Race Results 2021 Qatar F1 Grand Prix
Event: Qatar F1 Grand Prix
Track: Losail International Circuit
Start of the first Qatar F1 GP
Weather: dry 26.4°C
Tarmac: dry 30.8°C
Humidity: 75.2%
Wind: 0.2 m/s SE
Pressure: 1012 bar
Lewis Hamilton scored his 102nd race win today. The British driver won the first ever Qatar F1 GP. It was his 7th race win of the 2021 season. The Mercedes driver started from pole and led the race from start to finish. It was the 123rd race win for Mercedes.
2021 Qatar F1 GP Race Report
Because Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas received a grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags during yesterday's qualifying, the start grid was changed only one hour before the start. Red Bull driver Verstappen started from P7 instead of P2 and Mercedes driver Bottas started from P6 instead of P3.
The start itself was clean, Fernando Alonso who started from P3 in the Alpine had a good getaway on the clean side of the track. He got passed Gasly who started from P2 in the AlphaTauri. Lewis Hamilton kept the lead and drove away from the pack.
Verstappen also had a perfect start and already passed three cars at the start and was driving on P4 already after turn 1 and was driving a couple of laps behind Pierre Gasly who was passed by Alonso in turn 2.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (left) VS AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly at the start
Bottas dropped back from P6 to P11. In lap 4 Pierre Gasly made small error coming out of turn 16. Verstappen didn't hesitate and passed Gasly for P3. One lap later he already overtook Alonso for P2 and was only 4 seconds behind his title rival Hamilton.
Lap 10 AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda made the first pitstop of the race and switched from soft to medium tyres. McLaren driver Lando Norris passed Gasly for P4 in lap 12. Hamilton and Verstappen were driving in a league of their own and already were 23 seconds clear now.
After 15 laps Hamilton had increased his lead on Verstappen to 7.2 sec. Bottas now was getting up to speed and passed the Alpine of Esteban Ocon for P6 in lap 17 on the mainstraight. At the end of the lap Verstappen pitted to get rid of his medium tyres and switch to hard tyres. The Dutchman didn't lose a place and returned on the track right in front of Alonso. Hamilton pitted one lap later in 2.3 sec. He told the Mercedes team the stop was to early. It seems like the team just wanted to cover Verstappen to be sure and get a new set of hard tyres. Hamilton returned to the track 9 seconds in front of Verstappen.
Alonso who still was driving around on P3 pitted in lap 24 to go to hard tyres. He returned to the track to P8. That lap Verstappen drove the quickest lap time of the race with a 1:27.079 min. Hamilton answered to Verstappen and got back the fastest lap with a 1:26.996.
Verstappen was pushing to get closer to his title rival. In lap 32 the gap between Hamilton and Verstappen was decreased to 6.2 sec. Bottas who still hadn't pitted got a puncture in lap 34 of the race. He almost got trapped in the gravel, but was able to go on. The Finn lost a lot of places because he also had to get a new front wing and fell back from P3 to P14.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Qatar GP and two races in a row at Qatar
At the end of lap 41 Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of mediums in a stop that took only 2.1s. his teammate Perez did the same a few moments later. Hamilton again answered to the stop of Verstappen and also got a new set of mediums in a stop that took 2.4s. After the stops Verstappen was 8.7 seconds behind Hamilton.
In lap 51 Bottas was asked the retire his car by his team on the radio, while Williams driver George Russell also got the same type of puncture as Bottas had earlier in the race. One lap later Nicholas Latifi even had the same problem! The Canadian driver retired the Williams at turn 6. A virtual safety car period was used to recover the car. Verstappen came in to use a set of softs to earn the extra point for fastest lap.
Alonso won his first podium after his return to the sport. His last podium was back in Hungary 2014.
