Everything has changed and yet nothing has changed.
Exactly one year ago today, the 2021 season came to an end.
What had been one of Formula 1’s greatest ever seasons, right up until the penultimate lap of the final race, ended in one of the sport’s most controversial moments.
Senna vs Prost 1989. Senna vs Prost 1990. Schumacher vs Hill 1994. Schumacher vs Villeneuve 1997.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will join these truly momentous, contentious entries in the F1 annals.
The key difference, though, is that all the previous incidents were brought about by the actions of the drivers. Not those in charge.
Crashgate and the 2005 United States Grand Prix could be thrown into the mix as things that were – and 2021 had its own equivalent in Belgium – but those were not championship-deciding catastrophes.
Formula 1 and the FIA have tried to move on from the controversy that brought the sport into disrepute. The drivers, the teams, the fans have all tried to do so too. So has this writer. But have any of us succeeded?
“A Red Bull and Max Verstappen domination was the last thing the sport needed as it headed into its new era.
“With the huge controversy of Abu Dhabi having left a bitter taste in the mouth for many, a runaway championship for the man who earned his maiden title via Michael Masi’s questionable decisions on lap 57 at the Yas Marina Circuit would not have been a good way for F1 to turn over a new leaf.”
The use of the past tense there was due to Ferrari’s strong start to the season. It looked as though we were heading towards another epic, season-long battle.
And what little hope was left for a championship fight disappeared as F1 returned from its summer break. A mid-season Technical Directive had clearly hurt Ferrari, and Red Bull were able to sail off into the distance.
Verstappen broke the record for the number of wins in a season – and number of points in a season – as he claimed seven of the remaining nine winner’s trophies.
Another Cloud in a Stormy Sky
What made the dominance even harder to take was the revelation that Red Bull had failed to comply with F1’s inaugural cost cap in 2021.
In a story that rumbled on for weeks – if not months – the 2022 World Champions’ financial indiscretions were eventually laid bare for all to see.
Talk of catering issues were nonsensical and frankly embarrassing.
One cannot simply pick and choose which areas of a budget were the ones to fall outside the limit. If $600,000 of food ended up outside of the budget, it’s because you spent $600,000 you shouldn’t have somewhere else.
Was their overspending the sole cause of Red Bull’s runaway victory? No, of course not.
Adrian Newey did his thesis on ground-effect cars and they have a generational talent behind the wheel who will win 9 times out of 10 when given the best car.
Image credit: Getty Images
Team and driver had such a clear margin over the field in the final standings that they clearly would still have triumphed had they spent a couple of million less.
But that’s not the point.
A sport that was already trying to recover from perhaps its biggest ever sporting mistake, now has another cloud hanging over.
One that, of course, further taints 2021. But will also now cast its shadow over this season and future seasons as the knock-on effects of that overspend continue to grow.
Speaking From Personal Experience
“I have loved F1 since I was about three years old. I want to continue to do so. Please, stop making it so difficult.”
This was how I finished my previous piece, as the rumours began to emerge about the cost cap.
The fact that I haven’t managed to write another article since somewhat tells its own tale.
People love to throw around the term ‘PTSD’ without any real respect for the genuine condition. Let’s be clear – that is not what any Lewis Hamilton fans, Mercedes fans, or just Formula 1 fans have experienced over the last 12 months.
But that’s not to belittle the pain that last season’s finale caused so many people. Myself included.
Yes, full disclosure, I am a Lewis Hamilton fan. I’d like to think that I’ve always managed to deliver my articles without any unfair bias, nevertheless.
Image credit: Getty Images
I did, however, vent my feelings in an open letter late last year, once the dust had begun to settle.
The truth is, some of that dust still seems to be swirling around, refusing to fully dissipate, obscuring our vision and dampening our enjoyment of the sport.
As much as I may support Hamilton, there are many drivers and teams I like and, above all, I always considered myself primarily a fan of Formula 1.
But when something that you love so much hurts you so deeply, it can be difficult to fully process that and reach forgiveness.
Sport is sport. It has its ups and downs. Every fan will have experienced that, but this was something different.
It was a decision and an outcome that made you question everything. All the emotions, all the time you’d invested – which for me has been a lot, as you can see by this website.
And then when you tried to get up and go again…
Imagine that your partner had cheated on you. They’d apologised, promised to change, and you’d tried to move on. But all you saw over the next year was them having a great time with the person who was the cause of those issues.
That is why it has been so hard to move on.
Hopefully 2023 will bring a closer battle at the front and some form of redemption. If it’s simply another tale of controversy, social media toxicity and Red Bull dominance, there likely won’t be another article this time next year.
With 6,417 of the 2021 season’s 6,423 kilometres covered, Lewis Hamilton looked set for a record-breaking eighth World Drivers’ Championship.
But then Michael Masi decided he fancied one more lap of racing, and we all know what happened next.
An unprecedented eighth title would have secured Hamilton’s position as Formula 1’s ‘GOAT’ – Greatest Of All Time for the uninitiated – in many people’s eyes, but perhaps the circumstances around his loss are an even more compelling argument.
The accolade of GOAT is thrown around far too often and far too casually nowadays – in every sport, not just Formula 1.
It has been the recent presence and unparallelled excellence of all-time greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in football, Roger Federer and Serena Williams in tennis, Usain Bolt in athletics, Tiger Woods in golf, and Tom Brady in American football – to name but a few – that has sparked the never-ending conversations.
Whilst technology has progressed in football since the days of Pelé and in golf since the days of Jack Nicklaus, in no other sport is the change as marked as it is in Formula 1.
The cars of the present day are almost incomparable to those of the 50s: stick Juan Manuel Fangio in a Mercedes W12 and he would probably be unable to get the thing moving.
Image credit: Mercedes-AMG (plus a questionable photoshop job)
F1 GOAT even more complicated than in other sports, and maybe we are best separating it into modern Formula 1 and – for want of a better term – historical Formula 1.
The candidates for the ‘historical GOAT’ would likely be Fangio, Jim Clark and perhaps Alberto Ascari. (That is a debate I’ll save for another day.) As for the ‘modern GOAT’, most seem to accept it now boils down to Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. With Alain Prost unfortunate not to make the cut.
So, how did Hamilton missing out on his eighth title increase his claim for the throne? Well, it was the manner in which he lost.
The three men are all, of course, incredibly fast. They are also famously relentless in their pursuit of perfection, leaving no stone unturned. All are very technically minded and each built a hugely successful team around them – McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes respectively.
Where they differ is in their view of fair play and how far they are willing to go to win.
There is undoubtedly a level of ruthlessness required to become a champion. But there is also a line, and Senna and Schumacher crossed that line on multiple occasions, most famously during the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix and the 1997 European Grand Prix.
Senna’s intensity and unflappable self-belief often resulted in uncompromising driving to the very edge of acceptability and, on more than one occasion, beyond it. It was part of what made him so great, but he sometimes went too far and that has to be seen as a negative.
Schumacher has an unfortunately long string of misdemeanours. His attempts – one successful and one unsuccessful – to take out a Williams in the title decider were two of the biggest blots on his copybook. He was disqualified from the entire 1997 season for his actions but escaped unpunished with his championship intact in 1994.
These varying forms of misconduct are something we have rarely, if ever, seen from Hamilton.
Of course, there has been the odd drama. Off the track, there was ‘lie-gate‘ – where he was instructed to lie to the stewards by his Sporting Director at McLaren – and his tweeting of sensitive telemetry. But these were reasonably minor indiscretions and, on track, Hamilton generally falls under the category of firm but fair.
