The highlights of the first and last Qatar Grand Prix to date

September 30, 2021: Qatar joins the F1 calendar

In a second consecutive season marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, Qatar wants to take advantage of the slots left vacant in the calendar by more traditional destinations such as Japan or Australia, to host a round of the Formula 1 world championship. In addition to achieving its ends for the 2021 season, the Emirate takes the opportunity to sign a 10-year contract with Liberty Media starting from 2023; Qatar being unable to organize a race in 2022 due to the World Cup soccer tournament organized on its soil.

November 21, 2021: The return of Alonso to a podium

Twentieth round of the 2021 season which included 22 in total, this first ever Qatar Grand Prix is part of the thrilling battle that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been waging for months. Just a week after an exceptional Brazilian Grand Prix where the victory was decided in the final laps, F1 arrives in Losail on a track completely different from that of Interlagos.

Friday’s trials confirm that the duel between the Englishman and the Dutchman and, more broadly, between Mercedes and Red Bull will continue. In qualifications, the two protagonists unsurprisingly signed the two best times with the pole for Hamilton. However, Verstappen receives a 5-place penalty for not having slowed down enough under yellow flag in Q3, while AlphaTauri’s Galsy was stopped at the edge of the track. The Frenchman was a victim of a puncture after hitting a ripple strip too sharply, an incident that other drivers would fall victim to during the race. On the first line, Hamilton still leads the winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix who therefore benefits from several penalties to sign the best result of his career in qualifications.

Even if the race is not the most exhilarating of the year, some facts still need to be highlighted. Starting 7th, Verstappen had a lot to lose, and he came close to the disciplinary correction on the second turn when Alonso swerved onto him and he had to bite the off-track gravel to avoid the Spaniard. Ahead, Hamilton perfectly manages his pace and calmly wins the 102nd victory of his career ahead of Verstappen, author of a beautiful comeback, which allows him to move within 8 points of his rival, the championship leader since the Grand Prix of Turkey held a month and a half ago.

In the pack, this Qatar Grand Prix is marked by several punctures, all of them occurred, as for Pierre Gasly in qualifying, after sustained contact with a curb. The Williams of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi as well as Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes are victims; an element that will therefore need to be closely monitored this weekend.

Notwithstanding the fight for the title, it is indeed the third step of the podium that attracts all eyes. On this one, Fernando Alonso offers Alpine its second podium of the season after Esteban Ocon’s victory in Hungary, but above all, the Spaniard climbs onto the box for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2014. A performance that does a world of good to F1 and to the driver, back in the category after two years of absence. This result of the Bull from Asturias, combined with that of his teammate, fifth, allows Alpine to climb to the 5th place in the constructors’ championship, a place that the French team will hold until the end of the championship.