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Verstappen inks long-term contract extension with Red Bull Racing

The reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has signed a new long-term contract extension to remain with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team through the 2028 F1 season, a deal that will commence following his initial contract that spans through 2023.

The 24-year-old Verstappen, who competes under the Dutch flag, is coming off his finest season to date, where he claimed 10 Grand Prix victories and won his maiden Formula One World Championship following a year-long battle and final lap duel with seven-time champion Sir Lewis Hamilton in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in December. In doing so, he became the first Dutchman to win a Formula One title and he delivered the fifth drivers’ championship for Red Bull Racing, a team that has competed in F1 since 2005.

“I really enjoy being part of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, so choosing to stay to the 2028 season was an easy decision,” Verstappen said. “I love this Team and last year was simply incredible, our goal since we came together in 2016 was to win the championship and we have done that, so now it’s about keeping the number one on the car long-term.”

Verstappen, who made his Formula One debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso at age 17 in 2015, claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory in his first start with Red Bull Racing at the Spanish Grand Prix in May 2016. In doing so, he became the youngest F1 Grand Prix winner at the age of 18 years and 228 days old. From 2016 through 2020, the Dutchman notched 10 Grand Prix victories, three poles, 42 podiums and two third-place results in the final driver’s standings (2019 and 2020).

Entering the 2022 season, Verstappen has recorded 20 victories, 13 poles, 60 poles and an average-finishing result of 7.0 in 141 career starts in Formula One. In addition, Red Bull Racing, which enters their first season with the newly formed Red Bull Powertrains division after taking over Honda’s engine programme and with Oracle as a title sponsor, have 75 career victories along with 73 poles and 206 podiums as they look to capture their sixth drivers’ championship and first constructors’ title since winning four in a row (2010-2013).

In capturing his maiden F1 world championship in 2021 along with a career-high 10 victories, Verstappen will sport the number 1 instead of 33 on his Red Bull RB18 car as he looks to defend his title.

“To have Max signed with Oracle Red Bull Racing through to the end of 2028 is a real statement of intent,” Christian Horner, CEO/Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, said. “Our immediate focus is on retaining Max’s World Championship title, but this deal also shows he is a part of the Team’s long-term planning. With the Red Bull Powertrains division working towards the new engine regulations for 2026 we wanted to make sure we had the best driver on the grid secured for that car.”

Verstappen will continue to compete alongside teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez, who enters his 12th full-time season as an F1 competitor with his second as a Red Bull Racing competitor. Perez, a 32-year-old veteran who competes under the Mexican flag, is also coming off a productive season, where he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June, notched a total of five podiums and finished in fourth place in the 2021 drivers’ standings.

Verstappen’s quest to defend his F1 world championship commences on March 20 at Bahrain International Circuit for the 2022 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

March 3, 2022
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.

December 12, 2021
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.

December 5, 2021
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.

November 21, 2021
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.

November 14, 2021
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.

November 7, 2021
Formula One 2021-22 Silly Season Update

Thirteen races down and nine remain to a competitive 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship season highlighted with a new financial regulation and budget cap for every team, aerodynamic and technical changes to the current F1 cars, sporting regulations, race weekend and on-track activity changes, calendar and circuit changes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a series of on- and off-track, competitive exchanges between two organizations (Mercedes and Red Bull) vying to emerge as champions of 2021.

Mixed into the competitive 2021 season are a series of changes pinpointing a number of drivers and teams prior to the 2022 F1 season, with nearly all of the 20 seats on the grid being filled and a majority having guaranteed spots to remain with their current organizations while others are bound to move to a new home for the new season.