Even during his prickly relationship with former teammate Nico Rosberg, as the German set about all-out psychological warfare, he would push his wheel-to-wheel racing to the limit but never beyond.
And that was on full display again this season as he went toe to toe with Max Verstappen.
Image credit: LAT Images
The pair’s clash at Silverstone was highly contentious and divisive, but – putting to one side the odd outrageous statement during the aftermath from Christian Horner or Helmut Marko claiming Hamilton tried to murder the Dutchman – with the benefit of hindsight, was a racing incident in which the seven-time world champion was arguably more culpable and certainly fortunate to escape without considerable damage.
Throughout the rest of the season, Hamilton repeatedly avoided contact with his title rival and showed what perhaps sets him apart from Senna and Schumacher – he has that steel and a relentless will to win, but he is also truly committed to winning the right way and – as he often points out was instilled in him from a young age by his father – doing his talking on the track.
Yes, he may complain over the radio, but that is something every single driver on the grid does. Hamilton’s radio is just broadcast far more than that of anyone else.
And then, even when he was robbed of the world championship by one of the most controversial decisions in Formula 1 history, he displayed the utmost sportsmanship and the epitome of class.
No mention of the controversy in his post-race interview – just a handshake with Verstappen, a congratulatory message for the new champion, and a thankyou to his team and the fans.
Image credit: Getty Images
The recovery drive from the back of the grid in São Paulo was a performance for the ages – perhaps even at the very top of a stellar list compiled over the last 15 years – and one that would have been a worthy defining moment in a record-breaking achievement.
Would the two other great champions have been able to match that as a performance? You certainly wouldn’t put it past them.
But would they have been able to lose with as much style as Hamilton? That is very much up for debate.
Enough drama and controversy for an entire season.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Lewis Hamilton eventually took a crucial victory at a highly eventful Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, to set up a final showdown with rival Max Verstappen at Abu Dhabi.
After two red flags, three standing starts, numerous Virtual Safety Cars and even more flashpoints, Hamilton took the chequered flag ahead of Verstappen meaning they will head to the final race level on points.
The drama started on Saturday when the Dutchman, having reached the final corner of his final qualifying lap with a 0.2-second advantage and set for pole, hit the barrier and was forced to settle for third behind Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
When the lights went out, all three leading drivers got away evenly and settled into a holding pattern. The first 10 laps, if anything, were actually quite dull.
But then Mick Schumacher hit the overworked tyre barrier at Turn 22, bringing out the Safety Car and setting up the first piece of controversy for the day.
The leading Mercedes pair pitted for hard tyres. Red Bull decided to roll the dice and leave Verstappen out on his aging mediums.
Image credit: FIA
Their gamble paid off as three laps later the red flag was produced, giving the championship leader a free change of tyres.
The race would restart from a standing start again and Hamilton, feeling a little hard done by, used all the tricks at his disposal to ensure his tyres were warmer than those of his rival.
His plan worked and he got a far better start, clearly past Verstappen as they approached the first corner. But, with characteristic bloody-mindedness, the Red Bull driver tried to hang it out around the outside, leaving the track and rejoining in Hamilton’s path.
An opportunistic Esteban Ocon, who had started fourth, took advantage to briefly lead before being almost immediately re-passed by Verstappen.
Only Leclerc’s car survived and Race Director Michael Masi showed another red flag.
During the pause, a bizarre situation ensued where Masi came over the radio to offer Red Bull a particular spot on the grid – initially second place as he seemingly forgot Ocon existed, before clarifying that he meant third, behind Ocon and Hamilton.
They accepted and the drivers lined up for a third time – having ticked off just 16 laps – with Ocon on pole position.
Red Bull decided to gamble again, fitting Verstappen with the medium tyres and again it worked – at least in the short term – as he used his extra grip to make a brave lunge down the inside and lead out of the first corner.
Image credit: The Guardian
Hamilton made slight contact with Ocon as he avoided the Red Bull but survived and regained second place at the end of the lap.
And so, we were faced with the prospect of yet another Hamilton-Verstappen scrap for the lead. They are rarely dull.
For a number of laps, car number 44 got agonisingly close to the DRS window but was never quite able to break into it and was frequently interrupted by a VSC to allow marshalls to pick up debris.
Eventually, as they started lap 37, Hamilton broke the one-second barrier and used DRS to fly past on the straight. As we could all have predicted, however, Verstappen wasn’t going to just sit back and take it.
With shades of Turn Four at Interlagos, he braked very late and failed to make the corner, forcing both drivers off the track. Things were about to get even sillier, though.
Red Bull radioed Verstappen, telling him to give the place back, but to do so “strategically”. He obliged, slowing as they approached the DRS detection point.
Hamilton, however, had had not yet been informed he was about to be handed the place. The pair slowed together and bizarrely made contact, Verstappen then driving off in the lead as Hamilton was left with a damaged front wing.
Image credit: Red Bull Racing
With the incident still under investigation, Verstappen let Hamilton past at the same spot five laps later, but immediately dived back down the inside to reclaim the lead.
At the same time, the 24-year-old received a five-second penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining advantage’, seemingly for the initial Turn One incident, although at this point it was hard to keep up.
Either way, at the end of the lap, Hamilton again passed Verstappen on the run to the final corner – this time, seemingly without the Red Bull slowing to allow it – and made sure he stayed ahead by running his rival wide.
With Verstappen’s medium tyres finally having given up, Hamilton was able to streak off into the distance and set the fastest lap despite his broken wing. The gap back to the battle for third wasn’t sufficient for Red Bull to bring their man in for a new set of tyres to respond.
That battle for third was between Ocon and the recovering Bottas.
The Frenchman held off the faster Mercedes commendably in the dying laps, but was cruelly denied his third career podium as the Finn outdragged him to the line on the final lap, finishing just one tenth ahead.
But far up the road, it was an eighth victory of the season for Hamilton and the 103rd of his career, astonishingly leaving both championship protagonists on precisely 369.5 points, almost rendering the first 21 races pointless.
Even more incredibly, the total time for the two drivers in the races in which they have both finished now looks like this:
More than a solid day of racing over more than 5,000 kilometres and they are separated by mere seconds.
To put that in perspective, they have raced a little less than the distance from London to New York – more than 1/8th of the way around the entire planet – and arrived nine seconds apart.
Breaking Down the Controversies
So, where to start?
At the beginning, I suppose.
Lap 10-13: The Safety Car/Red Flag Drama
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Whilst it is understandable for Hamilton and Mercedes to feel a bit hard done by, there was no FIA conspiracy to give Verstappen the championship here.
Perhaps the call for the red flag could have come earlier, but it is far from unprecedented for one to be called after a period behind the Safety Car.
After all, Schumacher’s stricken Haas had to be removed from the barrier before its condition could be assessed.
The bigger question from this situation was why tyres are still allowed to be changed under red flag conditions. It was perfectly clear after the 2020 Italian Grand Prix that it effectively creates a lottery which punishes drivers at random.
Maybe now that it has (nearly) produced significant implications for the title fight, it will be addressed.
Lap 15: The First Turn-One Drama
Image credit: LAT Images
This one is pretty clear cut.
As the lights went out for a second time, Hamilton got the better start and was clearly ahead going into the first corner. Verstappen was then run out wide – as he himself has done to Hamilton numerous times this season – but rejoined in the Briton’s path and kept the position.
Although the manner in which it happened was quite bizarre, Red Bull were subsequently offered the option of produced allowing Hamilton back past, just on the grid, after the second red flag of the day had been called.
They accepted, and the drivers lined up on the grid for a third time.
Lap 37: The Second Turn-One Drama
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Having finally broken into the DRS window after 20 laps trying to do so, Hamilton got a run on Verstappen down the start-finish straight and, once again, arrived at Turn One ahead of his rival.
