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  • Verstappen wins maiden Formula One World Championship in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

    Verstappen wins maiden Formula One World Championship in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

    In a season-long championship battle for the ages between a legend and a prominent star each representing two powerhouse organizations, a one-lap shootout on fresh tyres handed Max Verstappen his maiden Formula One World Championship after the Dutchman overtook and fended off Sir Lewis Hamilton to win both the title and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, December 12.

    The 24-year-old Verstappen commenced the 2021 F1 weekend finale by claiming the pole position over Hamilton on Saturday. At the start, however, Hamilton powered his Mercedes to the front on medium tyres. Then in Turn 6, Verstappen made a bold move beneath Hamilton and forced Hamilton off the course, though Hamilton came back on the course to retain the lead. Despite protests being launched from Red Bull Racing over Hamilton’s off-course venture, the stewards allowed Hamilton to continue as the leader.

    From Laps 15 to 20 of 58, where both Hamilton and Verstappen pitted, Sergio “Checo” Perez, the second Red Bull Racing competitor, was leading ahead of Hamilton with the Mexican veteran receiving orders to fend off Hamilton. By Lap 21, however, Hamilton reassumed the lead following an intense battle with Perez.

    With less than 10 laps remaining, Hamilton was still leading, but racing on worn tyres. By then, Verstappen, who last pitted on Lap 36, was trying to cut Hamilton’s huge deficit and navigate his way through lapped traffic.

    Then an opportunity struck with five laps remaining when Nicholas Latifi wrecked his Williams Racing car in Turn 14. Under the safety car caution period, Hamilton remained on the track while Verstappen pitted. As the laps dwindled and the safety car remained on the track, the FIA and stewards instructed for five lapped cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen to overtake them and the safety car to cycle back on the lead lap, which left Hamilton and Verstappen running nose to tail of one another for a one-lap shootout to the finish. The decision was one that left Mercedes, including team principal Toto Wolff, unhappy with the call.

    At the start, Hamilton retained the lead, but Verstappen kept him within his sights. Then in Turn 5, Verstappen made a bold move beneath Hamilton to take the lead. Despite receiving two opportunities to regain the lead, Hamilton could not keep pace with Verstappen’s Red Bull machine as the Dutchman was able to navigate his way around the circuit for a final time and streak across the finish line to claim the race victory and the championship to the delight of his team and nation.

    With the victory, Verstappen, who notched his 10th Grand Prix victory of 2021 and the 20th of his career, became the 34th different competitor to achieve a Formula One World Championship and he became the first Dutchman to win an F1 title. By beating Hamilton by eight points, he delivered the first drivers’ championship for Red Bull Racing since 2013 as Red Bull claimed its fifth championship.

    “It’s unbelievable,” Verstappen said. “Throughout the whole race, I kept fighting and then of course, that last opportunity on the last lap, it’s incredible. I’m still having a cramp. It’s insane. I don’t know what to say. These guys right here, my team and of course, Honda, they deserve it. I love them so much and I really, really enjoy working with them already since 2016, but this year has been incredible. To my team, I think they know I love them and I hope we can do this for 10, 15 years together. There’s no reason to change ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life…Our goal was to win this championship and now, we have done that.”

    “It’s just insane,” Verstappen added. “My goal when I was little was to become a Formula One driver. When they play the national anthem, you one day hope they play yours and then when you stand here and then they tell you that you’re the World Champion, it’s something incredible. Especially my dad, the special moment we had here, all the things come back to your mind, throughout all the years where you spent together traveling for that goal, and then you are here together, everything comes together in the last lap. Insane, these people. My whole team, my family, my friends, my best family friends, the people I grew up with go-karting, the ones who pushed me to where I am today, most of them were here. It just sounds amazing. It’s incredible to see all this [Netherlands] orange here, but all over the world where they supported me throughout my whole career and especially in Formula One, it’s just incredible and I hope I can do this for a very long time with the support of my great fans. Throughout the whole race, I just tried to keep on pushing, tried to keep on believing in it even though it didn’t look like it and in some times, miracles happen. Lewis [Hamilton] is an amazing driver, an amazing competitor. He made it really, really hard for us and everyone loved to see it. We had some tough times, but I think that’s all part of this sport and its emotion. Everyone wants to win. It could’ve gone either way today, but next year, we’ll come back and try it all over again.”

    Hamilton, who dominated the finale and was on track in winning a record-setting eighth F1 title prior to the late restart, settled in second place for the eighth time on the track in 2021 and in the runner-up position in the standings, which marked his first title loss since losing to former teammate Nico Rosburg in 2016. With Hamilton’s runner-up result and to go along with Valtteri Bottas finishing in sixth place on the track, Mercedes were able to claim an eighth consecutive Constructors’ title by 28 points over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    “Firstly, a big congratulations to Max and to his team,” Hamilton said. “I think we did an amazing job this year. My team, everybody back at the factory, all the men and women we have at here worked so hard this whole year. It’s been the most difficult of seasons. I’m so proud of them, so grateful to be a part of the journey with them. We gave it everything. This last part of the season, we gave it absolutely everything. We never gave up. That’s the most important thing. We’ll see about next year.”

    Following the finale, Mercedes launched two protests to the FIA over the decision to conclude the finale with a one-lap shootout while also alleging that Verstappen overtook Hamilton during the final safety car period and prior to the shootout. Following an extensive review amid the controversy, where members of Mercedes and Red Bull met, the protests were dismissed and Verstappen’s championship was retained.

    Finishing behind the two championship contenders on the track was Carlos Sainz, who achieved his fourth podium result of the season and capped off his first season with Ferrari in a career-best fifth place in the drivers’ standings. With teammate Charles Leclerc finishing 10th on the track, Ferrari capped off the 2021 F1 season in third place in the constructors’ standings over the McLaren F1 Team.

    “Especially the ending has been particularly great for me,” Sainz said. “With my best race in Ferrari putting together everything I’ve learned through the year, to put together a strong race today with the start, the race management, with a podium, that gets me also P5 in the Drivers’ championship. It all came together. It was a very challenging [season], especially because the lack of testing, so I had no idea how quickly I was gonna adopt. At Bahrain, I saw that I was pretty quick and I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna be there.’ I know I’m quick. I know that when I have the car to my liking, I have the speed to do whatever it takes to be quick in Formula One. The first part of the year was challenging, adapting to two different things of the car that I didn’t fully understand. The last third, I put together everything to put some good qualifyings and some good race finishes.”

    Rookie Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri rallied from an up-and-down rookie season in F1 to notch a career-best fourth place on the track ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly and Bottas, who capped off his fifth and final season with Mercedes in third place in the drivers’ standings. Lando Norris, who wrapped up his junior season in F1 competition and with McLaren in a career-best sixth place in the drivers’ standings, finished seventh on the track followed by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon while Leclerc rounded out the top 10 on the track.

    Finishing outside of the top-10 points-paying results on the track was Sebastian Vettel, who concluded his first season with the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team in 12th place in the driver’s standings. Daniel Ricciardo followed pursuit along with Lance Stroll and rookie Mick Schumacher.

    Sergio “Checo” Perez, who was in late contention for a podium result, ended his race in 15th place after retiring prior to the one-lap shootout. Despite the result, Perez capped off his first season with Red Bull Racing in fourth place in the final drivers’ standings along with five podiums and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory in June.

    Latifi, following his late accident, retired in 16th place while teammate George Russell retired in 18th place and in his final event with Williams Racing due to a transmission issue.

