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Pierre Gasly must be wondering what could’ve been, after finishing eleventh at the Qatar Grand Prix despite starting the race from second on the grid at the Losail International Circuit. Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda struggled just as much in the race and finished thirteenth.

It could’ve been a special day for Gasly but instead it turned into a nightmare, the Frenchman who started from second after Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were awarded grid penalties, had a shocking race. Gasly struggled with pace from the get-go, and quickly tumbled down the order. Gasly’s pace was a huge surprise, after looking quick throughout practice and qualifying.

Gasly left the circuit frustrated after what could’ve been an excellent day for himself and the team.

“It’s a really frustrating day. Both Yuki and myself started in the top 10, but went massively backwards during the race. I was giving everything I had inside the car today, but we were just too slow. Even at the start I wasn’t able to stick with Alonso, so we tried to go for an aggressive two stop strategy, but the pace just wasn’t there.

“It didn’t work today, which is really disappointing. After the incident yesterday we changed some parts on the car, I don’t know if these could have impacted our race pace today, but we’ll have to go away and review everything, as I just can’t explain it right now.”

The Mclaren F1 Team’s hopes of finishing third in the Constructors’ standings are all but over, after a highly disappointing Qatar Grand Prix which saw Daniel Ricciardo finish twelfth and Lando Norris ninth after a late puncture at the Losail International Circuit.

The triple-header could not have gone any worse for Mclaren in their fight for third against Scuderia Ferrari, the Qatar Grand Prix sealed off what has been a disappointing few weeks for the team. Norris was looking set for a top five finish which would’ve kept the fight well and truly alive, had it not been for a late front-left puncture forcing him into the pits for an unplanned stop.

Ricciardo too had a difficult race after starting towards the bottom third of the grid, his hopes of points were hampered as well by fuel issues during the race. Mclaren now sit 39.5pts behind Ferrari with two races to go, the team will be hoping for a miracle from the remaining two races.

Team Principal Andreas Seidl is thankful for his team’s hard-work, and that they all need a week to reset the batteries before the final two events of the brutal 2021 season.

“This triple-header didn’t go our way. Lando drove a strong race today and looked set for P4 on merit, thanks to a competitive car, good strategy and an excellent pit-stop. A puncture took him out of contention, and he finished P9. When that happened, his Hard tyre had done fewer laps than the Soft tyre did in his first stint, so this was very unexpected.

It was late heartbreak for Lando Norris at the Qatar Grand Prix, after a late puncture ruined the British drivers hopes of a top five finish. Norris ended up in ninth with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finishing twelfth at the Losail International Circuit.

It was a disappointing end to what has been a tough triple-header for Norris, the British driver was comfortably looking at a top five finish before a late puncture forced him into an unplanned pit-stop. Norris was one of four drivers to experience a front-left puncture during the race, most likely caused by the horrible kerbs at the Losail International Circuit.

The extra stop dropped Norris to the foot of the points, behind both Scuderia Ferrari’s. Ninth was the best Norris could salvage from a difficult race. The Mclaren F1 Team driver was upset by the result after feeling confident in the race.

“A disappointing race. We could’ve scored some good points today. The car was very strong, I felt confident and we had good pace compared to everyone behind. Only Fernando [Alonso] had slightly better pace. I’m not sure we could’ve challenged for the podium, but we had good pace to go for P4, or at least P5, which would’ve been a great result for us. We lost that position through no fault of our own. It’s a huge shame, as the team worked really hard all weekend, but there was nothing we could do.”

“A weekend off is necessary” – Daniel Ricciardo

It was an equalling disappointing end to the triple-header for Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian made his life difficult in qualifying after ending the session fourteenth, leaving him with plenty of work during the race. With overtaking predicted to be difficult during the race, Ricciardo struggled to make much ground into the points, his hopes weren’t helped either by a fuel issue.

Mattia Binotto says Scuderia Ferrari’s result in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix has moved them one step closer to their goal of finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship in 2021, even if both Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc were forced to drive cautiously throughout the race.