Verstappen braked very late and failed to make the corner, forcing both drivers off the track, before once again continuing on with the lead.
The post-race Red Bull narrative that only Verstappen was punished despite both drivers leaving the track is frankly a bit embarrassing, as they know full well that Hamilton was left with nowhere else to go and was clearly on a line to comfortably make the corner.
Whilst the goalposts were moved by the stewards’ inaction in Brazil – and the waters seemingly muddied in the discussions thereafter – this should be a simple case of either allowing the other driver past or taking a five-second penalty.
The Red Bull pit wall clearly acknowledged that on this occasion and radioed Verstappen to allow Hamilton through, thus leading onto…
Lap 37, Part Two: The Slowing to Pass Drama
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Now, this is probably the most complex of the race’s many controversies.
In his message to Verstappen telling him to give the place back, Race Engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told the Dutchman to do so “strategically”. Verstappen obliged, slowing as they approached the DRS detection point.
Hamilton slowed behind him, though, and with Verstappen now approaching a crawl in third gear, 200 km/h down on the usual speed at that area of the track, the pair collided.
Verstappen’s goal here was pretty clear – to ensure his rival passed him before the DRS detection so he could attempt to get back past immediately, whether or not that would have been legal (more on that later).
Hamilton’s part in the situation is a little more complicated. He was informed that Verstappen would be letting him past around a second after the contact.
Was he genuinely confused and wary of passing? Or was he aware of the situation and also trying to ensure that he didn’t reach the detection zone first?
With all the yellow flag dramas we have seen recently, there is certainly the chance that he was fearful of picking up a penalty for passing illegally.
But one would suspect it was more the latter. Hamilton surely knew that it was likely Verstappen would be asked to give the place back, and has been around long enough to know the game that his opponent was playing.
Verstappen was eventually given a 10-second time penalty and two points on his licence after the race for “braking suddenly (69 bar) and significantly, resulting in 2.4G deceleration.” So, it would appear Hamilton was correct in saying that he had been ‘brake-checked’ and Helmut Marko’s protestations that Verstappen had not braked at all were proven to be, well, characteristically unfounded.
The generally unbiased and analytical Karun Chandhok agrees with the stewards’ decision, saying “it’s quite clear he deviates (wrongly) from the racing line to the middle of the track and brakes unexpectedly”.
Either way, Verstappen drove off, Hamilton carried on minus a bit of front wing, Toto Wolff slammed his headphones to the floor, and the saga continued.
Lap 42: The Re-passing Drama
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As previously mentioned, Verstappen then let Hamilton past at the same spot five laps later, before immediately diving back down the inside to reclaim the lead.
This one was somewhat forgotten about in the grand scheme of things, with so much to already decipher and – more importantly – Hamilton finally getting the job done one lap later.
If he had not done so, the stewards would surely have been forced to intervene once more.
There are pretty clear rules about allowing a reasonable time before attempting to re-pass a car, with a precedent, in fact, set by an incident involving Hamilton some 13 years ago.
Verstappen is surely aware of this and it is hard to know exactly what his plan was by passing mere seconds after having ceded the position, but it was rendered moot when Hamilton successfully passed on lap 43.
In one final bit of drama, the seven-time world champion was warned for the manner in which he did so, Masi letting the Mercedes pit wall know that it was ‘almost a black-and-white flag’.
Image credit: Getty Images
And so, the two rivals head to the final race tied on points, and with Verstappen having shown he will do whatever it takes to win.
One can’t help but feel that we haven’t yet seen the final moment of controversy in this titanic championship battle.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
So, does round 21 go to Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen? It was a fight that packed some punches but Hamilton took it in the end.
Will Mercedes or Red Bull prove to have the stronger package around the world’s fastest street circuit? Until Verstappen’s error it looked like Red Bull on Saturday, but the Mercedes seemed to have the edge on race pace.
Can McLaren do anything to keep their fight against Ferrari for third alive? They narrowed the gap very slightly but not enough.
The title looks increasingly like it will go down to the wire.
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Lewis Hamilton – sporting a brave rainbow design on his crash helmet – dominated from pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix to narrow the gap to his title rival Max Verstappen.
The Mercedes – certainly in Hamilton’s hands – proved to be a class above at Losail on what will likely be its only appearance on the Formula 1 calendar.
Qatar took up the spot left vacant by the cancelled Australian Grand Prix and the Gulf State has since secured a 10-year deal for a race most likely at a different venue from 2023.
That is perhaps for the best as, whilst the track appeared fun to drive, it was not particularly conducive to good racing, with the drivers entirely reliant upon DRS for any overtakes.
We were given a mixed-up grid to spice things up somewhat, though, after five- and three-place penalties for Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas respectively, the pair having failed to slow for yellow flags during their final Q3 run on Saturday as they passed the three-wheeled Pierre Gasly.
Ironically, that left Gasly on the front row alongside Hamilton, with Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris on the second row, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Bottas and Verstappen.
The two out-of-place men had polar opposite starts. Bottas, having struggled to heat his medium tyres on the out lap, got away poorly from the dirty side of the grid, whilst Verstappen was up to fourth by the end of the first corner.
It only took him another four laps to move up to second and it suddenly looked as though we might be in store for another epic duel at the front.
Image credit: Getty Images
But Hamilton’s pace was simply too strong. He extended his advantage out to eight seconds and held it around there, with his team matching every strategy move Red Bull threw at them.
The seven-time world champion’s lead never looked in doubt, but there was some entertainment further back as the main protagonists’ wingmen fought through the field – Bottas had fallen back to 11th after his awful getaway, which is where Sergio Pérez had lined up on the grid after failing to progress through Q2.
The Mexican made lighter work of the midfielders, moving up to fourth by lap 16 but was brought in surprisingly early and had to do the hard work all over again.
Bottas eventually made his way all the way up to third but Mercedes tried to stretch his medium tyres too far and they cried ‘no more’ on lap 32, a front-left puncture dropping him way down the order and showering Alonso with a floor-level firework display of sparks.
Pérez had made his way back up through the pack once again – this time to third – but even more surprisingly was brought in on lap 40 despite being on the hard tyres.
For a third time, he fought his way past a series of drivers. Alonso asked for his teammate Esteban Ocon to ‘defend like a lion’ and repay the Spaniard for his crucial defence from Hamilton in Hungary where the younger Alpine driver secured an unlikely victory.
Ocon did his best but was somewhat helpless as Pérez stormed past on fresher tyres in a faster car.
Another obstacle was removed when Norris was cruelly denied a well-deserved top-five finish by another puncture, leaving no cars between Alonso and the Red Bull.
Ironically, it would be further punctures that would save the double world champion, however, as the front-left tyres on both Williams cars also gave up. George Russell successfully brought his car back to the pits but Nicholas Latifi had an entire lap to do and eventually gave up, parking his car near a marshall post and bringing out a Virtual Safety Car.
Image credit: Formula 1
That gave Alonso the breathing space he needed – both in terms of the gap to Pérez and the life expectancy of his tyres – and he came home to secure his first podium in a very long time.
2674 days to be precise. That is slightly less time than the record held by Alexander Wurz, but Alonso did claim the record in terms of the number of races, having contested 105 grands prix since his last trip to the rostrum at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
To put that in context, the last time Alonso stood on the podium, Hamilton was a one-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel was still at Red Bull and Verstappen had never stepped into a Formula 1 car.
Out front, Hamilton sailed to a comfortable victory, despite being helpless as Verstappen claimed the single point for fastest lap, but narrows the gap in the standings to eight points nonetheless.