    Antonio Giovinazzi concluded his final event with Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen in 17th place on the track after retiring on Lap 36 due to a gearbox issue. Ten laps earlier, teammate Kimi Räikkönen retired in 19th place, dead last, after spinning in Turn 6 due to a braking issue on Lap 26. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked Räikkönen’s 349th and final career start in Formula One with the 2007 champion stepping away from F1 competition.

    Nikita Mazepin, one of two Uralkali Haas F1 competitors, did not compete after testing positive for COVID-19 hours to the finale.

    Race Results

    1. Max Verstappen, one lap led

    2. Lewis Hamilton, 51 laps led

    3. Carlos Sainz

    4. Yuki Tsunoda

    5. Pierre Gasly

    6. Valtteri Bottas

    7. Lando Norris

    8. Fernando Alonso

    9. Esteban Ocon

    10. Charles Leclerc

    11. Sebastian Vettel

    12. Daniel Ricciardo, +1 lap

    13. Lance Stroll, +1 lap

    14. Mick Schumacher, +1 lap

    15. Sergio Perez – Retired, six laps led

    16. Nicholas Latifi – Retired

    17. Antonio Giovinazzi – Retired

    18. George Russell – Retired

    19. Kimi Räikkönen – Retired

    Final Driver Standings

    1. Max Verstappen

    2. Lewis Hamilton

    3. Valtteri Bottas

    4. Sergio Perez

    5. Carlos Sainz

    6. Lando Norris

    7. Charles Leclerc

    8. Daniel Ricciardo

    9. Pierre Gasly

    10. Fernando Alonso

    11. Esteban Ocon

    12. Sebastian Vettel

    13. Lance Stroll

    14. Yuki Tsunoda

    15. George Russell

    16. Kimi Räikkönen

    17. Nicholas Latifi

    18. Antonio Giovinazzi

    19. Mick Schumacher

    20. Robert Kubica

    21. Nikita Mazepin

    Final Constructor Standings

    1. Mercedes

    2. Red Bull Racing Honda

    3. Ferrari

    4. McLaren-Mercedes

    5. Alpine Renault

    6. AlphaTauri Honda

    7. Aston Martin Mercedes

    8. Williams Mercedes

    9. Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari

    10. Haas-Ferrari

    The Formula One teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Bahrain International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, March 20, to commence the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship season.

  • Hamilton wins the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, draws championship tie with Verstappen

    Hamilton wins the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, draws championship tie with Verstappen

    In a race highlighted with two red-flag periods, on-track chaos, controversy and tempers flaring amongst the competitors and teams battling for the season championship, Sir Lewis Hamilton drew himself on equal points level with Max Verstappen after withstanding a late battle and contact with Verstappen to win the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday, December 5.

    Hamilton, who started on pole position for the 103rd time in his illustrious career, led the opening 10 laps before a hard incident involving rookie Mick Schumacher resulted with Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas pitting for hard tyres. This gave Verstappen an advantage by taking the lead and opting to have a fresh set of hard tyres on his Red Bull machine as the race was then suspended for repairs in Turn 23 where Schumacher wrecked. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 15, Hamilton and Verstappen dueled until Verstappen went off the course and cut back in front of Hamilton, which caused Hamilton to step off the gas as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon went by for second place. Following another multi-car wreck and red-flag period that involved rookie Nikita Mazepin, George Russell and Sergio “Checo” Perez, Verstappen relinquished the lead and settled in third behind Ocon and Hamilton. 

    Two laps later, on a Lap 17 restart, Verstappen made a bold three-wide move entering the first two turns to reassume the lead, where he dominated the evening and kept Hamilton in his rearview mirrors. 

    Then, the intensity between Hamilton and Verstappen crescendoed under the final 15 laps as Hamilton narrowed the gap between himself and his championship rival. On Lap 36, Hamilton attempted to overtake Verstappen’s Red Bull machine through the main straightaway, but Verstappen went wide in Turn 2 and nearly made contact with Hamilton while refusing to yield. The Dutchman then went off the course, but returned while still leading the race. Then while instructed by his crew to relinquish the lead to avoid a penalty for going off the course, Verstappen slowed and ended up getting hit by Hamilton, with the reigning seven-time F1 champion sustaining slight front-wing damage. Despite the incident, both competitors continued running straight and in the top-two spots. 

    Five laps later, Verstappen, who briefly relinquished the lead to Hamilton, reassumed the top spot over Hamilton through Turn 27 and entering the main straightaway. Then, the stewards placed Verstappen on a five-second time penalty for his off-track excursion on Lap 42. Finally, Hamilton seized his opportunity during the following lap and pushed Verstappen wide in Turn 27 to take the lead as he pulled away from his rival, who was beginning to lose the rear tyres on his car.

    With no competition lurking behind him, Hamilton was able to nurse his Mercedes back to the finish line and grab his third consecutive victory in recent weeks by nearly 12 seconds over Verstappen.

    By winning for the eighth time in 2021 and for his 103rd Formula 1 career victory, Hamilton left Saudi Arabia in a tie with Verstappen for the lead in the driver’s championship standings as he pursues his record-setting eighth F1 title.

    “The fight [in this team] is so, so deeply great,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been with this team 10 years. I’ve seen their passion all these year. I don’t think I’ve seen as what they’ve just shown me there coming down the pit lane at the end of the race. It’s on a different level, the energy. We’re all hyped. The fight, it’s spectacular and I appreciate it. It’s difficult to fight with a driver that doesn’t work with the same rulebook, but I tried with everything I had to just keep the car on the track and do it the right way. We persevered as a team and I’m grateful for everyone’s hard work. Who would’ve thought we got to this point, it would be like this. But I felt great. Just trying to keep my head down for next week. I’ll try to deliver the best result we can.”

    “I think we are all happy today, but I need to bite my words at the moment because in seven days, there will be another result and I still hope that we are going to be happy as now,” Toto Wolff, team principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, added. “We just need to calm down, really prepare well for next week, have a strong racing car like we had today, have no reliability should because if we have that, the championship is gone within a second and then, all the fun today was destroyed next week.”

    Verstappen, who wrecked during Saturday’s qualifying session while establishing what would have been a pole-winning lap but was able to line up in third place, led twice for 31 laps and rallied from the late on-track controversy between himself and Hamilton to settle in second place for the eighth time in 2021. Despite falling back into a tie with Hamilton in the driver’s standings, Verstappen currently holds the tie-breaker for the top spot based on winning nine times throughout the season compared to Hamilton’s eight and sets his focus towards the finale at Abu Dhabi and with an opportunity to claim his first Formula One championship.

    “Of course, when [the team] told me that I had the five-second penalty, it was not worth fighting anymore because I would never have pulled a gap of five seconds,” Verstappen said. “A lot of action, lot of things that happened. I think ultimately, we didn’t really have perfect pace in the race. Maybe also, the medium tyres were not amazing to the end. I think hard tyres could’ve had a bit more life. That’s obviously easy to say afterwards. There were a lot of moves [with Hamilton]. That five-second penalty, I don’t think is correct, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to talk about it too much because they don’t deserve any word coming out of my mouth.”

    “[The team] told me to give the position back,” Verstappen, who addressed the on-track incident with Hamilton, added. “Immediately when I heard that on the radio, I just pulled off to the right to show that I was gonna move over. I braked, down-shift and [Hamilton] just stayed behind me, so I was just looking in the mirror and I’m slowing down and then, I think it was just a bit of a miscommunication where he then ran into the back of me.”