Here is a rundown of each team and their driver lineup for next season:

For the first time since 2017, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, which entered this season as the reigning championship-winning team and currently leads this year’s constructors’ standings, will feature a new competitor to its two-car roster. That competitor is George Russell, who was named a Mercedes F1 driver for the 2022 season on September 7. Russell, a native from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, is currently competing in his third racing season with Williams Racing. Despite being mired back in 15th place in the drivers’ standings, he achieved his maiden podium result after qualifying and finishing second in the rain-shortened Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in late August. Russell will be a teammate to Sir Lewis Hamilton, the reigning seven-time F1 champion who has won four Grand Prix events this season and is runner-up in the current drivers’ standings. Hamilton, meanwhile, signed a two-year contract extension in early July to remain with Mercedes, a deal spanning to 2023, as he continues to his pursuit for a record-setting eighth Formula One title and 100 Grand Prix victories.

Russell’s transition to Mercedes means that he will be replacing Valtteri Bottas, a native from Nastola, Finland, who has been competing with the silver arrow team since 2017 and has achieved nine career wins in F1. While he has yet to achieve his first Grand Prix victory of 2021, Bottas is up in third place in the drivers’ standings. The Finnish competitor, though, revealed on September 6 that he will be joining Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen on a multi-year basis, beginning in 2022. Bottas will be replacing Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 F1 champion who announced his intention to retire from the sport on September 1. Alfa Romeo has yet to announce its full two-car driver lineup for next season, with the status of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo’s current second competitor and a third-year F1 driver from Martina, Italy, unconfirmed.

Like Mercedes, the Williams Racing team will feature a new competitor to its organization next season. That competitor is Alexander Albon, a former Red Bull Racing competitor who has competed under the Thai flag, as announced on September 8. Albon made his Formula One debut in 2019 while driving for Toro Rosso, now know as AlphaTauri. Midway into the season, he replaced Pierre Gasly to drive for Red Bull and continued to drive for the team through 2020, where he earned two podium results, before being demoted to the role of reserve and development for Red Bull this season. Albon will be a teammate to Nicholas Latifi, a native from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who is in his second full-time season in F1 and will remain with Williams for the 2022 season. Latifi is currently in 16th place in the drivers’ standings, one spot behind his current teammate, George Russell, while the Williams team is up in eighth place in the constructors’ standings following four top-10 points-paying results.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing Honda, which is runner-up in the constructors’ standings behind Mercedes, will be retaining its two-driver lineup for the 2022 season. Max Verstappen, the current championship leader who has won seven Grand Prix races this season, including the recent Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort, is guaranteed to be with the team through 2023 while Sergio “Checo” Perez, an 11-year racing veteran who won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June, signed a one-year contract extension on August 27 to remain as a Red Bull competitor for another season. Perez is ranked in fifth place in the drivers’ standings.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda, a sister team to Red Bull Racing, will also feature the return of Pierre Gasly and rookie Yuki Tsunoda as the team’s two drivers for 2022, which was confirmed on September 7. Gasly, winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, has achieved a podium result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June along with 12 top-10 points-paying results while Tsunoda, the 2018 F4 Japanese champion, a three-time Formula 2 winner and a newcomer to Formula One this season, has finished in the top-10 five times. Gasly is currently in eighth place in the drivers’ standings, five spots ahead of teammate Tsunoda, while AlphaTauri is ranked in sixth place in the constructors’ standings.

Like the two Red Bull organizations, Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, which is ranked in third place in the constructors’ standings, will feature no changes to its driver lineup for next season. Charles Leclerc, who has won his maiden two Grand Prix races since joining the historic organization in 2019 and is placed in sixth in the current drivers’ standings, is under contract with Ferrari through 2024 while Carlos Sainz Jr., the newest member of the organization who has achieved four podium results since 2019, is scheduled to retain his Ferrari seat for 2022. Sainz, currently, is a spot behind teammate Leclerc in the standings.

Another team that will feature no changes to its driver lineup is the McLaren F1 Team, which is ranked in fourth place in the constructors’ standings. Lando Norris, who has achieved four podium results since 2020 and is in fourth place in the drivers’ standings, inked a fresh multi-year contract in May to remain as a McLaren F1 competitor for 2022 and beyond while Daniel Ricciardo, the team’s newest competitor and a seven-time Grand Prix winner, is slated to remain with the organization on a multi-year basis. Ricciardo is ranked in ninth place in the drivers’ standings, five spots behind his teammate, with nine top-10 results.