Ocon came home fifth on an excellent day for Alpine which should secure them fifth in the Constructors’ Championship as Gasly fell from second on the grid to 11th at the chequered flag. It was also a strong day for Aston Martin with Lance Stroll finishing sixth and Vettel also in the points.
Norris recovered to ninth after his puncture but finished behind the two Ferraris on a day where it had looked like McLaren could close the gap to the Scuderia.
The Qatar Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes build on the momentum from an incredible weekend in Brazil? They can – it was a stellar performance from driver and team in Qatar.
Who will adjust the best to a brand new circuit? Hamilton, as he often does at a new circuit, and Alonso. The veterans showing that experience pays off.
Can McLaren do anything to bounce back as their fight with Ferrari looks to be getting away from them? It looked likely to be a yes until that late puncture. Third may now be out of reach for McLaren and Norris is only just clinging onto fifth in the drivers’ standings.
From first to last to first, with plenty of controversy along the way.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Lewis Hamilton produced an incredible performance at the São Paulo Grand Prix, moving from the very back of the grid at the start of Saturday’s Sprint Race to eventually take victory.
Mercedes had upset the form book by proving to be the class of the field as the weekend progressed, allowing Hamilton to top qualifying on Friday evening during Formula 1’s third and final Sprint Race weekend of the season.
The drama and controversy started early as the rear wing on car number 44 failed a post-qualifying inspection and was impounded for further investigation, only for Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen to then also be called to the stewards having illegally touched the offending rear wing in parc fermé.
Well over 12 hours later, the punishments were eventually dished out. Verstappen received a 50,000 euro fine, whilst Hamilton was disqualified and sent to the back of Saturday’s grid.
Thus, the stage was set for a masterclass.
The Sprint Race saw Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas jump Verstappen at the start and hold him off for the win, whilst the other Mercedes rose from 20th to fifth, passing 15 cars in just 24 laps.
Hamilton would be forced to take a further penalty ahead of the main race, however, having stuck yet another motor in the back of his Mercedes for this event, and lined up up 10th on Sunday.
Image credit: Getty Images
As the lights went out, Verstappen returned the favour to Bottas, beating him to the first corner and, as Bottas slid wide at Turn Four, it was suddenly a Red Bull 1-2. Hamilton, meanwhile, had wasted no time once again, moving up to seventh as he went around the outside of Pierre Gasly at Ferradura.
He had been helped by the absence of Lando Norris, who was the victim of an excellent getaway – passing Carlos Sainz immediately for what would likely have been third place, but drifting left slightly too early and picking up a puncture as their wheels touched.
Hamilton then picked off Sebastian Vettel, Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the next three laps, and was suddenly into a podium position after Bottas followed team orders to let his fellow Silver Arrow through at the start of lap 5.
Much of the next 10 laps was spent under Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car conditions – following clashes between first Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda, and then Mick Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen – but when racing resumed, Hamilton found his way past a stubborn Sergio Pérez at the second attempt.
The prospect of another Hamilton-Verstappen wheel-to-wheel battle had gone from incomprehensible to imminent in the space of 24 hours.
The reigning champion closed the gap to the championship leader and then went for the undercut on lap 26 to further reduce the deficit.
Image credit: Formula 1
A second VSC gave Bottas a cheap pit stop and allowed him to jump Pérez, but all eyes were now fixed on the front two.
Hamilton got to within a couple of seconds but, suffering in the dirty air of his rival, was unable to get close enough to make a move. Red Bull then triggered the second round of pit stops themselves on lap 40 to protect against an undercut.
Mercedes brought Hamilton in three laps later and, with a fresh set of hard tyres, he was very quickly onto the back of Verstappen, and this time able to get much closer.
His first attempt at an overtake came on the run to Turn Four on lap 48, the Briton getting alongside and then in front, only for Verstappen to make a desperate dive. Both cars were forced well off the track and returned with the Red Bull in front. (More on that later.)
The two pit walls predictably complained and defended in calls to Race Director Michael Masi, with the decision coming back shortly after that no investigation was necessary. “Of course”, came the sarcasm-laden reply from Hamilton.
10 laps later Verstappen did receive a cautionary black-and-white flag for weaving, with Hamilton unable to pass once again.
It was third time lucky for Hamilton on the next lap, though, as he swept past Verstappen on the same stretch of track before even reaching Turn Four.
Image credit: LAT Images
And that was that. The Mercedes pulled away into the distance, ultimately finishing over 10 seconds down the road with Bottas closing onto the back of Verstappen but running out of laps and settling for third.
Pérez, with a comfortable gap back to Leclerc in fifth, pitted to steal the point for fastest lap away from Hamilton, but it will have done little to dampen the 36-year-old’s mood on a day that will go down as one of the greatest drives in an incomparable career not exactly lacking in that department.
Hamilton waved a Brazilian flag to the adoring crowds – taking one final penalty in the shape of a fine for unbuckling his seat belt to do so – amid a febrile Brazilian atmosphere, as he closed the gap at the top of the standings to 14 points.
The title battle, which many declared over upon the news of Hamilton’s disqualification on Saturday, is very much back on heading into the final three races.
Ferrari Tighten Their Grip on Third
Image credit: Foto Colombo Images
The Prancing Horses finishes line astern, with Sainz following his teammate home in sixth, which sees Ferrari extend their advantage over McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship to 31.5 points.
Norris recovered impressively from his puncture, with a bit of help from that early Safety Car, to take a consolatory point for 10th, whilst Daniel Ricciardo retired with a power-loss issue.
Since their engine upgrade, the Scuderia have made a clear step forward at the same time that McLaren have struggled for pace and failed to take advantage of their opportunities when they did have some. Norris’s agonising near-miss in Russia now seems even more painful as the red cars disappear off into the distance, both on the track and in the standings.
It looks a big ask for the team from Woking to recover such a large gap, but as we’ve seen on numerous occasions this season, the tide can turn very quickly – particularly at two unknown venues.
Another Robust Verstappen Defence
As the camera panned around Turn Four on lap 48, it looked very much like we were about to see the two title protagonists make it three out of three for collisions on a Sprint Race weekend.
As it was, they survived to fight another day – or rather another lap – despite emerging from the corner a good 10 metres wide of the track’s edge.
Image credit: Getty Images
It was another Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna-esque defensive manoeuvre from Verstappen – a ‘you move or we crash’ dive. He was clearly behind Hamilton here and, through sheer desperation and characteristic bloody-mindedness, braked so late that he was never going to make the corner, leaving Hamilton with two options: to make contact or to stay right of him and take to the run-off area as well.
I mentioned in the Italian race report that, for all his undeniable speed and talent, these incidents bring a question to Verstappen’s wheel-to-wheel ability.
The instances of him forcing drivers off the road outnumbers his on-the-edge battles at an increasing rate. He surely has the ability and spatial awareness required, but whether he chooses to do so is the bigger issue.
Thanks to Hamilton’s eventual overtake and victory, the furore surrounding the decision that no investigation was necessary has been lessened, but the inconsistency has not escaped drivers, teams or viewers.
This further solidifies a dangerous precedent. Under Masi’s management, F1 has increasingly allowed the driver on the inside to simply run their competitor on the outside off the track. Apart from during the Austrian Grand Prix for some reason, where Norris and Pérez were penalised a total of three times.
This was an even more extreme example. Verstappen surely gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track and the decision to allow that was seemingly reached by the stewards without the onboard footage from the Red Bull, which at the time of writing is still yet to be released…
This has been one of the best title battles in years, if not decades. But it would be nice if the two superstars at the front were able to battle wheel-to-wheel rather than it being a case of Hamilton deciding whether or not he is willing to back out on this occasion and, ergo, whether or not the battle will end in a crash.