    “Frustrating race,” Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, added. “I think in the end, we’re probably lucky to get away with second with the damage we had at the back of the car. It goes down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. I thought at the beginning of the year, it would go all the way to Abu Dhabi. Fortunately for all the fans, there’s nothing between [Verstappen and Hamilton]. There’s just one race victory between them, so let’s see where it finish…We got one chance [to win].”

    Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas, who started on the front row but spent the majority of the event inside the top five, edged Esteban Ocon at the finish line to grab the final podium spot in his penultimate event with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. With the points, Mercedes increased their lead in the constructor’s standings by 28 points over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    “It makes a difference to be fourth or third,” Bottas said. “Esteban had a good race and they were actually surprisingly quick. It was not easy to get him, but yeah, got him just at the end. I just kept pushing. It was worth it today not to give up…It’s gonna be a pretty exciting race in Abu Dhabi.”

    Ocon, who made his way up to a podium spot since the Lap 15 restart and retained third place until the final lap, settled in fourth place while Daniel Ricciardo rallied from finishing outside of the points during the previous Grand Prix events to finish in fifth place.

    Pierre Gasly, driving for AlphaTauri, rallied from finishing outside of the points during the previous Grand Prix event in Qatar to finish in sixth place followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Antonio Giovinazzi came home in ninth place in his penultimate event with Alfa Romeo Racing while McLaren’s Lando Norris ended up in 10th place.

    Finishing outside of the top-10 points-paying results was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll along with Nicholas Latifi and Fernando Alonso, who pitted late for soft tyres and ended up a lap behind the leaders.

    Rookie Yuki Tsunoda finished 14th following an on-track collision and incident with Sebastian Vettel on Lap 23, where he spun Vettel and destroyed the front wing of his AlphaTauri in Turn 1.

    Kimi Räikkönen finished 15th in his penultimate F1 event of his career while Sebastian Vettel, who continued following his early incident with Tsunoda, retired late in the event in 16th place due to the damage on his Aston Martin car.

    George Russell, Sergio “Checo” Perez and rookie Nikita Mazepin, all of whom wrecked during the Lap 15 restart, retired in 17th, 18th and 19th.

    Mick Schumacher retired in 20th place, dead last, following his wreck in Turn 23. 

    Results:

    1. Lewis Hamilton, 26 points

    2. Max Verstappen, 18 points

    3. Valtteri Bottas, 15 points

    4. Esteban Ocon, 12 points

    5. Daniel Ricciardo, 10 points

    6. Pierre Gasly, eight points

    7. Charles Leclerc, six points

    8. Carlos Sainz, four points

    9. Antonio Giovinazzi, two points

    10. Lando Norris, one point

    11. Lance Stroll

    12. Nicholas Latifi

    13. Fernando Alonso, +1 lap

    14. Yuki Tsunoda, +1 lap

    15. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

    16. Sebastian Vettel – Retired

    17. George Russell – Retired

    18. Sergio Perez – Retired

    19. Nikita Mazepin – Retired

    20. Mick Schumacher – Retired

    Verstappen and Hamilton are tied for the lead in the drivers’ standings while Mercedes continues to lead the constructor’s standings by 28 points over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    Next is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, which will conclude the 2021 Formula One season and where a champion will be crowned. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, December 12.

  • Hamilton narrows championship deficit to Verstappen by winning the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix

    Hamilton narrows championship deficit to Verstappen by winning the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix

    Sir Lewis Hamilton took another swing towards Max Verstappen’s championship standings lead after the reigning seven-time Formula One champion notched a dominant win in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit on Sunday, November 21.

    Hamilton, who started on pole position for the fourth time in 2021 and the 102nd of his career, was able to launch away from the field at the start and he never relinquished the top spot as he claimed the win by more than 25 seconds over runner-up Verstappen, who kept the seven-time champion within his sights and to maintain the lead in the standings by a narrow margin.

    With the victory, Hamilton secured his seventh Grand Prix victory of the season and the 102nd victory of his F1 career as he reduced his deficit to Verstappen in the standings from 14 to eight while continuing his pursuit for a record-setting eighth F1 title. He also became the first competitor to achieve a Grand Prix victory in 30 different F1 circuits.

    “It was a good weekend,” Hamilton said. “Super solid. I couldn’t really ask for any more. I would’ve loved to have got that extra point out there for the fastest lap, but obviously, I was against with the VSC, obviously with the tyre punctures and everything like that, it was just too risky. It’s been great this weekend. First stint was really strong, [Verstappen and Red Bull] were still really fast as you could see. They went past people so easily. We’ve been strong, so I’m excited for these next two races. I think we’ve got a good car. If we can get the car in a good place these next two [races, I think we should be real strong.”

    Verstappen, who originally qualified on the front row but fell back to seventh as part of a five-place grid penalty for failing to respect double waved yellow flags in qualifying, was able to march his way to the front and settle in second place for the seventh time this season. By pitting in the final laps and notching the fastest time of the event, where he earned an additional point, he maintains the top spot in the standings and maintains his quest for his first F1 title with two races remaining to the schedule.

    “It was an exciting start,” Verstappen said. “It got really close with Fernando [Alonso] into Turn 2, but the race, quite quickly, I was back into P2. From there on, as I tried to keep the gap small so that I could not do a pit stop or like an extra pit stop, and it worked out well because we did the fastest lap like that and any weekend where you like pace and still finish second and get that fastest lap point, I think it’s good. Overall, we’re still lacking pace, also in the race, but of course, very happy with this result.”

    Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso, who started in third place, made an aggressive one-stop strategy work to his perfection after the two-time F1 champion fended off Sergio “Checo” Perez to finish in third place and claim his first podium result since finishing in second place in the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix. With the result, Alonso, who returned to F1 competition this season since retiring in 2018, became the 13th different competitor to achieve an F1 podium in 2021 as he recorded the first podium result for Alpine F1 Team since the team won the Hungarian Grand Prix in August with Esteban Ocon.

    “The love keeps going for this track,” Alonso, who was voted Driver of the Day, said. “The car was mega again on the race and we could keep up the pace with Perez and in front of the McLarens, the Ferraris, so I think we were, maybe on pure pace, fourth or fifth, but then obviously, we gambled on the strategy, only one stop. Perez did two [pit stops] and we managed to step on the podium with two great champions, Max and Lewis. That means a lot for me as well. After seven years, waiting for a podium, it was tough sometimes. You go up and down on your career and you need to keep up, never give up and show some determination, some dedication to this sport because you dedicate your life to Formula One, to train and to prepare for the next race. It doesn’t matter if you’re 11th, if you’re 15th or eventually, when you come fight for a podium like today. I love racing and this podium means a lot.”

    Perez settled in fourth-place for his 13th top-five result of the season.

    Esteban Ocon, teammate to Alonso, finished in fifth place for his first top-five result since claiming his maiden Grand Prix victory at Hungary in August, thus keeping the Alpine F1 Team ahead of AlphaTauri for fifth place in the Constructors’ standings. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished in sixth place for his best result of the season and for his ninth top-10 points-paying result of the season.

    Teammates Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari situated in third place in the constructor’s standings by finishing seventh and eighth followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris, the first competitor scored a lap behind the leaders. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10 on the track.

    Finishing just outside of the top 10 was AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who started on the front row for the first time in his career but who failed to make a two-tyre strategy work.

    Daniel Ricciardo settled in 12th place ahead of rookie Yuki Tsunoda, Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi, who is down to his final two F1 races this season and with Alfa Romeo.

    Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin finished 16th and 18th while Williams Racing’s George Russell and Nicholas Latifi ended up in 17th and 19th after both suffered late tyre punctures. While Russell was able to return to his pit stall and finish the race two laps behind the leaders, Latifi was unable to do so as he retired on the track in 19th place.

    Valtteri Bottas, who received a three-place grid penalty and was relegated to sixth place, was able to methodically work his way towards the front in the first half of the event. His race, however, went away on Lap 33 when he suffered a left-front tyre puncture as he slid off the track  and into the gravel in Turn 7. Despite recovering from the issue, he ended up retiring on Lap 50 and in 20th place, dead last, as he retained third place in the driver’s standings by 13 points over Perez.

    Results:

    1. Lewis Hamilton, 25 points

    2. Max Verstappen, 19 points

    3. Fernando Alonso, 15 points

    4. Sergio Perez, 12 points

    5. Esteban Ocon, 10 points

    6. Lance Stroll, eight points

    7. Carlos Sainz, six points

    8. Charles Leclerc, four points

    9. Lando Norris, two points, +1 lap

    10. Sebastian Vettel, one point, +1 lap 

    11. Pierre Gasly, +1 lap

    12. Daniel Ricciardo, +1 lap

    13. Yuki Tsunoda, +1 lap

    14. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

    15. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

    16. Mick Schumacher, +1 lap

    17. George Russell, +2 laps

    18. Nikita Mazepin, +2 laps

    19. Nicholas Latifi – Retired

    20. Valtteri Bottas – Retired 

    Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by eight points over Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team continues to lead the constructors’ standings by five points over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    With two races remaining in the schedule, the 2021 Formula One season will be taking its final off-week period before returning for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Street Circuit on November 5.

  • Guanyu Zhou named Alfa Romeo competitor for 2022 F1 season

    Guanyu Zhou named Alfa Romeo competitor for 2022 F1 season

    Following months of speculation and anticipation, Alfa Romeo Racing filled the missing piece to their two-car driver lineup after revealing that Guanyu Zhou will be joining the organization as their newest competitor for the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship season.

    A 22-year-old native from Shanghai, China, Zhou, whose racing career started in karting at age eight before he worked his way up through the open-wheel ladder, currently competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Virtuosi Racing, where he has notched three victories and seven podium results as he is in second place in the current F2 standings.

    Zhou, who was once part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, also serves a test competitor for the Alpine F1 Team as part of the Alpine Academy. He became the second Chinese competitor to participate in a Formula One practice session when he tested two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso’s Alpine car prior during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, the first since Ma Quinghua competed in five practice sessions with HRT and Caterham in 2012 and 2013.

    With the news of Zhou’s promotion to Formula One and filling in the 20th and final vacant seat at Alfa Romeo for the upcoming season, he is set to become the first Chinese competitor to embark in a full Formula One season.

    “I dreamt from a young age of climbing as high as I can in a sport that I am passionate about and now the dream has come true,” Zhou said. “It is a privilege for me to start my Formula 1 career with an iconic team, a team that has introduced so much young talent into Formula 1 in the past. Now the dream is reality…To be the first ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history. I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more.”

    Zhou will be a teammate to Valtteri Bottas, who is set to join Alfa Romeo Racing on a multi-year basis for the upcoming F1 season. The 28-year-old Bottas from Nastola, Finland, is currently in his fifth and final full-time season with the reigning champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. Through November 2021, he has achieved 10 Grand Prix victories, including this year’s Turkish Grand Prix in October, and is currently ranked in third place in the driver’s standings. Bottas’ seat at Mercedes will be occupied by Williams’ George Russell for the 2022 season.

    “I feel well prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1, the pinnacle of my sport, alongside a proven, world-class talent in Valtteri Bottas,” Zhou added. “I wish to thank the Alfa Romeo Racing team for this opportunity. Next year the target will be to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible.”

    “It is a pleasure to welcome Guanyu Zhou to Alfa Romeo Racing,” Fred Vasseur, CEO and Team Principal of Alfa Romeo Racing, added. “He is a very talented driver, as his results in F2 have shown, and we are looking forward to helping his talent flourish even more in Formula 1. We are proud of our line-up for 2022 and we are confident Zhou will form a very successful partnership with Valtteri. We are also looking forward to welcoming all the new Chinese fans who will join the team: Alfa Romeo Racing is a historical brand and one that embodies the spirit of Formula 1 and we will do our utmost to make the experience of our sport a great one in China.”

    Zhou will be replacing Antonio Giovinazzi, who is currently in his third full-time season with the team and is set to leave the team at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign. Giovinazzi, a 27-year-old racer from Martina Franca, Italy, has achieved eight top-10 points-paying results since 2019. He is currently ranked in 18th place in the driver’s standings with one top-10 result, which was a 10th-place result in the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

    Kimi Räikkönen, Alfa Romeo’s second competitor, is set to retire from Formula One competition at the conclusion of this season and following a 19-year career where he has achieved 21 career victories, 103 podiums and the 2007 championship. Räikkönen is currently ranked in 16th place in the driver’s standings with 10 points.

    With the 20-car grid field set, Guanyu Zhou is set to embark in his first full-time season in Formula One competition at Bahrain International Circuit for the 2022 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.

  • Hamilton retains championship hopes with a comeback victory in the São Paulo Grand Prix

    Hamilton retains championship hopes with a comeback victory in the São Paulo Grand Prix

    Sir Lewis Hamilton rallied from a difficult start to a racing weekend by persevering in a late battle with championship rival Max Verstappen and winning the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos Circuit on Sunday, November 14.

    The reigning seven-time F1 champion’s weekend started off on a rough note when he was penalized five grid spots when his team decided to change engines to his Mercedes. Then he was disqualified from starting on pole position for the F1 Sprint qualification event on Saturday, November 13, due to a technical infringement involving his rear wing and DRS system on his Mercedes. The disqualification relegated Hamilton to start in last place for the Sprint, which he made up for the misfortune by finishing in fifth place. With the five-place penalty grid still intact, Hamilton fell back to 10th place on the starting grid for the main event.


    Rolling off the grid just inside the top 10, Hamilton, who methodically carved his way to the front, spent the majority of the main event battling towards the front with his teammate and pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas along with Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen and Sergio “Checo” Perez.

    Then on Lap 48 of 71, Hamilton made a move to the outside of on Verstappen for the lead entering Turn 4. Entering the turn, however, both title contenders ran off the circuit as Verstappen retained the lead without being penalized.

    Eleven laps later, Hamilton, who made another move to the outside of Verstappen in Turn 4, moved his Mercedes into the lead. From there, Hamilton pulled away and was able to cross the finish line more than 10 seconds ahead of the Dutchman to grab the victory.

    The victory was Hamilton’s sixth of the season, third at the Interlagos Circuit and the 101st of his F1 career. With the victory and the points he earned, Hamilton decreased his deficit to Verstappen by five, from 19 to 14, with three Grand Prix events remaining to the schedule as he pursues his quest to win a record-setting eighth F1 title.

    “It was one of the most fun races I’ve had in a long time,” Hamilton said. “Just a great start and just really bounced throughout. I definitely didn’t know whether or not that I would be able to overtake [Verstappen]. [The Red Bull competitors] are working as well as the team. It was just kind of crazy to think that where we started yesterday, last, and then, I got up to fifth yesterday, and then I realized I got to go back another five places, and then thinking, ‘By the time I even get there, Max will be gone.’ He wasn’t that far ahead when I finally got there. I just keep thinking what a great team I have behind me. We continue to push, continue to raise a bar and not say no to any answers really. From this weekend, we’ve been thrown a lot at us and it was easy to get down and not be positive and not do our job well. They did a remarkable job this weekend. 

