant that Verstappen would start P7, Bottas P6 but importantly Gasly started on the front row with Alonso starting P3. All set to add to the drama of the 2021 Formula 1 championship!
Lights out and Hamilton immediately covered the inside from a very quick Alonso and Gasly. Verstappen made up 3 places in the first few corners with Alonso making a great move down the inside of Gasly. Bottas meanwhile had an awful start, losing 5 places in the first lap. Vettel was another driver who lost 7 places after a going very wide in turn 1.
Sergio Perez Valtteri Bottas battle for track position round turn one at the start (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/RedBull Content Pool)
Lap 3 and the call came through from Verstappen that he was “stuck” behind Gasly. Told to let Verstappen past, Gasly went wide in the final corner on lap 4, allowing Verstappen to get through. Just 1 lap later Verstappen made an easy DRS move past Alonso, meaning normal business was resumed by lap 5 with Hamilton P1 and Verstappen P2.
Perez making good progress 10 laps in, resulting in Toto Wolff encouraging Bottas to overtake the cars in front because he hadn’t gained any places since the start. Lance Stroll went wide in 2nd to last corner, allowing Bottas to gain DRS. However, the battle was between Stroll, Bottas and Tsunoda with the Japanese driver in front at the start of the main straight but behind both drivers by the end. It was 1 lap later that Bottas managed to get past Stroll.
It seems encouragement is all Bottas needed, making up a further 2 places by lap 15. The race was now on between Perez and Bottas for the final podium place. With a full pitstop over P3 and flying out front, it looked like this would be Hamilton’s race to lose. Verstappen appeared to be struggling with damage and couldn’t keep up with Lewis.
Lap 18 and Verstappen was the first to pit. Hoping that the new set of hard tyres would help him close the gap. Mercedes immediately responded stopping Hamilton for hard tyres, comfortably coming out ahead of the RedBull. With a pitstop over P3 both drivers came back out in their own positions. RedBull then pitted Perez in an attempt to get Bottas to stop as well. However, Mercedes strategist’s saw more opportunities for Bottas with a one stop strategy so left him out for a longer stint on the mediums.
Max Verstappen makes a pitstop (Photo by Hamad I Mohammed – Pool/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
A lock up from Leclerc into turn 1 on lap 27 meant that Alonso could overtake on the inside, but Perez attempted to go through on the outside, ending up on the green tarmac. Into turns 2 and 3 Perez had the inside line and managed to get past Leclerc. Just 2 laps later Alonso was within his sights, pulling an almost identical move to get past the 2-time champion. Alonso did fight back but Perez had the pace to get through drama free.
Lap 34 and disaster for Mercedes as Bottas got a front left puncture halfway around the circuit on his way back to the pit he sprinkled gravel onto the track. A replacement nose and new hard tyres he made it back out in P14. Pirelli said before the race that the mediums would do about 30 laps, Bottas completed 33 before the tyre began to delaminate. This had major consequences in the constructor’s championship with the gap only 5 points.
The call of vibrations were coming through from both front runners on lap 40. 2 laps later and RedBull pit Verstappen for medium tyres who had over a 50 second gap to his teammate who pitted the following lap. Mercedes responded again putting scrubbed mediums on Hamilton’s car, who maintained the 8.5 second gap comfortably coming out ahead of Verstappen.
Having come out in P7, Perez was back on the charge and Alonso was in the final podium position. 3 cars between Perez and Alonso with 10 laps to go, one being the other Alpine of Ocon. Alonso encouraging his teammate all the way to tell him to “defend like a lion”. However, the pace advantage of the RedBull was too much for the Alpine and Perez went around the outside of turn 1. The fight wasn’t over as in turns 5 and 6 Ocon came back but ran out of road and Perez made the move stick.
The tyres didn’t seem to be coping with the track. As Mercedes retired Bottas, Russell got a front left puncture after 31 laps with his hard tyres. Norris pitted just 1 lap before, the McLaren seeing the potential danger. Latifi went just 1 lap after Russell, front left tyre failure again. Unfortunately for Latifi it began to go on the main straight so decided to pull over on a service road around turn 10. This caused concern for Alonso who was on a 1 stop strategy and needed to complete 32 laps on his tyres. Alonso told to stay off the curbs.
Virtual safety car was deployed so that the marshals could recover the Williams of Latifi. Verstappen pitted for softs to try and retain fastest lap if he got the chance to go again. Despite the fact that the VSC ended halfway through the final lap, Verstappen maintain fastest lap to take that point away from Hamilton.
Hamilton won having led from start to finish, Verstappen finished P2, and Fernando Alonso finished P3 for the first time in 104 races! There are now 8 points between the championship rivals heading into the final race of the season. If Hamilton wins and takes fastest lap with Verstappen P2 in the next race they will be level on points for the finale.
Race winner Lewis Hamilton, Second placed Max Verstappen and Third placed Fernando Alonso celebrate on the podium (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
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.