The São Paulo Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Red Bull continue to hold an advantage at another track that should suit them? No they won’t!
With the potential for rain over the weekend, will Interlagos produce its trademark levels of drama? Who needs rain for drama at Interlagos?
Can McLaren do anything to bounce back as their fight with Ferrari looks to be getting away from them? Nope, although it could have been very different if Norris had moved over a metre or so later.
Most of the race was led by Lando Norris. The 21-year-old McLaren driver took an impressive maiden pole position on Saturday in changeable conditions but lost the lead to his good friend Carlos Sainz on the long run to the first real corner of Turn 2.
Norris stalked the Ferrari for 12 laps before reclaiming the lead and then showed maturity far beyond his years, showing no signs of stress as he led a grand prix for the first time.
Meanwhile, in the title battle, Hamilton – who had qualified fourth – had been boxed in at the start and found himself in sixth, behind the leading pair, future teammate George Russell, Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo.
Image credit: Getty Images
The group formed a DRS train and would remain in the same order for the first stint of the race.
Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen had started from the back after taking an engine penalty – a decision that was already on the cards but was cemented by the Dutchman’s three-place grid penalty for his clash with Hamilton at the previous race.
The Red Bull scythed through the field in the opening laps – disappointingly for Mercedes, even making short work of Valtteri Bottas – and found himself just three positions and two seconds behind his rival approaching the halfway point.
Of the drivers at the front, Sainz, Russell and Stroll pitted early on, with the rest extending and the title rivals pitting together on lap 26.
Having been released, Hamilton had finally been able to demonstrate his pace and succeeded in jumping all the former passengers of the DRS train except Stroll, who he swiftly dispatched two laps later.
It was not long until he had also caught and passed Sainz, leaving an eight-second gap to Norris with a little over 20 laps remaining.
Image credit: Motorsport Images
Things were not going so well for Verstappen, who – having started on the hard tyre and then pitted unusually early – was struggling on the mediums and had fallen behind Fernando Alonso into seventh place.
The gap at the front reduced rapidly, but once the Mercedes had moved within two seconds of the McLaren, it once again demonstrated its distaste for dirty air. That, twinned with the papaya car’s prodigious top speed, meant that Hamilton was unable to get close enough to make a move with the laps counting down.
But then the rain began to fall.
By lap 47 of 53, the parts of the track closest to the Black Sea were significantly wet. Norris had a moment of oversteer and ran wide, but a cautious Hamilton – with one eye on the championship battle – remained narrowly behind.
It was now all about whether to risk the change to intermediate tyres, with parts of the track becoming increasingly treacherous but other areas still dry.
Norris was not interested in giving up the lead and stayed out. Hamilton ignored his team’s first call to come in, but a second call saying that the rain was going to increase convinced him to come in with four laps remaining.
The rain did increase. Norris committed to his decision but the downpour became torrential and as the McLaren slithered off the road two laps later, Hamilton sailed past and he accepted that he had to pit.
The running order turned on its head as those who had stayed out lost not seconds but minutes to the drivers on intermediate tyres.
Verstappen – who had pitted early – jumped from seventh to second, Bottas from 14th to fifth and Kimi Räikkönen from 13th to eighth, whilst Sergio Pérez fell from fourth to ninth and Charles Leclerc from eighth to 15th.
Sainz hung onto third, to claim his fifth podium, with Ricciardo three seconds down the road in fourth. Norris was, at least, able to recover to seventh and a bonus point for the fastest lap, but was understandably heartbroken, having come so close to what would have been a thoroughly deserved maiden victory.
The young Briton demonstrated his immense talent, however – as he has for much of this season – and can be sure that his time will come.
Hamilton may be at the other end of his career now, but showed he is far from past it as he became the first ever Formula 1 centurion. A mind-boggling achievement.
The next big milestone would be the record-breaking eighth world title, but he will have to work even harder for that after Verstappen’s surprise second place.
The Impact on the Championship
Image credit: Red Bull Racing Honda
Whilst the day belonged to Hamilton and his momentous achievement, Red Bull perhaps leave Russia the happier of the two title-contending teams.
Team Principal Christian Horner had said they would be content if Verstappen could work his way up to fifth from the back of the grid and keep the points swing to Hamilton to around 15.
So, leaving Sochi with just seven fewer points than the new championship leader is a huge win for the Austrian team.
Their main man should now be fine for power units through to the end of the season, whilst the expectation is that Hamilton will have to take a penalty for a fourth engine at some point between now and Abu Dhabi.
After two races where Red Bull expected to see a Mercedes 1-2 and Hamilton build a considerable lead in the standings, Verstappen sits just two points behind.
As for the remainder of the season, it very much depends on how many of the scheduled races take place as planned. Mexico and Brazil have historically been Red Bull circuits, but the jury remains out on whether the F1 circus will be able to travel to either considering the current Covid restrictions.
There are some unknowns – such as the new track in Saudi Arabia and a race likely to take place in Qatar – and the remaining tracks are too close to call.
Basically, the situation remains as it has been for most of the year: this title could go either way.
The Russian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Verstappen take an engine penalty and start from the back? Yep.
With rain due on Saturday, when will qualifying actually take place and will it spring any surprises? Despite torrential rain on Saturday morning, it went ahead at the scheduled time and sprung plenty of surprises.
Is Ricciardo now going to be back to his best with the added confidence from Monza win? Fourth place was a good result, but Norris was back to being comfortably on top throughout the weekend.
It’s shoeys all round…except for the title rivals.
Image credit: Getty Images
Daniel Ricciardo won his first race since leaving Red Bull in 2018 on an extraordinary Italian Grand Prix weekend.
McLaren were legitimate challengers in Monza and took advantage of the leading teams’ messy weekends to claim a first victory since 2012, with Lando Norris making it a 1-2 for the papaya team.
After a poor start in the sprint race, Lewis Hamilton found himself fourth on the grid and, with teammate Valtteri Bottas starting at the back after taking a new engine, it was Max Verstappen and Ricciardo who lined up on the front row.
The Honey Badger nailed his getaway and comfortably beat the Red Bull to the first corner. From there, he never looked back.
Hamilton also got a good start, passing Norris for third and then challenging Verstappen into the second chicane of Variante della Roggia. The reigning champion got himself alongside the Red Bull but – not for the first time this season – was run out of road on the outside and rejoined the track behind Norris.
Image credit: Getty Images
It would not be the rivals’ final meeting on track.
The first stint of the race was a tale of the two title contenders failing to pass the McLaren in front of them, largely thanks to their excellent straight-line speed and strong traction out of the final corner.
Ricciardo triggered the sole round of pit stops when he came in on lap 23, but the series of events leading to the biggest moment of the weekend began when Verstappen responded one lap later.
The usually flawless Red Bull pit crew suffered a sensor issue which led to a painful, 11-second stop for the championship leader and saw him fall behind Norris.
Mercedes – despite Hamilton having started on the harder tyre compound – knew this was their chance to jump Verstappen and brought car number 44 in two laps later. It was another poor stop, however – at a little over four seconds – and saw Hamilton rejoin right between Norris and Verstappen.
The Dutchman tried to stick it out around the outside of Turn One but ran out of road and bounced over the sausage kerbs. That sent him straight on into Hamilton and, as his right rear rode over the left rear of the Mercedes, he suddenly found himself sitting on top of his rival’s car.
Image credit: GPblog NL
Despite Hamilton’s efforts to reverse out from underneath the Bull which had so rudely mounted him, both were out of the race and the Safety Car was called.
The race restarted on lap 30 with Charles Leclerc delighting the Tifosi by having moved up into second with a cheap pit stop during the Safety Car period.