Coming off their recent on-track successes, the Alpine F1 Team, which rebranded from Renault and is in fifth place in the constructors’ standings, will also feature no changes to its lineup for the 2022 season. Esteban Ocon, who won his maiden Grand Prix event in Hungary in early August and is 11th in the drivers’ standings, signed a contract extension in mid-June to remain with Alpine through 2024 while Fernando Alonso, a two-time F1 champion who returned to full-time competition following a two-year break, confirmed in late August that he will return to compete with Alpine next season. Alonso is currently a position ahead of teammate Ocon in the standings.

Despite enduring an up-and-down season, the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team, which rebranded from Racing Point and is placed in seventh in the constructors’ standings, is expected to retain Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll as the team’s two drivers for next season. Vettel, a four-time Formula One champion who achieved his first podium result with the team at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June, is in 12th place in the drivers’ standings, two spots ahead of teammate Stroll, who has achieved six top-10 points-paying results.

Finally, the Uralkali Haas F1 Team, which sits in the bottom of the constructors’ standings and has yet to score a single point through 13 scheduled Grand Prix events, is also expected to retain its two-driver lineup for the 2022 season. Mick Schumacher, an F1 newcomer and the reigning Formula 2 champion who is the son of seven-time F1 champion, Michael Schumacher, is in a tie at the bottom of the drivers’ standings with his rookie teammate Nikita Mazepin, who finished in fifth place in the 2020 F2 standings with two victories and is the son of Dmitry Mazepin, a Russian businessman who is also the chairman and core shareholder of Uralchem Integrated Chemicals Company.

With the 2022 Formula One full driver-team lineup yet to be determined, the 2021 F1 season is scheduled to resume at Monza Circuit for the Italian Grand Prix on September 12 followed by Sochi Autodrom for the Russian Grand Prix on September 26.

September 10, 2021
Verstappen wins the Dutch Grand Prix; reassumes championship lead

Max Verstappen launched himself back into the lead in the championship standings after claiming a dominating win in the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort on Sunday, September 5, and to the delight of his home crowd.

Verstappen, who started on pole position and who won last weekend’s bizarre, rain-shortened Belgium Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, led all 72 scheduled laps and crossed the finish line by nearly 21 seconds ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton to grab his seventh Grand Prix victory of the season and the 17th of his career at his home track, which sent the crowd overjoyed and lighting up orange smoke to celebrate with the Dutchman.

The 2021 Dutch Grand Prix was a first for the event since 1985, which was last won by the late three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda. Verstappen’s victory all but elevated him back to the lead in the drivers’ standings over Hamilton as he continues his pursuit for his first F1 championship.

“Incredible feeling, of course,” Verstappen said. “I know the fans expect a lot going into the weekend, but it’s never easy to fulfill that. This weekend has been great. Also the race, Lewis was putting on the pressure a lot. It was basically 72 laps of pushing to try and stay ahead. It was a good one with all the people and fans here supporting you. It was just an incredible sight.”

Hamilton, who pitted late for fresh tires, settled in second place for his ninth top-two result of this season as he claimed the fastest lap of the race followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas, who did not pursue the fastest lap on soft tyres in the final laps but moved up to third place in the drivers’ standings.

“Today was [a] killer,” Hamilton said. “[Verstappen and Red Bull] were so fast today. That’s the quickest, I think, they’ve been all year. But I gave it everything, anyways. I think today, being that we weren’t quick enough, we needed everything to really work out for us like traffic, which didn’t. We needed pit stops to be perfect, which wasn’t. We needed strategy to be on point, and it wasn’t quite perfect. Even then, if all that was perfect, it would’ve still been hard to get by [Verstappen]. We gave it everything. Long way to go.”

“I committed to one stop [pit stop] quite early on in the race,” Bottas said. “It meant I definitely had to more [tyre] management that Lewis and Max were doing. I think one stop was quite a way off of two stop today. The tyre wear and the vibrations were quite tricky. In the end, I still stopped just for safety. It was like a mix of one or two stop for me, not early.”

