On November 21, Beijing time, the 20th round of the 2021 F1 Qatar Grand Prix ended the race at the Roselle International Circuit. Hamilton, who started from pole position, took control of the stadium and stood on the highest podium for two consecutive stops. This was also the seventh championship this season. Verstappen, who was fined out of 5th place, relied on a strong start and finally won the runner-up; A Lonso finished third and won the title of best driver of the race. With two stops left in the season, Hamilton was 8 points behind Verstappen; Bottas, Russell and Latifie all suffered a flat left front tire, and Bottas retired halfway through the race.
The Qatar Grand Prix is the last round of the three-game winning streak and the beginning of the three Middle East races. It also means that only the last three races of the 2021 F1 Grand Prix will come to an end. This weekend is the 900th F1 Grand Prix that the McLaren team participated in. They are also the second team since Ferrari to reach this height.
Hamilton, who performed well in all three quarters of Saturday’s qualifying, finally won the fourth shot of the season with an absolute advantage. It was also the first time he started from pole position after the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break. Verstappen and Bottas, who originally started in the second and third places, were both fined for ignoring the double yellow flag when Gasley had a flat tire in qualifying Q3. 7, Bottas was fined to retreat 3, starting from the 6th position.
Although Sainz did not see the yellow flag, he obviously slowed down and was exempt from punishment. In this way, Gasley, Alonso, Norris and Sainz started from the second to fifth positions respectively. Gasley started from the front row for the first time in his career, and Alonso started racing in the top three for the first time since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
During the race, the temperature was 26.5 degrees Celsius, the track temperature was 31.4 degrees, and the humidity was 74.8%. Hamilton, Sainz, Bottas, Verstappen, Perez, Stroll, Leclerc, Ricardo and Mazepin all use neutral tires, while the rest of the drivers use soft tires. Hamilton got off to a smooth start, and Verstappen rushed from 7th to 4th through the inside. Although he was squeezed by Alonso, he was slightly out of the buffer zone.
Hamilton, who led the lead in the front, kept refreshing the fastest laps while Verstappen overtook Gasley and Alonso in just 5 laps, rising to second place. Initially, the gap between the two was about 4.3 seconds. Hamilton told the team to at least maintain this advantage and avoid being Undercut by Red Bull. After 10 laps, Hamilton led Verstappen by about 5.2 seconds. At the beginning of the 10th lap, Kakuda Yuyi led a wave of stops for the first time. At the same time, the shot was given to Beckham, the British football star appeared in McLaren’s garage.
On the 18th lap, Verstappen took the lead in the first race, about 9.1 seconds behind Hamilton, and became the first driver to change to a hard tire. On the following lap, Hamilton also completed a stop, again on a white hard tire. Verstappen and Hamilton stopped at 2.2 seconds and 2.3 seconds, respectively. After returning to the track, Hamilton led Verstappen by about 8.8 seconds. Perez then pitted for a hard tyre and was blocked for a while by Vettel, who had previously put on a soft tyre. Alonso pitted for a hard tyre on lap 24 and was ahead of Ricardo and Perez.
Leclerc, who had not yet pitted, locked up on lap 27 and was overtaken by Alonso and Perez in one lap. On lap 29, Perez successfully surpassed Alonso to fourth after several rounds. On lap 32, Raikkonen completed a second stop and put on a hard tire. At this time Bottas, who is temporarily in third place, still did not stop. On lap 33, Bottas had a puncture on his left front tire at Turn 6/7 and rushed to the gravel buffer. Although he managed to bring the car back, the front wing and chassis were damaged. And there was a suspicion of blocking Perez and Alonso from driving dangerously before pitting.
Bottas, who pitted into hard tires and replaced the front wing, dropped to 14th after his appearance. On the 42nd lap, Verstappen completed a second stop and changed to a neutral tire in 2.1 seconds. On the following lap, both Hamilton and Perez also stopped to change to a neutral tire. In the 51st minute, Bottas brought the car back to the Pit room to retire. Russell suffered a puncture on his left front tire on the track, and Latifie also suffered a puncture on the left front tire in the following lap.
Since Latifi’s car needs a crane and a virtual safety car will be dispatched, Verstappen chose to pit during the virtual safety car, seeking to hold the fastest lap. On the last lap, the green flag will be restored. Hamilton took the lead to cross the line and won the 102nd race of his career; Verstappen was runner-up and took the fastest lap; Alonso was on the podium for the first time after the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2014, and was also the “head” “Brother” on the 98th podium. The 4th to 10th places are: Perez, O’Connell, Stroll, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris and Vettel. After the Qatar Grand Prix, the 21st F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix will be held at the Jeddah Street Circuit from December 3rd to 6th. (Tauranga)Return to Sohu to see more
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