Not for long, though, as Norris bravely kept his foot in at almost 200 mph with two tyres on the grass through Curva Grande to retake the position from the Ferrari.
After a brief challenge on his teammate for the lead, McLaren decided to call the race off and focus on securing a scarcely believable 1-2.
Behind them, Bottas continued his inspired charge through the field. The Finn had topped qualifying on Friday and won the Sprint on Saturday but started at the back for the main event after taking on a new engine.
He fought his way up to fourth on the road, which became a podium once Sergio Pérez was hit with a five-second time penalty for overtaking off the track. The Mexican also recovered well from a disappointing qualifying but would ultimately claim fifth – splitting the two Ferraris – once the penalty was applied.
Out front, though, it was all about the McLarens, who completed another wave of of orange celebrations – after Verstappen’s win at home seven days before – as they crossed the line in first and second.
What a tale of redemption for the team and their Aussie driver, who had struggled so badly to adapt to his new car in the first part of the season.
Image credit: AFP
He appears to have succeeded in mentally resetting over the summer break and his eighth F1 victory will perhaps be the most satisfying of his career to date.
Now we wait to see what the Woking team can do with the regulations reset for next season. If they continue on their current trajectory, they could well be fighting for victories on a far more regular basis.
Breaking Down the Latest Hamilton-Verstappen Incident
Just as the battle at the front was becoming more amicable once again – with Hamilton appearing genuinely please for his rival’s home success – we get another flashpoint.
There was much debate over the culpability in their dramatic clash at Silverstone, and that will likely be the case again over the next fortnight.
Predictably, the drivers blamed each other. But the stance of Christian Horner – and even the ever-outspoken Helmut Marko – that it was a racing incident shows an effective admission of guilt on this one.
It usually takes just the slightest hint of accountability from Hamilton for them to go on the media warpath, encouraging their followers to raise their pitchforks to the sky.
There was an element or irony in elements of the Red Bull camp’s reaction in Italy. Firstly, Verstappen’s protestations that Hamilton should have left him more space are somewhat hypocritical, considering his approach to a very similar situation with the roles reversed on lap 1.
And, in hindsight, after having made such ridiculous accusations to the extremes of Hamilton having practically committed attempted murder in Silverstone, playing off an incident where their driver’s car struck Hamilton’s helmet as no big deal also seems a little incongruous.
Image credit: AFP
The stewards decided Verstappen was predominantly to blame and have handed him a three-place grid penalty for the next event. Not that it will matter considering the likelihood of Red Bull taking an engine penalty in Sochi.
From this writer’s point of view, the penalty feels about right. The Dutchman entered the chicane behind Hamilton but his overspeed meant that he was probably justified in sticking his car on the outside initially.
However, despite Hamilton leaving just about enough space to do so, it was clear that the trajectory and speed at which Verstappen entered was only going to result in one outcome, unless Hamilton basically parked his Mercedes on the outside of the second corner and waved him through.
That is the point at which most drivers on the grid – including Hamilton himself earlier in the race – would bail out of the move and take to the escape road. But Verstappen is not most drivers.
His sheer bloody-mindedness means that he will almost never back out of a confrontation. Since joining the sport – even as a 17-year-old – he has epitomised the Ayrton Senna ‘back out or we crash’ mantra.
Personally, I would much rather see a hard battle over the course of a series of corners or laps, with two racers battling it out right on the edge.
Image credit: XPB Images
Hamilton and Fernando Alonso demonstrated that in Hungary this year – and many times before – as have plenty of other drivers.
That is surely what we want to see. Whilst these monumental crashes are great for the drama, and will be spoken about for years, it is a shame that the most referenced points of this incredible season will be the leaders ending up in the gravel, rather than battles for the ages like Alonso andMichael Schumacher at Imola in 2005.
It almost brings a question to Verstappen’s wheel-to-wheel ability. The 23-year-old is clearly spectacularly fast, but at what point do we consider him to be poor in wheel-to-wheel combat? The instances of him forcing drivers off the road outnumbers his on-the-edge battles at an increasing rate.
He surely has the ability and spatial awareness required, but whether he chooses to do so is the bigger issue.
There is a very fine line between hard driving and poor driving.
The Italian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
How will the Sprint Qualifying format play out this time around? Once again, we had a crazy weekend – but whether the format was instrumental in that is up for debate.
Will Mercedes dominate on a power-sensitive track? In terms of outright pace, probably. In terms of the race, it was actually a McLaren domination.
Will we get the usual Monza shenanigans in the regular qualifying session on Friday? Yep, as predicted it was all a bit cringeworthy at points.
Lewis Hamilton delighted his home fans with victory at the British Grand Prix after recovering from a first-lap clash with title rival Max Verstappen.
Saturday’s sprint qualifying experiment had put Verstappen on pole, leaving Hamilton disappointed after a great performance in the regular qualifying format on Friday evening.
When the lights went out on Sunday, though, it was the World Champion who got away better. The pair fought tooth and nail for half a lap, regularly wheel-to-wheel and once brushing tyres on the Wellington Straight. Hamilton took a wide line around Luffield to get better drive and closed in on Verstappen down the old pit straight. The Red Bull defended but Hamilton sold him a dummy to move up the inside as the pair approached Copse at nearly 200 mph.
And then the clash – which has been narrowly avoided on numerous occasions this year – finally occurred.
Hamilton’s right front and Verstappen’s left rear touched and the Dutchman was sent spearing into the wall at a terrifying speed. Whilst clearly winded and shaken, he was able to walk away from the accident and transported to hospital for cautionary checks.
The Mercedes, meanwhile, had survived with minor damage and the race had been red flagged.
Once the barriers had been repaired, we witnessed our third standing start of the weekend with Charles Leclerc the unlikely polesitter. Hamilton sat in second – the damage to his car repaired with a bit of superglue – with his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in third and fellow home hero Lando Norris in fourth.
The Ferrari held Hamilton at bay on the run to the first corner, but behind them Norris started well and passed Bottas for a provisional podium spot.
That would – somewhat surprisingly – remain the order through to the pit stops. Hamilton was generally within two seconds of the leader but couldn’t get close enough to fashion a move, despite occasional power issues for the Ferrari.
The Briton had been given a ten-second penalty as a result of his first-lap collision so an undercut was out of the question. He ran longer than those following, pitting on lap 28 and rejoined in what would effectively become fourth place.
A slow stop for Norris had left him behind Bottas and he didn’t fight as his compatriot stormed past into Copse on lap 31.
As Hamilton closed in rapidly on fresher tyres, his teammate was asked to move aside and that left just Leclerc – nine seconds up the road with 12 laps remaining.
By lap 50 of 52, Hamilton was within the slipstream of the Monegasque. Once again he found himself pulling alongside the leader on the run to Copse. This time, slightly further back, he backed out of it but Leclerc – aware of his competitor’s presence – ran wide and Hamilton was through.
Image credit: AFP
The crowd roared and the World Champion repaid their support with his first victory since the Spanish Grand Prix back in May.
Leclerc came home an excellent second for his first podium of the year, with Bottas in third and Norris fourth – the young Briton now impressively moves up to third in the standings.
This collision had been coming. For months, if not years.
Hamilton and Verstappen have come within millimetres of each other on more than occasion this season.
Generally – throughout their time in F1 – Hamilton has been the one to back out. His approach has more often than not been focused in the long term, on the championship. Verstappen, on the other hand, has usually been in a position where he has nothing to lose.
This time, crucially, those roles were reversed, but Verstappen’s approach remained the same.