    “Success always feel sweeter when you face adversity,” Hamilton added. “Yes, when you start first and have success, there’s a journey to get there, of course, but it’s far, far greater. This is one of the most beautiful feelings I’ve had in a win, knowing that I’ve had all of those pushbacks, setbacks. We never let it stand in our way…I was gonna get [Verstappen] at some stage. That was how my mindset was. I’m coming for you. That’s where we’re headed.”

    Like Hamilton, Verstappen rallied from a difficult start to the weekend when he was fined €50,000 for examining and touching Hamilton’s rear wing in Parc Ferme following Friday’s qualification session for the F1 Sprint. He rallied by finishing second in the F1 Sprint behind Bottas and took command of the lead right from the start, where he dominated the event and was eventually overtaken by Hamilton late in the run.

    Despite coming up one position shy of notching his third consecutive Grand Prix victory in recent weeks, Verstappen, who won at Interlagos in 2019, continues to lead the driver’s championship standings by a respectable margin over Hamilton as he closes in towards his first F1 World Championship.

    “I knew it was gonna be difficult, but I tried everything I could,” Verstappen said. “Clearly, we were just lacking a bit today. Also, top speed wise, it was really tough to defend. You could clearly see when they take a fresh engine, it gives them a bit more power. So hopefully in the coming races, that will die down slowly. At least it was fun. Of course, I would’ve liked to win, but realistically, I think this was a good result. I think it was good, hard racing. That’s how it should be.”

    Meanwhile, Bottas, who won the F1 Sprint on Saturday and started on pole position, ran a consistent event to finish in third place, one position ahead of Perez, who managed to clock in the fastest time of the event at 218.453 kph on the final lap. The third-place result marked Bottas’ 10th podium result of the season as he is down to his final three races with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team before transitioning to Alfa Romeo in 2022.

    “Lap 1 was quite disappointing,” Bottas said. “We had a very average start. Max had a good one and then, I tried to defend Checo [Perez] and went wide, but I tried. We’ll have a look at what happened. After that, I, obviously, kept pushing and we took the opportunity with the virtual safety car. I think the pace was actually OK today, so it was good to be there till the end. It was very close and was actually pretty close to Max…Really good points. That’s something to be happy about.”

    Finishing behind the two Mercedes and Red Bull competitors were the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., with both competitors being the last of six competitors finishing on the lead lap. The top-six results for Leclerc and Sainz were enough to stabilize Ferrari’s positioning of third place in the constructor’s standings.

    Pierre Gasly, the first competitor a lap down, finished in seventh followed by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. Lando Norris, meanwhile, rallied from an opening lap puncture following contact with Sainz, to complete the top 10 on the track.

    Sebastian Vettel was the first competitor to finishing outside of the top-10 points-paying results in 11th followed by Kimi Räikkönen, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi and rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who damaged his car following an early collision with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

    Nicholas Latifi settled in 16th followed by Haas’ Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, who lost his front wing following an on-track collision with Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo.

    Daniel Ricciardo retired in 19th place due to losing power in his McLaren, which marked his first retirement since the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.

    Lance Stroll rounded out the field in 20th place following his early collision with Tsunoda.

    Results. 

    1. Lewis Hamilton, 25 points

    2. Max Verstappen, 20 points

    3. Valtteri Bottas, 18 points

    4. Sergio Perez, 13 points

    5. Charles Leclerc, 10 points

    6. Carlos Sainz, eight points

    7. Pierre Gasly, six points, +1 lap,

    8. Esteban Ocon, four points, + 1 lap

    9. Fernando Alonso, two points, +1 lap

    10. Lando Norris, one point, +1 lap

    11. Sebastian Vettel, +1 lap

    12. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

    13. George Russell, +1 lap

    14. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

    15. Yuki Tsunoda, +1 lap

    16. Nicholas Latifi, +1 lap

    17. Nikita Mazepin, +2 laps

    18. Mick Schumacher, +2 laps

    19. Daniel Ricciardo – Retired

    20. Lance Stroll – Retired

    Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by 14 points over Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 11 points over Red Bull Racing Honda thanks to the strong performances from Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

    With three races remaining to the schedule, the 2021 Formula One season will continue at Losail International Circuit for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, November 21.

  • Verstappen scores a dominant victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix

    Verstappen scores a dominant victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix

    Max Verstappen took another step closer in achieving his maiden Formula One championship after the Dutchman notched a dominating victory ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton and teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez in the Mexico City Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, November 7.

    The 24-year-old Dutchman, who started in third place behind teammates Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton, had the Grand Prix in his control from the get-go after he overtook both Mercedes at the launch and entering the first turn as his Grand Prix started off. Behind, Bottas, who started on pole position, dropped to the back after getting and turned by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo through the first turn. In the ensuing chaos, Esteban Ocon got sandwiched in between rookies Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda, which knocked both Schumacher and Tsunoda out of contention after both sustained damage to their respective machines.

    With the field scrambling behind him, Verstappen ran away from the field and dominated the entirety of the event as he crossed the finish line and claimed the chequered flag by more than 16 seconds over Hamilton and 17 over Perez.

    With the victory, Verstappen achieved his ninth Grand Prix victory of the 2021 season, the 19th of his career and his second in recent weeks after winning the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in late October. Verstappen also made history as he became the first F1 competitor to achieve three Grand Prix victories in Mexico. 

    With his dominating victory, Verstappen increased his advantage from 12 to 19 over Hamilton in the driver’s standings.

    “Today, what was very important to us was the first lap and the start, basically, into Turn 1,” Verstappen said. “We went three wide and it was all about who was gonna brake the latest. I got both of [the Mercedes competitors] into Turn 1, so it was gonna be a good race and I could just control it from there. You never know what the others are gonna do, right? We made it stick. The car was really, really good. We basically just controlled it to the end. [Mexico]’s always been a good race for us, so we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves because again in Brazil, it’s gonna be a tough battle.”

    Finishing in second place for the seventh time this season was Lewis Hamilton, who was more than 16 seconds behind Verstappen’s Red Bull machine and could not keep pace with the Red Bull Racing cars.

    “I feel positive in the sense that I had a good race,” Hamilton said. “I did everything with the car I had. The car was not good today. I had a good start and after that, it was just trying to manage the tires. Had a good pit stop and then, to keep Sergio behind, who was obviously in a much faster car this weekend. When you’ve got Sergio behind you, pushing you, you know that he’s fast. I’m glad I was able to at least keep those two [Red Bull drivers] apart in terms of getting a one, two for their team. We’ll move on and keep fighting. [Red Bull]’s have the fastest car most of the year. Wish we were a little bit quicker this weekend, but today we were a long way off. I don’t really understand that, but we’ll go back to the drawing board and try to come back next week stronger.”

    Meanwhile, Sergio “Checo” Perez, who tried but was unable to overtake Hamilton in the final laps, achieved his fifth podium result of the season in third place as he also achieved his third consecutive podium result in recent weeks. With his strong performance and result in front of his home nation, fans and family, Perez became the first Mexican competitor to achieve a podium result in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

    “Yeah, it’s obviously very special to be on that podium with everyone out there,” Perez said. “They’ve done a tremendous effort. I’m so happy for my country as well. We got this result for them. We didn’t have quite enough there at the end, but we gave it our best. We just have to keep pushing, keep our heads on. It’s been a good weekend for the team and as a team, we just have to keep pushing hard, to try to get more points for the team and also for the constructor’s [standings].”