Classification 2021 Qatar GP
| P | No | Driver | Team | Time | Laps | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 |  Lewis Hamilton |  Mercedes | 01:24:28.471 | 57 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 33 |  Max Verstappen |  Red Bull | 01:24:54.214 | 57 | 7 | 19 |
| 3 | 14 |  Fernando Alonso |  Alpine | 01:25:27.928 | 57 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 11 |  Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 01:25:30.777 | 57 | 11 | 12 |
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 01:25:49.041 | 57 | 9 | 10 |
| 6 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 01:25:49.745 | 57 | 12 | 8 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz |  Ferrari | 01:25:50.382 | 57 | 5 | 6 |
| 8 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 01:25:51.597 | 57 | 13 | 4 |
| 9 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 01:24:29.186 | 56 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 01:24:34.067 | 56 | 10 | 1 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 01:24:39.660 | 56 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 01:25:02.071 | 56 | 14 | 0 |
| 13 | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 01:25:02.397 | 56 | 8 | 0 |
| 14 | 7 |  Kimi Räikkönen |  Alfa Romeo | 01:25:05.206 | 56 | 16 | 0 |
| 15 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 01:25:29.614 | 56 | 18 | 0 |
| 16 | 47 | Mick Schumacher |  Haas | 01:25:31.192 | 56 | 19 | 0 |
| 17 | 63 | George Russell | Williams | 01:24:46.509 | 55 | 15 | 0 |
| 18 | 9 |  Nikita Mazepin | Haas | 01:25:08.856 | 55 | 20 | 0 |
| DNF | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Puncture | 50 | 17 | 0 |
| DNF | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Puncture damage | 48 | 6 | 0 |
Fastest lap: 1:23.196 min by Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (no.33) in lap 57
| 2021 Qatar F1 GP Results |
| FP1 2021 Qatar F1 GP |
| FP2 2021 Qatar F1 GP |
| FP3 2021 Qatar F1 GP |
| Quali 2021 Qatar F1 GP |
| Start grid 2021 Qatar F1 GP |
✅ Check out F1 Standings 2021 Championship
✅ Check out F1 Teams & Drivers 2021 Overview
✅ Check out F1 2021 Calendar
✅ Check out All Time F1 Drivers Rankings
✅ Check out All Time F1 Driver Records
✅ Check out All Time F1 Teams Ranking
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
It is said Merc didn't run their infamous "rocket" engine today.
Quote: "Saudi Arabia should be a good track for us. We know this year when you think it's a good one it can turn around. With the long straight, we'll get our SPICY equipment out for Saudi that we didn't use today. Hopefully, Valtteri is up there, but it's going to go until Abu Dhabi," Wolff.
If true, well then gawwwd damn! Lol
Ohhhhh haaaterrrs 😈. How y'all feeling?! Lol
Haters? Who are the haters?
That'll be guttesnipe, shoddypost and Madras. All nasty
Silverstone 2013 & 2020 all over again.
DOTD: Alonso
P3 in the WCC is more & more Ferrari's to lose.
Bottas' start once again, though.
If everyone's finished wetting themselves i will begin,
So Lewis won a race he was expected to win...... big deal, Max still leads, Fernaldo very happy for him and the team, and , Toto f-bombs on the radio nothing....... and CH bemoans a marshall and gets a warning ,expect a few aimed comments from the Doc about this .
People were expecting victory on the basis of the Brazil engine. The fact that it wasn't used is a big deal....Sir Sour Puss. Lol.
It signifies RB are likely screwed going forward. Brilliant end strategy by Merc. 👍
LMAO......Horny's comments were tame compared to the Doc telling Japanese media that the FIA is incompetent.
The big story, and the only drama, today was ALO on the podium. I think that is only the 3rd or 4th time in the past 30 yrs that a 40+ year old has done it. That, and it now appears that MB and Sir Lewis are in the driver's seat (my god, did I just write that?). If so, all that's left is the knight doing a Nico.
IMO, FWIW, BLFIIT, Lewis has been the difference between F1 and scalextric
It's not over yet all you Hamilton supporters.
You might think tyre problems might arise in Saudi, high speed and more corners.
About time lucky Lewis had the bad luck that Valteri gets. He would have to be the luckiest driver ever in F1.
Max lost out to a tyre failure this year.
Go Max.
"About time lucky Lewis had the bad luck that Valteri gets. He would have to be the luckiest driver ever in F1."
Reminds me of a famous quote, often credited to South African golfing legend Gary Player, who after a great shot, chipping in off the green, a spectator shouted "lucky shot Gary". He quickly responded, "Yeah, the more I practice, the luckier I get!"
When Valteri learns to go forwards instead of backwards off the start line, maybe his luck might improve?
Lol I like your style Penelope. Good one
How lucky was MV with the fastest lap, sets it then yellow flag then finish flag. 2 drivers stood out yesterday and as usual VB was in the class below.
It could be sour grapes but watch out VB, the reputation will stick...
Actually make that 3, Alonso, he showed how to go long.
✅ Checkout the latest 50 F1 Fans comments.