Pierre Gasly came home in a strong fourth place followed by Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso overtook fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz on the final lap to place in sixth followed by Sergio “Checo” Perez. Esteban Ocon, winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix in early August, finished ninth while Lando Norris claimed the 10th and final points-paying result.

Daniel Ricciardo was the first competitor to finish outside of the points in 11th followed by Lance Stroll, Sebastian Vettel, Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Kubica, who returned to F1 since 2019 and filled in for Kimi Räikkönen after the Finnish competitor tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the weekend.

Nicholas Latifi finished 16th while George Russell, who is coming off his maiden podium result at Spa, retired in 17th. Rookie Mick Schumacher concluded his race in 18th followed by Yuki Tsunoda and Nikita Mazepin, both of whom retired in 19th and 20th.

Results:

1. Max Verstappen, 25 points, 72 laps led

2. Lewis Hamilton, 19 points

3. Valtteri Bottas, 15 points

4. Pierre Gasly, 12 points, +1 lap

5. Charles Leclerc, 10 points, +1 lap

6. Fernando Alonso, eight points, +1 lap

7. Carlos Sainz, six points, +1 lap

8. Sergio Perez, four points, +1 lap

9. Esteban Ocon, two points, +1 lap

10. Lando Norris, one point, +1 lap

11. Daniel Ricciardo, +1 lap

12. Lance Stroll, +2 laps

13. Sebastian Vettel, +2 laps

14. Antonio Giovinazzi, +2 laps

15. Robert Kubica, +2 laps

16. Nicholas Latifi, +2 laps

17. George Russell – Retired

18. Mick Schumacher, +3 laps

19. Yuki Tsunoda – Retired

20. Nikita Mazepin – Retire

Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by three points over Hamilton. Meanwhile, Mercedes leads the constructors’ standings by 12 points over Red Bull while Ferrari trails by 163 points.

Next on the 2021 Formula One schedule is Monza Circuit for the Italian Grand Prix, which will occur on Sunday, September 12.

September 5, 2021
Hamilton achieves eighth victory at Silverstone following early collision with Verstappen

Only one victory separates Sir Lewis Hamilton from reaching a major milestone in his Formula One racing career after the reigning seven-time champion snapped a five-race winless drought to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit on Sunday, July 18.

The victory was Hamilton’s fourth of the 2021 F1 season, an all-time eighth victory at Silverstone and the 99th of his career, the most victories all-time in Formula One history.

Hamilton’s victory, however, did not come without controversy following a first-lap collision between himself and title rival Max Verstappen in the first corner, where contact between the two sent Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine spinning and making hard contact against the infield tire barriers, knocking him out of the race and costing the Dutchman a bevy of points in the championship standings. Though he climbed out of his battered car, Verstappen, who retired in 20th place, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Following the incident, Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty, which he served on Lap 28 of 52 while pitting. Falling back to fifth, the Stevenage, England, native, who is a hometown hero at Silverstone, was able to methodically work his way back to the podium spots and overtake Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on Lap 50 to return to the lead. From there, Hamilton pulled away and was able to claim the checkered flag by nearly four seconds over Leclerc.

With the turn of events and the collision between the two championship contenders, Hamilton, who started the event trailing Verstappen by 33 points, is behind by eight points as he continues his pursuit for an record-setting eighth F1 title.

“I thought I was gonna have a heart attack, to be honest,” Hamilton, who shared the victory with his home crowd, said. “When I got out of the car, it was very emotional. The whole parade lap with the British flag, really proud moment for me. And the emotions just build up more and more as you come around to the end. And then, you just wanna go and hug everyone…What a beautiful day, what a blessing it is…Hopefully, [the win] brought some joy for England.”

While addressing the incident with Verstappen, Hamilton withstood his ground and his focus to battle Verstappen and Red Bull Racing to the end for the title.