Sainz finished seventh and Leclerc eighth on Sunday, with both being told to be cautious to prevent any unnecessary tyre wear around the Losail International Circuit.  The last time they raced on such an abrasive circuit was in the French Grand Prix where Ferrari failed to score a point as they struggled to maintain life in the tyres.

Binotto, the Team Principal at Ferrari, says the mechanics can be proud to have changed Leclerc’s chassis in time for the race without needing any kind of grid penalty, and both drivers can take credit for the way they drove as they extended their points advantage over the McLaren F1 Team to thirty-nine and a half points with only two races remaining.

“A result to be viewed in light of the championship, which has seen us take another step forward towards the goal we have set ourselves for this final part of the season,” said Binotto.  “We knew we might struggle at this track in terms of tyre wear, as was the case in Paul Ricard for example.

“We therefore asked our drivers to adopt a cautious approach at all times, without taking risks while trying to make a one-stop strategy work. It was a conservative approach, but given what we saw in the closing stages, it paid off.

Carlos Sainz Jr. admitted that the tyre management he was forced to do during the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday made for a less than interesting evening behind the wheel, but he was rewarded with a seventh-place finish at the Losail International Circuit.

Sainz finished a place behind where he started, mostly due to the late punctures suffered by Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris, with the Spaniard having been jumped by Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll during the race.

Despite this, when the Scuderia Ferrari driver was let off the leash in the final few laps, he was able to close down on the battle for fifth place between Ocon and Stroll, although being in the drag reduction system (DRS) train made it impossible for him to make any place gains.

“It wasn’t the most entertaining race today for us due to the amount of tyre management we had to do,” said Sainz.  “However, we did a good job and managed to finish on the one-stop strategy, despite the doubts we had prior to the race.

“As expected, the race start on the Medium tyre was tough for me and I struggled to fight with the cars around me.  From there I just focused on extending the first stint to the maximum and then taking care of the Hard tyre during the first laps of the second stint.

Despite fears the venue won’t be ready in time, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is almost complete, with the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix just two weeks away and could even see a new world champion crowned.

The circuit which like some on the calendar is a temporary facility, only began to be constructed back in April this year, with the circuit set to be completed in the coming days. No Formula One circuit has ever been built this fast before, demonstrating the excellent job that has been done by the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix workforce.

The circuit has been built under the strictest health protocols with all workers forced to complete the ATLAS safety induction programme, the course was compulsory for all Saudi Arabian Grand Prix workers. Anyone who either failed or didn’t take the induction, was denied entry to the venue on the spot.

The event promoter and organisers have utilised vital support from across the globe, working with three-thousand on-site contractors and fifty companies. The circuit has been developed with the help of Tilke Engineers and Formula One’s Motorsport Division, to design a circuit using the long sweeping roads of the Corniche area alongside the coast. It will be one of the most challenging and unique circuits on the calendar.

The circuit consists of a record-equalling twenty-seven corners, sixteen left and eleven right in addition to three DRS activation zones, and a twelve-degree banked corner at Turn 13. The race will take place at night under the floodlights in Saudi Arabia’s second biggest city by population, alongside the kingdoms west coast by the Red Sea. It will be a spectacle for all to see.

Otmar Szafnauer was full of praise for both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel as they both finished inside the points in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, the first time since the French Grand Prix where both Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team drivers ended inside the top ten.

Stroll climbed from twelfth on the grid to finish an excellent sixth after running a one-stop strategy, while Vettel recovered from being pushed wide at turn one and dropping down to seventeenth to take tenth, also with only one trip to the pit lane.

Szafnauer, the CEO and Team Principal at Aston Martin, says it is a nice feeling for everyone within the team to see both drivers have strong performances at the Losail International Circuit and score nine points towards the Constructors’ Championship.