    Finishing in fourth place and just outside of the podium positions was AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line in fifth and sixth.

    Sebastian Vettel finished in seventh place for his sixth top-10 result of the season while Kimi Räikkönen posted a strong eighth-place result as he is down to his final four F1 events of his career.

    Fernando Alonso came home in ninth place and Lando Norris capped off a difficult run for McLaren by finishing in 10th place and sealing the final points-paying result on the track.

    Finishing outside of the top-10 points-paying results was Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi followed by Daniel Ricciardo, who damaged his front wing following the opening lap collision with Bottas and never recovered. 

    Esteban Ocon, following his opening lap incident, ended his run in 13th place followed by Lance Stroll, who wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session, and Bottas, who pitted twice in the final laps for soft tyres but managed to snatch the fastest lap of the event.

    George Russell, Nicholas Latifi and rookie Nikita Mazepin settled in 16th, 17th and 18th while rookies Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda retired in 19th and 20th following their opening lap incident.

    Results. 

    1. Max Verstappen, 25 points

    2. Lewis Hamilton, 18 points

    3. Sergio Perez, 15 points

    4. Pierre Gasly, 12 points

    5. Charles Leclerc, 10 points

    6. Carlos Sainz, eight points, +1 lap

    7. Sebastian Vettel, six points, +1 lap

    8. Kimi Räikkönen, four points, +1 lap

    9. Fernando Alonso, two points, +1 lap

    10. Lando Norris, one point, +1 lap

    11. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

    12. Daniel Ricciardo, +1 lap

    13. Esteban Ocon, +1 lap

    14. Lance Stroll, +2 laps

    15. Valtteri Bottas, +2 laps

    16. George Russell, +2 laps

    17. Nicholas Latifi, +2 laps

    18. Nikita Mazepin, +3 laps

    19. Mick Schumacher – Retired

    20. Yuki Tsunoda – Retired

    Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by 19 points over Hamilton. Meanwhile, Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ standings by a single point over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    With four races remaining to the schedule, the 2021 Formula One season will next travel to Brazil’s Interlagos Circuit for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday, November 14.

  • Bottas claims the Turkish Grand Prix; snaps yearlong winless drought

    Bottas claims the Turkish Grand Prix; snaps yearlong winless drought

    While the drivers’ championship battle took another swing, Valtteri Bottas made his yearlong return to the top of the podium after winning the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, October 10.

    The Finnish veteran, who originally posted the second-fastest lap in qualifying, started on pole position after his teammate, Sir Lewis Hamilton, was hit with a 10-place grid penalty for competing with a newly installed Mercedes engine in his car. After launching away from the field at the start and on damp conditions, Bottas led the first 37 laps. He returned to the lead on Lap 47 of 58, which he would keep for the remainder of the event as he beat runner-up Max Verstappen by more than 14 seconds.

    With the victory, Bottas, who also set the fastest lap of the event, became the sixth different winner of this year’s F1 season as he achieved his 10th Grand Prix career win. Bottas, who remains in third place in the drivers’ standings, is down to his final six events with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, a team he joined in 2017 and went on to record his maiden Grand Prix victory. He is set to join Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2022 season.

    “It feels awesome,” Bottas said. “It feels good. I don’t know. Almost like a relief to actually win a race this year. It’s been a while and it was not an easy race win. With these conditions, just needed like full focus, non-stop and couldn’t do any mistakes. The pace I had was really good and I was confident with the car. I feel like since Monza, things have been going quite well and quite nicely. There’s not pressure about anything, so I can just really enjoy, focus on the driving and that seems to work.”

    Trailing Bottas to the finish line were Red Bull Racing’s two competitors, Max Verstappen and Sergio “Checo” Perez, both of whom sported a special silver Honda tribute scheme to pay homage to Honda’s final season as a power unit in F1. Verstappen finished in second place for his 12th podium result of the season and reassumed the lead in the drivers’ championship standings by six points over Lewis Hamilton. Perez, meanwhile, settled in third and achieved his first podium result since finishing third at Circuit Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix in June.

    “I think we had, in general, a decent race,” Verstappen said. “I think we maximized the result. Valtteri was a little bit faster, but of course this whole weekend, we were a bit behind in pace compared to Mercedes. This race was all about just managing the tyres through a certain lap. As a team, to finish second in Turkey was a very good result. I wish I had a bit more pace in the car so it would’ve been a bit easier. We are in the fight. We’ll keep fighting and we’ll see in the coming races how competitive we are going to be.”

    “It’s been a while since I’m not on the podium,” Perez said. “Unfortunately, I think the last couple of races, we’ve been simply so unlucky. Today’s a special podium because it’s one of those days that I wasn’t fully comfortable with the car, especially on that first stint. It made it very tricky. It was good to get that podium. I think I learned a lot from my first stint to apply to my second one and how I bring the tyre in. That made a good difference. I really hope that from Austin onwards, we can be stronger than [Mercedes].”

    While Charles Leclerc finished fourth after leading nine laps, Hamilton, who was able to methodically work his way to the front, ended up in fifth place after opting to pit for tyres with eight laps remaining while battling for a podium spot. The result left Hamilton furious with his team over the late decision to pit.

    “I feel like I should’ve stayed out,” Hamilton said. “My gut feeling was to stay in and I that’s what I feel like I should’ve done. So frustrated in myself in not following my gut, but I work as a team. [I] Did the best I could with the advice I was giving…That’s life.”

    Pierre Gasly, who qualified in the top five for the sixth time this season, rallied from a five-second penalty for colliding into Fernando Alonso on the opening lap to finish sixth followed by Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, who started at the rear of the field while competing in a new power unit to his Ferrari. As a result of his drive from the rear of the field, Sainz was named ‘Driver of the Day.’ Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10 on the track.

    Antonio Giovinazzi settled in 11th followed by teammate Kimi Räikkönen, Daniel Ricciardo, rookie Yuki Tsunoda and George Russell. Fernando Alonso ended up in 16th ahead of Nicholas Latifi and Sebastian Vettel, who slipped off the course twice in the opening lap and later spun while trying to enter pit road. Rounding out the 20-car field in the running order were Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

    Results:

    1. Valtteri Bottas, 26 points, 49 laps led

    2. Max Verstappen, 18 points

    3. Sergio Perez, 15 points

    4. Charles Leclerc, 12 points

    5. Lewis Hamilton, 10 points

    6. Pierre Gasly, eight points

    7. Lando Norris, six points

    8. Carlos Sainz, four points

    9. Lance Stroll, two points

    10. Esteban Ocon, one point, +1

    11. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1

    12. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

    13. Daniel Ricciardo, +1

    14. Yuki Tsunoda, +1

    15. George Russell, +1

    16. Fernando Alonso, +1

    17. Nicholas Latifi, +1

    18. Sebastian Vettel, +1

    19. Mick Schumacher, +2

    20. Nikita Mazepin, +2

    Max Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by six points over Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile, Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 36 points over Red Bull Racing Honda.

    With six races remaining to the schedule, the 2021 Formula One season will be taking a one-week break before returning to Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, October 24.