“I’m open to [a conversation with Verstappen],” Hamilton said. “I don’t have any issues. I don’t know what really to say. Just game on. We’re just gonna keep on attacking. There needs to be respect on the track and if not, then this [incident] will happen more often. I’ve tried my hardest to stay as clean as possible.

Verstappen was not available for comment, but Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s team principal, expressed his frustration towards Hamilton over the incident.

“It’s disappointing for a driver that’s won seven world championships to make a desperate error like that,” Horner said. “We’re just lucky today that it didn’t have a worse consequence. I don’t think that Lewis can take any real satisfaction out of that victory today because it was unacceptable what he did to Max.”

Behind Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, who led a race-high 49 of 52 laps compared to Hamilton’s three and who dealt with engine issues throughout the event, settled in the runner-up spot for his first podium result of the 2021 season and his first since last year’s British Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate, came home in third place for his sixth podium result of this season.

“I don’t really know how I feel,” Leclerc said. “I’ve got 50 percent of me that is super happy, 50 percent of me that is extremely disappointed to lose the win so close to the end. If you look at the overall picture, coming to the weekend, we did not expect to be fighting for a win. I thought it was over in the first stint when he had those engine cuts…I gave 200 percent of me, and it was very, very close.”

“We can take positives,” Bottas said. “I think, today, we worked well as a team. We got really good points, especially against Red Bull. So that is good.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had a slow pit stop on Lap 22, and Daniel Ricciardo finished in fourth and fifth followed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Fernando Alonso recorded a strong seventh-place result followed by Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and rookie Yuki Tsunoda.

Pierre Gasly settled in 11th, the first competitor outside of the top-10 points-scoring positions, followed by George Williams. Antonio Giovinazzi came home in 13th followed by Nicholas Latifi and Kimi Räikkönen.

Sergio “Checo” Perez, who started at the rear of the field and made a late pit stop for soft tyres, ended up in 16th followed by Haas drivers Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. Sebastian Vettel, who spun early, retired in 19th place.

Results:

1. Lewis Hamilton, 27 points

2. Charles Leclerc, 18 points

3. Valtteri Bottas, 16 points

4. Lando Norris, 12 points

5. Daniel Ricciardo, 10 points

6. Carlos Sainz, eight points

7. Fernando Alonso, six points

8. Lance Stroll, four points

9. Esteban Ocon, two points

10. Yuki Tsunoda, one point

11. Pierre Gasly

12. George Russell, +1 lap

13. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

14. Nicholas Latifi, +1 lap

15. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

16. Sergio Perez, +1 lap, one point

17. Nikita Mazepin, +1 lap

18. Mick Schumacher, +1 lap

19. Sebastian Vettel, Retired

20. Max Verstappen, Retired, three points

Despite his early incident and exit from the event, Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by eight points over Hamilton. In addition, Red Bull Racing continues to lead the constructors’ standings by four points over the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Next on the 2021 Formula One schedule is Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, August 1.

July 18, 2021
Verstappen sweeps Austria, extends championship lead

The recent momentum and domination for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing continued in Spielberg, Austria, after the 23-year-old Dutchman scored his fifth Grand Prix victory of the season in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, the ninth Grand Prix event of the 2021 Formula One season, as he also completed a two-race season sweep at the circuit.

Verstappen, who started on pole position for the fourth time this season, dominated the second Austrian Grand Prix event of the season as he led all 71 laps, a similar feat he made when he won last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. With a huge advantage over the field, he even made a pit stop with 10 laps remaining for four fresh tyres, which allowed him to pull away from runner-up finisher Valtteri Bottas and establish the fastest lap of the event before claiming the checkered flag.

With his 15th career victory in Formula One, third in a row in recent weeks after winning the French and Styrian Grand Prix events, Verstappen extended his lead in the drivers’ championship standings to 32 over Sir Lewis Hamilton.

“Yeah, it was really, really good today,” Verstappen said. “I expected it to be good, but not this good. Really, really happy with how the whole race went. You don’t get these races often. You have to take it and enjoy it. When you feel good in the car, you have a good balance and [the crew does] not mention your lap times, which is exactly what you want, and that’s why we could extend our gap like this.”