This season, Hamilton was shoved wide at the first corner in Imola, and was very accommodating as his rival launched a divebomb up the inside a few weeks later in Spain. He learnt a long while back – and the hard way in 2011 – that staying out of trouble is often the best way to earn titles. But now, with the Red Bull the class of the field recently and Verstappen having opened up a 33-point lead, he found himself in a position to take risks again.
That has not been the case for a long time, and perhaps Verstappen thought he simply had the better of Hamilton. The Dutchman’s approach has always been comparable with Ayrton Senna‘s mantra of ‘Either you back out or we crash’.
Here at Silverstone, Hamilton did not back out and they did crash. And it was Verstappen who came off worse.
In hindsight, as the man with the significant points advantage, he should have been more circumspect. But his natural competitiveness and youthful hotheadedness – which has clearly not been totally ironed out just yet – saw him continue to take risks. Twice before their collision, Hamilton had avoided the Red Bull.
At the first corner, Verstappen came back onto the track sharply after running wide and then used up all the track at Brooklands despite entering the corner behind Hamilton.
In the end, a small penalty for car number 44 felt about right. It follows the precedent set by recent incidents where a driver on the inside has clipped the wheel of one on the outside, with an extra five seconds perhaps for the speed involved.
The comments made by Christian Horner and Helmut Marko – who claimed Hamilton should receive a race ban – were frankly ridiculous, inflammatory and unnecessary.
Whatever your opinion on the incident, it has undeniably reignited a title battle that looked to be slipping away from Mercedes and likely provided a real spark between the two protagonists. Hamilton lifted the trophy on Sunday, but F1 was the biggest winner.
What Did We Make of Sprint Qualifying?
This was due to be the main talking point until the lap 1 drama unfolded. But it’s still worth mentioning on a weekend where F1 trialled the biggest change to its format for decades.
Personally, I remain unconvinced. It didn’t sit right with me that the fastest driver over one lap didn’t earn pole position. The sprint on Saturday cheapened the regular qualifying session and acted as a spoiler for the main race, revealing certain elements of teams’ race pace and tyre life that would normally remain a mystery until the headline event.
As for the sprint itself, the first couple of laps were, of course, thrilling, but the remaining 15 were something of a procession as those out front were barely seen and a DRS train formed in the midfield. Fernando Alonso‘s extraordinary start provided most of the remaining entertainment as he slowly fell backwards after moving up from 11th to 5th in the first few corners.
Ross Brown and co are clearly determined to add more events to the race weekend, but they must be wary of quantity over quality on an ever-increasing calendar.
However, a close friend who has never really been interested in F1 messaged me after the race – initially commenting on Hamilton’s “big ball energy”… – to say that he had been drawn in by the new weekend format, with it sounding more interesting to a casual viewer. So, it has clearly had the desired effect.
If something like this ends up as a special occasion at three or four races a year, that could certainly work. The sprint race itself needs some tweaking. Perhaps a reverse-championship-order sprint for a few points to really embrace the mayhem; although the budget cap means teams are unlikely to go for that. Whatever they choose, for the love of god, just call it a race rather than ‘Sprint Qualifying’. It’s quite clearly a short race, and all the members of the media desperately trying to avoid calling it as such was a bit cringeworthy.
The British Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will the Sprint Qualifying format be a success? A disaster? Somewhere in between? See above. Let’s go with somewhere in between.
Can Mercedes get back on terms with Red Bull at one of Hamilton’s most successful tracks? One way or another, yes.
Will their long overdue upgrades make a big difference? The updates certainly seem to have brought them closer. With Verstappen out of the race and Sergio Pérez stuck at the back, though, it was hard to tell.
What had been threatening to become a trademark soporific Spanish Grand Prix was reignited by a Mercedes strategy gamble, which paid off in the form of a fifth consecutive victory for Lewis Hamilton at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Saturday saw Hamilton claim his 100th pole position in Formula 1 – a simply mind-boggling achievement – and many assumed he would move one step closer to a century of wins on Sunday. But that assumption was immediately brought into question thanks to a bullish move into the first corner by Max Verstappen.
The two title rivals got away fairly evenly – the Dutchman aided by an unusual level of rubber on the normally dirty side of the track – and, with the Red Bull in his blind spot, Hamilton felt unable to move over and claim the inside line. Verstappen is not a driver that requires more than one invitation. He braked very late and, not for the first time this season, got his elbows out at the first corner, leaving Hamilton nowhere to go on the outside.
Verstappen and Hamilton streaked away at the front, the Mercedes driver hounding his rival but never getting quite close enough to threaten a pass. With Sergio Pérez too close behind for Mercedes to attempt an undercut, it was Verstappen who pitted first.
It was unscheduled – Verstappen sensing Hamilton was about to pass him on the straight – and resulted in an uncharacteristically slow Red Bull pit stop. That offered Mercedes an opportunity, but they declined – they had a different plan in mind…
Hamilton extended his stint a further four laps, rejoining a little over five seconds behind Verstappen. But, with the Mercedes clearly well-suited to the medium tyre, Hamilton was once more closely inspecting his rival’s rear wing within a few laps.
As ever, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provided little in the way of passing opportunities, though – especially since the recent reprofiling of Turn 10 – and it appeared likely that we would watch Hamilton follow on the brink of the DRS window for the next 45 minutes.
But this is when Mercedes produced their surprise.
Hamilton darted into the pits on lap 42 to fit another set of medium tyres. This had been in Mercedes’ thoughts throughout the weekend and they were the only team to have kept two fresh sets of the medium compound for the race. So, it was to be a repeat of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, as Hamilton set about closing down a gap of more than 20 seconds in just over 20 laps.
The Red Bull computers predicted that Hamilton would catch their driver on the last lap, but that would prove to be an optimistic forecast as Hamilton took nearly two seconds per lap out of the gap. Despite not getting much help from his teammate – more on that later – the Briton was on the back of Verstappen by lap 59.
The Red Bull weaved along the start-finish straight, desperately trying to break the tow he was providing, but the pass was an inevitability, Verstappen later describing himself as a “sitting duck”. Hamilton used the extra grip from his much younger tyres to brake later and comfortably claimed the lead as they entered Turn 1.
Image credit: XPB/PA
Behind them, Bottas had pitted in an attempt to claim the fastest lap, but in doing so allowed Verstappen to do the same. There was to be no repeat of his mistake in Portugal this time and the Dutchman took the extra point with ease. It was Hamilton who took the chequered flag, however, and extended his lead in the championship to 14 points.
Is the Mercedes Now the Fastest Car?
It has only been six weeks since Verstappen took pole by four tenths in Bahrain and the F1 status quo appeared to have been turned on its head. And yet now, without us really noticing, Hamilton has equalled his best ever start to a season. Three wins and one second place were also his results during the first four races of 2015 – a season that would prove to be one of his most dominant – so are we kidding ourselves that there is such an exciting title battle?
In a word, no.
But for some small yet costly mistakes – and some luck on Hamilton’s part – Verstappen would be the one leading the championship. Bahrain was his race to lose, but he did. Hamilton was very fortunate to recover to second in Imola, and the complexion of the race in Portugal would likely have been different had Verstappen not lost pole position due to a track limits violation. These are the minute differences that can swing a championship one direction or another, and Mercedes are very experienced in ensuring that they swing their way.
Image credit: Honda Racing
However, in terms of pure speed, the Red Bull looks a genuine match for them this year. Spain has always been a Mercedes circuit – that’s five wins in a row for Hamilton – but Red Bull were right there with them, three hundredths of a second behind in qualifying and leading for 90% of the race.