“That was a complex race from a technical point of view, and I want to pay tribute to two brilliant drives, particularly by Lance, who managed tyre wear and pressure from the Ferraris superbly to finish sixth under intense racing throughout all 57 laps,” said Szafnauer. “He was the star of our race today. 

“Sebastian was pushed wide at the start by [Valtteri] Bottas, and had to take to the artificial grass to avoid an accident, which dropped him back to P17, having started from a P10 grid slot. He drove hard and consistently well thereafter, ending up back in the points.

Lance Stroll made a one-stop strategy work to his advantage during Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, with the Canadian gaining six places from his starting position to claim sixth place at the Losail International Circuit.

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team driver made up a couple of places on the opening lap and was able to pass Yuki Tsunoda on track before jumping Carlos Sainz Jr. in the pit stops. He then moved up two spots following the punctures to both Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris.

He finished on the tail of Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon, with Stroll feeling satisfied to score eight points at the end of a difficult triple-header for the Canadian.

“The car felt very good today and I am very happy with our performance,” said Stroll.  “I made up a couple of places on lap one and over the first stint it was clear that we had pace to perform well.

“I overtook [Yuki] Tsunoda on the Mediums and then, after catching the guys ahead, undercut [Carlos] Sainz to move into sixth after stopping for the Hards.

The SCORE International Baja 1000 is a test of endurance unlike any other in North America. The 54th edition saw 302 entries push through 1,226.35 miles (1,973.62 km) of Baja California desert from Ensenada to La Paz. Throughout the three days of racing, stories ranged from longtime faces continuing to assert their dominance, such as Mark Samuels‘ stable dominating the motorcycles en route to his sixth win in the event, to newcomers making an impact, perhaps most notably Alexander Rossi claiming his maiden Baja 1000 win.

Samuels and his #1X Honda team of Justin Morgan, Kendall Norman, and Brandon Prieto dominated the Pro Moto Unlimited class and overall for motorcycles, as they were the only bike to complete the track in less than 24 hours at 23 hours, 7 minutes, 18.363 seconds. It is Samuels’ second in a row and third in the last four years, while Morgan secures his fifth straight and Norman gets his first since 2011 and seventh. The #5X of Derek Ausserbauer, Colton Udall, and Brandon Petersen provided the closest challenge, but had only reached the 1201st mile when the #1x finished the race and would finish after 24 hours, 22 minutes, 46.894 seconds.

Many of the first to reach La Paz were bikes like the two aforementioned teams, which is to be expected as such vehicles began the 1000 seven hours before the cars. Nevertheless, the fastest time elapsed from start to finish came from the cars as the top five overall times were filled by Trophy Trucks. Rob MacCachren, a 2011 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, added a fifth Baja 1000 to his trophy room after previously winning in 2007 and from 2014 to 2016 while team-mate Luke McMillin scored his second consecutive win. While the duo’s #11 showed plenty of speed throughout, they spent much of the early stages chasing down the dominant #7 truck of Bryce Menzies and McMillin’s cousin Andy McMillin. However, Menzies’ hopes of claiming his maiden 1000 were dashed at the 684th mile when an alternator bolt broke shortly after McMillin took over the truck. The MacCachren/McMillin duo finished with a time of 20 hours, 45 minutes, 58.908 seconds, over 33 seconds ahead of the #21 piloted by Tavo Vildosola, father Gustavo, and Ricky Johnson.

Fourth was 2019 overall winner Alan Ampudia, Jax Redline, and rally icon Ken Block; Block previously ran the 2007 Baja 1000 in the Baja Challenge class, with 2021 marking his first time racing in Trophy Trucks. The Ampudia/Redline/Block #10 was the highest finisher of the 172 that received a time penalty, getting eighteen minutes added to their time for speeding. It is a fairly light punishment compared to what others got, with eight having over an hour placed for multiple infractions like speeding and missing Virtual Checkpoints; the #264 Trophy Truck Spec of Pierce, Thor, and Riley Herbst were also slapped with a one-hour penalty for “deliberate, abusive nerfing”, while Samuel Araiza Vazquez‘s #2996 Pro UTV Forced Induction had two hours for speeding. Ironically, the #10’s finishing position came as the result of another rival being penalised as Tim and Troy Herbst‘s #19 TT was relegated from fourth to fifth for an eighteen-minute speeding infraction.

