Qatar – Hamilton calm winner ahead of Verstappen, Alonso on the podium

Lewis Hamilton is launched and it seems difficult to stop. In Qatar this Sunday, the seven-time world champion mastered the first Grand Prix in the history of the Gulf country from start to finish to sign his 6th victory of the season, the second in a row after that acquired at Interlagos seven days ago only.

On pole after easily dominating qualifying on Saturday, the Englishman received a boost, although logical, from the race direction. Suspected of non-compliance with a double yellow flag at the very end of Q3 and summoned to the stewards this Sunday, Max Verstappen, 2nd time the day before, was judged guilty and forced to move back 5 places on the grid.

Get rid of the driver Red Bull before the start, Lewis Hamilton managed to take off without forcing too much to resist Pierre Gasly et Fernando Alonso, respectively 2nd and 3rd on the grid. Quickly detached from the rest, the leader of Mercedes imposed his pace to give himself some air and thus protect himself from Max Verstappen, who returned 2nd at the start of the 5th lap after getting rid of Alonso.

The replay of the start of #QatarGP🇶🇦 with the excellent flight of Max Verstappen!

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 21, 2021

From there, the Grand Prix stabilized between the two leaders since Max Verstappen was already relegated to more than 7 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. The Batavian then attempted the undercut on the 17th lap by putting on the hard tires. Unsurprisingly, Lewis Hamilton covered the strategy and returned to the track in the lead, still with a 7/8 second margin over his rival.

#QatarGP 🇶🇦

🗨️ “There is no one left between Hamilton and Verstappen!”

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 21, 2021

Powerless against the Englishman's W12, Max Verstappen then preferred to stay away, hoping for a possible error or mechanical breakdown from his counterpart to regain control. Two elements which ultimately did not take place. His second stop on the 42nd lap, immediately covered by Lewis Hamilton, changed nothing either.

As boss, Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line with almost 10 seconds ahead of the Dutchman who limited the damage by signing the best lap in the race allowing him to leave Qatar with an 8 point lead (351,5 against 343,5 ,XNUMX). Red Bull, however, benefited from the abandonment of Valtteri Bottas to return to 5 units of Mercedes (546,5 against 541,5)

Alonso on the podium, Alpine at the party

First podium since his return to F1 for Alonso. ©DPPI/X. Bonilla

Behind the victory of Lewis Hamilton, the performance of the day is to the credit of Fernando Alonso. Third on the grid after penalties from Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, the Bull of Asturias grabbed a position at the start after a good maneuver on Pierre Gasly. In good shape in Qatar with an A521 definitely at ease in the desert, the double world champion then did his own race. Without forcing to defend himself from Max Verstappen, the driver Alpine fell back a place and then decided to play the insurance card in order to give himself a chance to get on the podium.

Starting on soft tires, Fernando Alonso opted for a one-stop strategy. A bold strategy that would ultimately prove successful. Coming out on hard tires at the end of the 23rd lap, the Spaniard gave in during his second against Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez but destiny smiled on him at the end of the race. The Finn on the carpet after a left front puncture on the 33rd lap, the driver Alpine then saw the Mexican make a 2nd pit-stop which allowed him to regain provisional 3rd place. Worried at the end of the race after new punctures for the drivers on hard tires (George Russell and Nicholas latifi), he was saved from Pérez's return two laps from the checkerboard when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to extract the car by Latifi. Out of danger, the Iberian returned to the podium for the first time since Hungary in 2014 where he was still racing for Ferrari.

We haven't seen this image since 2014 🏆👏#QatarGP🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/Q1Fpu8oRF6

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 21, 2021

In addition to Fernando Alonso's first podium of the season, Alpine is at the party in Losail where Esteban Ocon brought back 10 additional points thanks to his 5th place. A perfect operation for the Blues who benefit from the zero points ofAlpha Tauri (Gasly 11th and tsunoda 13th) to take 25 lengths ahead of the Italian team in 5th place in the Manufacturers' ranking.

🔥 ¡ OLÉ @alo_oficial ! 🔥#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/TD6O4cr5Cb

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 21, 2021

In other race results, Ferrari took the lead over McLaren for 3rd place. The Scuderia saw its two drivers finish 7th and 8th with Carlos Saine in front Charles Leclerc while Woking only got the two points from 9th place in Lando Norris. Daniel Ricciardo He finished 12th and therefore out of the points.

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