Monaco in two weeks time will be a very different challenge. The Mercedes car has looked strong in slow corners – of which Monaco, obviously, has many – but it also has a very long wheelbase and Red Bull have performed well through the streets of the Principality in recent years. The circuit provides such a unique test of a Formula 1 car that there’s no way of knowing who will do well until the cars are being driven in anger, millimetres from those infamous walls.
Hamilton may have the edge right now, but this title battle remains very much in the balance.
The Best of the Rest
Leclerc had another excellent weekend. He qualified in fourth for the third time in four attempts this year and the predictable combination of Ham-Ver-Bot is almost now extendable to Ham-Ver-Bot-Lec.
Image credit: Getty Images
After his excellent early pass, he kept the far superior Mercedes of Bottas behind for the first stint and eventually finished a comfortable 10 seconds ahead of Pérez to move to just one point behind Lando Norris in the standings.
Norris himself was a little anonymous this weekend on his way to eighth and, for the first time in 2021, was legitimately beaten by teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Honey Badger’s trademark smile was very much back on his face as he finished a solid sixth, holding off Carlos Sainz in the final laps.
Alpine initially appeared to have picked up where they left off in Portugal with Esteban Ocon qualifying an excellent fifth but, on Sunday, their strategy was lacking and their pace disappeared. Ocon clung onto a points finish in ninth, but Fernando Alonso tumbled back through the field in the dying laps and eventually finished behind a Williams in 17th. There is still work to do for the French team.
Pierre Gasly recovered from a clumsy five-second penalty, for parking his AlphaTauri beyond his allocated spot on the grid, to earn the final point for 10th. But it was the rookie on the other side of the garage who made the headlines on Saturday. One of his infamous, expletive-ridden radio messages was followed up by an interview where he questioned whether he had the same car as his teammate. Undoubtedly, Team Principal Franz Tost will have had some very stern words with the youngster, who it appears has some growing up to do.
The Bottas ‘Block’
Image credit: XPB Images
As previously mentioned, Hamilton’s pursuit of Verstappen late in the race was made a little harder by his teammate. As the World Champion approached, Bottas was told by his engineer, “Don’t hold Lewis up”. But he did just that. Hamilton followed closely for the best part of a lap – losing at least a second to Verstappen – before somewhat having to force a pass into Turn 10.
“I definitely could have let him by earlier,” Bottas said after the race. “But I was doing my own race. I’m not here to let people by, I’m here to race.” He said at the start of this season that he would be more selfish and single-minded; it would appear he is following up on that promise.
Does his mindset reveal anything about Mercedes’ plans for next year? Is this a man who knows his time is up and, thus, is now going to do everything in his power to take the title in what would likely be his last ever chance? That is just conjecture for the moment. But, whether he likes it or not, Bottas has held onto his seat at Mercedes by being the ideal driver for their second seat. One that is fast enough to keep Hamilton on his toes and help with strategic battles during the race, but one that is also compliant when required.
If he ceases to be that driver, his chances of remaining with the team beyond 2021 look slim at best.
The Spanish Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Can Verstappen strike back in the title battle? Not quite, despite a valiant effort.
How will the teams fare without having had their usual pre-season testing at Barcelona? There was no noticeable difference and just the one retirement.
Can Alpine continue their good form from Portugal? On Saturday, yes. On Sunday, not so much.
Will the Aston Martin updates bring them back towards the front of the midfield? Nope, they still have quite a bit of work to do.
The World Champion had missed out on pole number 100 by just 0.007 seconds on Saturday and fell back to third early in the race on Sunday. An uncharacteristic mistake from Kimi Räikkönen, as he bizarrely drove into the back of his Alfa Romeo teammate on the start-finish straight, brought about an early safety car. Hamilton was caught out when he “literally just for a split second” checked his mirror to see where Verstappen was and “in that split second, that’s when Valtteri went”. With the jump on Hamilton, Verstappen passed him into the first corner and set about pressuring the leading Mercedes.
The Red Bull was clearly faster in the tighter, middle section of the track but lacked the straight-line speed to make a pass on the straight, even with DRS. And when Verstappen suffered a moment of oversteer coming through the penultimate corner, Hamilton was able to retake the place, bravely diving to the inside as the Dutchman defended. Verstappen tried to come back at the second corner but Hamilton was able to repay the favour he received in Imola, taking the racing line and running his rival out of road.
Image credit: LAT Images
Hamilton closed in on his teammate and, as they started lap 20, pulled off another daring overtake, sweeping around the outside of Bottas into Turn One. From there, the Briton never looked under threat. Behind him, Bottas continued to hold off Verstappen as he had earlier in the race, until Red Bull pulled the trigger and attempted an undercut with a pit stop on lap 35.
A slightly tardy stop for Bottas one lap later put him under pressure from the onrushing Verstappen. As the Finn slithered about on his cold tyres, and then got a bit sideways coming out of Turn Three, Verstappen was able to get alongside him on the straight and take the position.
Bottas was homing back in on second place later in the race, but a sensor issue caused him to lose power briefly and he failed to close the gap again. Sergio Pérez, in the second Red Bull, had done his trademark tyre-whispering job and eventually pitted for soft tyres with 15 laps remaining. The Mexican is yet to claim his first podium for Red Bull but a solid fourth at the chequered flag is his best result yet and what the Red Bull management brought him in to achieve.
Behind the leading teams, in ‘Formula 1.5’, Lando Norris continued his excellent form with a fine drive to fifth, including an opportunistic move around the outside of Esteban Ocon on the opening lap. Charles Leclerc came home in sixth, ahead of the Alpine pair of Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Daniel Ricciardo recovered well to ninth, after a disappointing qualifying had left him 16th on the grid, and Pierre Gasly completed the points finishers.
Verstappen and Bottas both went for the fastest lap late on. The Red Bull man completed the faster tour but lost the ensuing bonus point when his lap time was deleted for a track limits infringement. Further frustration for Verstappen after track limits had also denied him pole on Saturday. Christian Horner was content overall, though, saying that they were happy with second as they “knew this would be a track that favours Mercedes”.
This grand prix may not have had the thrills and spills of the first two races, but there were some great overtakes and the battle remains tight between the two protagonists at the top. They will continue their fight a bit further along the Mediterranean coast in Barcelona in just a few days time – the first of many double-headers this season.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Progress at Alpine
It was a good weekend over in the blue corner of Alpine. The French team had so far struggled to get on top of their 2021 car and – after fighting for third in the championship last year – had slid back towards the back of the midfield.
There were updates in Imola which showed promise but perhaps required some more mileage to fully understand. Additional updates were brought to Portugal and, from the outset, they were visibly faster. The two drivers finished Friday afternoon’s practice session in fifth and sixth and Ocon maintained that form on Saturday.
Whilst Alonso never looked comfortable after a spin early on in qualifying, his younger teammate was flying. He finished Q1 and Q2 in fourth place and ultimately claimed sixth on the grid, just three thousandths of a second behind Leclerc.
And Sunday showed that their race pace was a match for their short runs. Alonso made amends for his scrappy qualifying with a thrilling comeback from 13th on the grid to eighth, finishing just a second behind his teammate who, after losing an exciting early battle with Norris, had produced a mature drive worthy of his six points. “The car feels much better and much more alive and really competitive”, said Alonso. “It has been a big step forward for us.”
The Portuguese Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Who will take the next round in the Hamilton-Verstappen battle? It was round 3 to Hamilton, but certainly not a knock-out blow.
Or will we get a third different winner in three races? Nope. Bottas started well, but faded away as the race went on.
Can Lando Norris continue his excellent form at the start of this season? He can and remains third in the drivers’ standings.
Will we get some cold-track chaos like we did at last year’s race? The sunny weather made things more manageable but the wind kept the drivers on their toes.