Three-time 1000 winner Robby Gordon finished seventh in TT alongside fellow ex-NASCAR driver Casey Mears and Steve Strobel. Gordon’s run ended with him being responsible what is one of the coolest acts of kindness in racing: with miles before the finish, he encountered fellow Trophy Truck driver Larry Roeseler, whose truck lost its transmission which prompted Gordon to tow him for eight miles closer to the end. Upon regaining power, Roeseler finished the race on his own, one spot behind Gordon; the 64-year-old, a record thirteen-time 1000 victor, was the oldest competitor in the field to attempt all 1,227 miles with no replacement drivers. These “ironmen” also enjoyed success stories in other divisions as six of thirteen finished in the Pro Moto Ironman class (won by Juan Carlos Salvatierra) while both Pro Quad Ironman riders Miguel Angel Arranz Lopez and Francisco Javier Villavicencio completed the race.

The Alpine F1 Team will always remember the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix, after Fernando Alonso returned to the podium for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix. There was yet more delight for Alpine with Esteban Ocon securing an excellent fifth place at the Losail International Circuit.

It was an unbelievable drive from both Alonso and Ocon, who were two of the few drivers to risk a one-stop strategy. The risk was well and truly met with a reward, with both cars securing top five finishes. Alonso sat in third the majority of the race after starting in that place for the race, after Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were awarded grid penalties.

Alonso had overtaken Pierre Gasly for second but then lost the spot to a charging Verstappen. Alonso was later overtaken by Sergio Pérez, however the Mexican fell back behind the Spaniard after being on a two-stop strategy. Pérez was then flying in the closing stages of the race but was momentarily held up by Ocon who defended valiantly.

Ocon’s defending may have secured Alonso the podium, with a late VSC leaving Pérez just a couple of seconds behind Alonso. The result means Alpine are somewhat comfortable now in fifth place in the Constructors’ standings, twenty-five points ahead of Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda with two races remaining.

Alpine’s Chief Executive Laurent Rossi was so happy for Alonso and the team as a whole, after a brilliant weekend for the entire Alpine F1 Team.

It was a first-ever Qatar Grand Prix to remember for Fernando Alonso, after securing an unbelievable third place at the Losail International Circuit for his first podium since 2014. Team-mate Esteban Ocon finished fifth in what was the perfect weekend for the Alpine F1 Team.

Fernando Alonso returned to the podium for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, one-hundred-forty-six races ago, after taking an incredible risk of running a one-stop strategy. The Spaniard’s risk was met with the ultimate reward as Alonso stepped foot on the rostrum. He raced brilliantly after starting from third due to Valtteri Bottas’s and Max Verstappen’s grid penalties, and quickly overtook Pierre Gasly for second in the early stages of the race.

Alonso was only overtaken by Verstappen who finished second and Sergio Pérez who finished fourth, the Mexican was on a two-stop strategy so had a pit-stops worth of time to make up on Alonso. The veteran was helped by a late VSC for a stricken Nicholas Latifi, halting a charging Pérez who only finished a couple seconds behind.

The Double-world champion is overwhelmed to be back on the podium after a super weekend.

“It felt fantastic today and to be back on the podium was so good. We deserved this result as a team and I’ve had to wait seven years since my last one. Hopefully we don’t need to wait this long again! We took some risks with the one-stop strategy but it worked out well. We had some strong pace and despite Perez catching us at the end we did enough to hang on.

Red Bull Racing are now just five points behind the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the Constructors’ championship, after Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez recovered to second and fourth respectively at the Losail International Circuit.

It was an overall strong Qatar Grand Prix for Red Bull despite both of their drivers starting in unordinary positions. Verstappen started the race in seventh after being awarded a five-place grid penalty, and Pérez started eleventh.