  • Hamilton scores 100th Grand Prix win in Russia Grand Prix

    Hamilton scores 100th Grand Prix win in Russia Grand Prix

    History was made under a stormy afternoon in Sochi, Russia, after Sir Lewis Hamilton took advantage of Lando Norris’ late race misfortune to lead the final three laps and win the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrome on Sunday, September 26, for his 100th career win in Formula One.

    Hamilton, who started the weekend by wrecking twice during qualifying session and knocked one of his Mercedes crew members on pit road during the second practice session before lining up in fourth place on the grid, remained competitive throughout the event and methodically worked his way towards the front while Norris dominated in his McLaren.

    While the event started on dry conditions, rain fell on the circuit in the second half of the event and would produce slick conditions on the circuit for the remainder of the event. As Hamilton, who was battling Norris late, pitted for intermediate tyres in the closing laps, Norris elected to remain on the circuit on slick tyres. Then on Lap 51 of 53, Norris slipped and Hamilton capitalized to take the lead. From there, Hamilton was able to power his Mercedes home to the win.

    With his fifth Grand Prix victory of 2021, fifth in Russia and first since winning at Silverstone Circuit in July, Hamilton became the first competitor to reach F1’s winning centurion at 100. In addition, Hamilton extended Mercedes’ winning streak in Russia to eight consecutive seasons.

    Overall, Hamilton, who came into Russia trailing Max Verstappen by five points, leads the drivers’ championship standings by two points as Verstappen settled in second place following a slow start to the weekend.

    “It’s incredible,” Hamilton said. “Firstly, I just have to say a big, big thank you to my team. Without them, even today, fantastic on the pit stops, amazing with strategy and just continuing to not give up in this incredibly tight battle. I was really, really grateful for them just continuing to push. It’s taken a long time just to get that one win [100]. Our competitors are super fast as you can see, but nonetheless, I’m really grateful. I was pushing so hard. I had a difficult day yesterday, so I was like, ‘I’ve got to redeem myself somehow.’ Flat out. It’s a great, great feeling. I’m glad that I brought it home.”

    Norris, who achieved his maiden pole position on Saturday and who led a race-high 30 of 53 laps, settled in seventh after slipping on the wet circuit, pitting twice in the final laps and having a maiden F1 victory slip out of his reach in the final laps.

    “I could have won the race and I didn’t,” Norris, who was emotional but earned the Driver of the Day honors, said. “It’s the way it is, it’s the way it went. I made the decisions I made. They were, obviously, wrong at the end of the day. Tough one, but on the positive side, I guess I got a couple points and [teammate] Daniel [Ricciardo] did a good job as well for the team. It was a decent day.”

    Meanwhile, Verstappen rallied from a rough start of the weekend, where he was penalized three places on the grid for igniting a collision between himself and Hamilton in Italy in mid-September and penalized again after Red Bull Racing exceeded their power units use per season by installing a fourth Honda engine unit to Verstappen’s car ahead of this weekend’s event in Russia. Dropped to the rear of the field, Verstappen methodically worked his way to the front following a midway tyre change from hards to mediums and he ended up in second place for his 11th top-two result of 2021.

    “Super happy to be second,” Verstappen said. “If you would’ve told me this morning that I would come second today, I wouldn’t believe you. Luckily, the call to go from the slicks to inters was the perfect one at the right lap. That gave me the positions and keep the car on the track. Super pleased with this. It could’ve been a lot worse in terms of how many points I would lose. To come away with second here was, for us, very important.”

    Behind, Carlos Sainz Jr., who started on the front row, led 12 laps in his Ferrari before settling in third place and achieving his third podium result of this season.

    “It’s mainly [a] happy [podium result],” Sainz said. “I think as a team, as Ferrari, we need to keep analyzing and keeping seeing what we can do better with tyres, with fuel, top speed, to make sure that the next time a Ferrari’s leading a Grand Prix, we’re not overtaken so easy as it happened today. In general, it was a very strong race.”

    Daniel Ricciardo, winner of the previous Grand Prix event in Italy, finished fourth followed by Valtteri Bottas, who rallied from starting at the rear of the field after his Mercedes team elected to install a new power unit in his car.

    Fernando Alonso finished sixth ahead of Norris while Kimi Räikkönen returned from a two-race absence to settle in eighth. Sergio “Checo” Perez finished ninth and George Russell, who started in the top three, claimed the 10th and final points-paying result on the track.

    Aston Martin teammates Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel finished 11th and 12th followed by Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc. Antonio Giovinazzi finished 16th while rookies Yuki Tsunoda and Nikita Mazepin ended up 17th and 18th.

    Nicholas Latifi retired in 19th while Mick Schumacher suffered his first retirement of the season due to a hydraulics leak, thus finishing 20th.

    Results.

    1. Lewis Hamilton, 25 points, three laps led

    2. Max Verstappen, 18 points

    3. Carlos Sainz Jr., 15 points, 12 laps led

    4. Daniel Ricciardo, 12 points

    5. Valtteri Bottas, 10 points

    6. Fernando Alonso, eight points

    7. Lando Norris, seven points, 30 laps led

    8. Kimi Räikkönen, four points

    9. Sergio Perez, two points

    10. George Russell, one point

    11. Lance Stroll, +1

    12. Sebastian Vettel, +1

    13. Pierre Gasly, +1

    14. Esteban Ocon, +1

    15. Charles Leclerc, +1

    16. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

    17. Yuki Tsunoda, +1

    18. Nikita Mazepin, +2 laps

    19. Nicholas Latifi – Retired

    20. Mick Schumacher – Retired

    Following the 15th Grand Prix event of 2021, Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers’ standings by two points over Max Verstappen. On the other hand, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 33 points over Red Bull Racing and 163 over McLaren.

    Next on the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship schedule is Istanbul Park for the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, October 10.

  • Haas retains Schumacher, Mazepin for 2022 F1 season

    Haas retains Schumacher, Mazepin for 2022 F1 season

    Uralkali Haas F1 Team confirmed that Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will remain with the organization for the 2022 Formula One season.

    Haas, which is in its sixth season in F1 competition and first under the Uralkali title sponsorship, is ranked in 10th place in the constructors’ standings through the first 14 Grand Prix races of 2021 as the team has yet to record its first points of this season. The team is also embarking in its first season featuring an entirely new driver lineup with Schumacher and Mazepin.

    “We knew we wanted continuity behind the wheel in 2022 and I’m happy to confirm exactly that with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin competing for Uralkali Haas F1 Team next year,” Guenther Steiner, Haas’ Team Principal, said. “[The year] 2021 has afforded both drivers the opportunity to learn Formula 1 – and as rookies – they’ve done a lot of that this year.”

    Despite a difficult 2021 Formula One season, Haas has set its focus for the 2022 season that will feature new aerodynamic regulations as the team aims to regain its competitiveness.

    “It’s been a tough season for sure with the package we’ve had, but at the same time [Schumacher and Mazepin] both embraced the challenge and worked closely with the team to learn our processes and adapt to the rigors of a Formula 1 campaign and all that brings – both internally and externally,” Steiner added. “Now as we look ahead to the 2022 season, we’re confident we can move forward as a team and give Mick and Nikita a competitive race package to make the next step in their Formula 1 careers.”

    Schumacher, the 2020 Formula 2 champion and the son of seven-time F1 champion, Michael Schumacher, is currently ranked in 19th place in the drivers’ standings while embarking in his first full season in F1 competition. His best result in F1 to date is 12th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix in early August.