“[Verstappen] was in a league of his own these last two weekends,” Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s team principal, said. “I think he’s pretty much led every single lap that we’ve done here. A phenomenal performance by him and the team, and extending both leads in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. I think [Verstappen]’s just taking things session by session, race by race. He’s not letting his concentration drift. We’ve had a phenomenal start, we’ve built some great momentum and we’ve got to carry that on, but there are some big races coming up.”

Behind Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas notched a strong runner-up result for his fifth podium result of the season while Lando Norris, who started on the front row, came home in third place for his third podium result of this season, fourth of his career and second in Austria. The podium result for Norris occurred after he rallied from a five-second penalty for forcing Sergio “Checo” Perez off the course and into the gravel.

“I think it was a strong race,” Bottas said. “Definitely, starting fifth and ending up second was the maximum today we could get. We need to keep working. We have two weeks to try and find more pace, but also, we have some upgrades planned for Silverstone, so hopefully, they will help. Hopefully, we can carry this good momentum. I just try to look ahead.”

“Whether or not, we can keep this up at every race track,” Norris said. “This is one of the tracks we’ve done well every single year, qualifying and the race. It’s always been one of our best circuits of the season, so I think the main thing is we don’t get too complacent and think this is where we are now because just last weekend, where we didn’t have two weeks to nail everything, the car wasn’t good enough, so yeah, we had a great day today and we’ve been fast all weekend, but I don’t expect to be like this every single weekend throughout the rest of the season. I think there’s gonna be much tougher again and not so much glory, so we’ll see.

Meanwhile, Sir Lewis Hamilton, fresh off a two-year contract extension with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, ended up in fourth place after slipping in the final laps due to sustaining aerodynamic damage from running over the curbs.

Behind, Sergio “Checo” Perez, coming off a podium result in France and a fourth-place result in Styria, finished in fifth. Perez, however, was hit with a pair of time penalties as a result of forcing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc off the course and into the gravel on two separate occasions. As a result, Carlos Sainz, who crossed the finish line in sixth, was promoted to fifth place while Perez was penalized to sixth place.

Daniel Ricciardo rallied from a 13th-place result last weekend during the Styrian Grand Prix to finish in seventh while Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top-10 points-finishing positions.

George Russell, who was battling Alonso for the final points-finishing result, settled in 11th as he has yet to record the first points of the season for himself and the Williams Racing team. Rookie Yuki Tsunoda settled in 12th followed by Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi.

Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel ended up in 16th and 17th after both collided and wrecked on the final lap while Haas F1 drivers, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, settled in 18th and 19th.

Esteban Ocon ended his race in 20th, last place, following an opening lap incident with Giovinazzi and picking up damage to his Alpine machine.

Results:

1. Max Verstappen, 26 points, 71 laps led

2. Valtteri Bottas, 18 points

3. Lando Norris, 15 points

4. Lewis Hamilton, 12 points

5. Carlos Sainz, 10 points

6. Sergio Perez, eight points

7. Daniel Ricciardo, six points

8. Charles Leclerc, four points

9. Pierre Gasly, two points

10. Fernando Alonso, one point, +1 lap

11. George Russell, +1 lap

12. Yuki Tsunoda, +1 lap

13. Lance Stroll, +1 lap

14. Antonio Givinazzi, +1 lap

15. Nicholas Latifi, +1 lap

16. Kimi Räikkönen, +1 lap

17. Sebastian Vettel – DNF

18. Mick Schumacher, +2 laps

19. Nikita Mazepin, +2 laps

20. Esteban Ocon – DNF

Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by 32 points over Lewis Hamilton, 78 over teammate Sergio Perez, 81 over Lando Norris and 90 over Valtteri Bottas. Red Bull Racing continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 44 points over Mercedes, 145 over McLaren and 164 over Ferrari.

Next on the 2021 Formula One schedule is Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix on Sunday, July 18.

July 4, 2021