    “By being part of the Formula 1 field, I am living my dream,” Schumacher said. “The first year together with Haas F1 is very exciting and instructive, and I’m sure I can bring all the experience I’ve gained into the coming year. New technical regulations, the impressive ambition of the entire Haas F1 team and the support of Ferrari – of course I believe this will bring us closer to the field in the 2022 season and we will be able to fight for points. I’m looking forward to being part of a team that is getting stronger, and I’ll do everything I can from my side to move us forward. Finally, I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for the trust they continue to give me and the support they have shown me over the years.”

    Mazepin, who finished in fifth place in last year’s F2 standings with two victories and is the son of Dmitry Mazepin, chairman and core shareholder of the Uralchem Integrated Chemicals Company, including the title sponsor for Haas, is also competing in his first full season in F1 competition. His best result to date is 14th place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in early June and he is ranked in 21st place in the drivers’ standings.

    “I’m very excited for next year, the new car and simply just to get the opportunity with Haas F1 Team and grow together with them,” Mazepin said. “I think we will come out strong next year.”

    Haas’ full driver lineup for 2022 comes a week after the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team confirmed that Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will serve as the team’s competitors for the upcoming season. That all but leaves one of the 20 F1 seats for 2022 that is yet to be filled, which is at Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen. Valtteri Bottas, who currently competes with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, is set to join the organization next season to replace the retiring Kimi Räikkönen while Alfa Romeo’s second competitor, Antonio Giovinazzi, has yet to announce his plans for 2022.

    With the Haas F1 Team set for 2022, the team is also set to compete in the upcoming Grand Prix event at Sochi Autodrom in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on September 26.

  • Ricciardo leads a 1-2 victory for McLaren in Italian Grand Prix

    Ricciardo leads a 1-2 victory for McLaren in Italian Grand Prix

    While championship contenders Max Verstappen and Sir Lewis Hamilton were left fuming towards one another with wrecked race cars following a midway collision, Daniel Ricciardo rose to the occasion and snapped winless droughts for himself and the McLaren F1 Team by winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza Circuit on Sunday, September 12.

    The 32-year-old veteran from Perth, Australia, started the weekend by sharing the front row with former teammate Verstappen following a third-place result in the Italian Grand Prix F1 Sprint that occurred on Saturday, September 11. After leading the first 21 laps, Ricciardo returned to the lead on Lap 27, which he kept for the remainder of the event as he led a 1-2 finish across the line with teammate Lando Norris settling in a career-best runner-up result.

    With his eighth career victory in Formula One and first driving for McLaren, Ricciardo’s Italian win snapped a three-year winless drought that spans back to the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix. In addition, McLaren achieved its first victory in F1 since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and its first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix.

    “It’s definitely been crazy, it’s been a whirlwind, for sure,” Ricciardo said. “Definitely, there’s been days where it’s been the most challenging of my career to date. To come back to this point, to win, this result feels unbelievable. I’m certainly like overwhelmed and I’m on cloud 9 right now, but I’m not surprised. There was something in me that I knew that if we had a chance this week, we were gonna take it, whether a win or a podium. It was time to make the comeback.”

    Teammate Norris, who is still pursuing his first victory in F1, settled in second for his fourth podium result of the season. Still, there was nothing but a beaming smile across the Bristol, England’s face with the team victory.

    “Of course I’m happy,” Norris said. “I’m happy with my result, but [I’m] even happier knowing the fact that Daniel was first and as a team, we had a one-two, which I don’t think we would’ve ever believed coming into this season and even coming into this race. I’m so happy for everyone, for the mechanics, engineers, for [CEO] Zak [Brown] and the owners. It makes the race special. It makes the hard work and the pain worthwhile. When you are rewarded like this weekend and have a result like we did, it makes it so much worthwhile.”

    While the McLaren F1 Team celebrated, Verstappen and Hamilton were left fuming over one another following another on-track incident that resulted with both remaining in a tight draw for the championship battle. 

    The incident occurred on Lap 26 of 53 when Hamilton had just exited pit road and was blending back on the track at full speed. While Norris got by Hamilton, Hamilton then batted dead even with Verstappen through the first turn when Verstappen, who went to the outside of Hamilton’s Mercedes, bumped the curbs while off the course and ended up on top of Hamilton’s car, sending both competitors into the gravel trap and out of the race.

    “We saw that it was gonna be tight into Turn 1,” Verstappen said. “Lewis also realized that, so after the white line, he moved to the left on the braking. I already had to move on to the green side next to the track. Nevertheless, I thought we were gonna have a nice fight into Turn 1 through Turn 2, but as soon as I was next to him, he just kept squeezing me more and more to the left. Unfortunately, he ran me a bit too much out of road and then, I clipped the sausage curb and that’s why we touched.”

    “I was ahead going into the corner and the next thing you know, I guess Max went over the second curb or something like that,” Hamilton said. “He, obviously, knew at that point that he wasn’t going to make the corner and drove into me. The next thing you know, his [car’s] on top of me. Definitely unfortunate. We’ll speak to the stewards after this, for sure.”

    Following the event and the review of the incident, Verstappen was given a three-place penalty for the next scheduled Grand Prix event in Russia by the stewards. Nonetheless, Verstappen retained his lead in the drivers’ standings by five points over Hamilton.

    Behind the McLarens, Sergio “Checo” Perez, Red Bull’s second competitor, crossed the finish line in third place, but he was penalized five seconds for overtaking Charles Leclerc while off the course in the event. As a result, Valtteri Bottas, who won the Italian Grand Prix Sprint qualifying event on Saturday but started Sunday at the rear of the field due to an engine penalty, was promoted to third place as he claimed his eighth podium result of the season.

    Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, finished fourth while Perez fell back to fifth. Carlos Sainz Jr. came home in sixth followed by Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, George Russell and Esteban Ocon.

    Finishing outside the top-10 points-paying positions were Nicholas Latifi, Sebastian Vettel, Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Kubica and Mick Schumacher. Giovinazzi rallied from an opening lap spin while Kubica filled in as an interim competitor for Kimi Räikkönen for a second consecutive Grand Prix event.

    Rookie Nikita Mazepin retired in 16th, just ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen. Pierre Gasly, who claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory at Monza a year ago, could only complete the first couple of corners in the event before retiring after running into the rear of Ricciardo, losing his front wing and going dead straight into the barriers, which knocked him out of the event. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda did not even take the grid or compete in the event due to a mechanical issue, thus placing him in 20th place.

    Results:

    1. Daniel Ricciardo, 27 points, 48 laps led

    2. Lando Norris, 18 points, one lap led

    3. Valtteri Bottas, 18 points

    4. Charles Leclerc, 12 points, one lap led

    5. Sergio Perez, 10 points

    6. Carlos Sainz Jr., eight points

    7. Lance Stroll, six points

    8. Fernando Alonso, four points

    9. George Russell, two points

    10. Esteban Ocon, one point

    11. Nicholas Latifi

    12. Sebastian Vettel

    13. Antonio Giovinazzi

    14. Robert Kubica

    15. Mick Schumacher

    16. Nikita Mazepin – Retired

    17. Lewis Hamilton – Retired, two laps led

    18. Max Verstappen – Retired, two points, one lap led

    19. Pierre Gasly – Retired

    20. Yuki Tsunoda – Did not start

    Following an eventful Italian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by five points over Hamilton. With Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finishing third, two spots ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 18 points over Red Bull Racing with McLaren trailing by 147 points.

    The Formula One competitors will be taking a one-week break before returning to action at Sochi Autodrom for the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, September 26.