Both made rapid progress through the pack after making excellent starts. Verstappen quickly found his way through the field and up to second, where he finished the race behind title-rival Lewis Hamilton who closed the gap to Verstappen down to just eight points.

Pérez took slightly longer to climb into the top five after starting further down, however he did eventually get himself up to fourth where he tried to chase down Fernando Alonso for third. Unfortunately for Pérez he couldn’t catch the Spaniard in time, a late VSC to recover Nicholas Latifi’s stricken car meant Pérez didn’t have the time to get onto the podium.

Red Bull would’ve happily taken second and fourth going into the race, especially with Valtteri Bottas retiring late on. Red Bull sit just five points behind Mercedes with two races to go.

World championship leader Max Verstappen finished an excellent second at the Qatar Grand Prix, in what was damage limitation for the Dutchman after starting the race in seventh. Team-mate Sergio Pérez just missed out on the podium in fourth.

Verstappen’s race was made more difficult before it had even begun, the Dutchman was awarded a five-second grid penalty dropping him from second to seventh, after being deemed to have ignored double-waved yellow flags during qualifying.

Verstappen recovered from this setback in rapid fashion, the championship leader quickly found himself in second after a super start followed by some great overtakes. By the time he was up to second though it was already clear that race-winner Lewis Hamilton was just too fast, Verstappen finished comfortably being the current world champion.

Second place and the fastest lap though means Verstappen reduced the number of points Hamilton could claw back, the Dutchman now leads the championship by just eight points with two races remaining. Verstappen is happy with second after what has been a tough weekend.

“I’m of course happy with the result today. This weekend has been quite difficult for us as a Team and we are still lacking pace, I tried everything I could after the five-place grid penalty so to finish in second and score the fastest lap is really good. I had an exciting start and I knew that the first few laps were really important, I had a good launch and I was fairly quickly back in to second place, from there I tried to keep the gap small and that worked out quite well.

Lewis Hamilton won the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix in what was a comfortable victory for the world champion ahead of Max Verstappen at the Losail International Circuit, however questions are being asked of Pirelli after numerous sudden tyre failures during the race.

Both Williams Racing drivers, Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas all suffered tyre failures during the Qatar Grand Prix, Nicholas Latifi and Bottas both retired from the race which was triggered by the tyre failures.

Hamilton won the race on a two-stop strategy, going from the mediums to the hards, then back to the mediums for the final stint. Verstappen followed suit but did do an extra stop on the penultimate lap onto the softs to go for fastest lap. The leading pair had a huge gap to those behind. Third place went to Fernando Alonso who stepped foot on the podium for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, he amazingly managed a one-stop race from the softs to the hards.

The four punctures during the race though does take some of the limelight away from the podium trio, with all the punctures during the race being on the front-left tyre. Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli Mario Isola, has said that they will find out what caused the punctures to happen.

“With Losail being a new and relatively unknown track, featuring some high energy corners, the teams headed into the race lacking all the information they would ideally want, with only one representative practice session. However, it became clear during the race that a one-stopper was very marginal in terms of tyre wear, requiring a high degree of management.

Lewis Hamilton won the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix to claim back-to-back victories, in what was a mixed evening at the Losail International Circuit for the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team with Valtteri Bottas retiring.

Hamilton controlled the race from start to finish after starting from pole, the world champion won in commanding fashing with title-rival Max Verstappen finishing second. The British driver was untroubled throughout and now sits just eight points behind the Dutchman with two races remaining.

For Valtteri Bottas it was a difficult race, the Finnish driver had to start from sixth after being awarded a three-place grid penalty and then had a horrendous start. The Finnish driver found himself outside the top ten by the end of the first lap, he then took his time to begin his charge through the field.

His charge was brought to a sudden halt however after suffering a puncture, dropping him too far outside the points to recover, the team decided to retire his car in order to save mileage.

The team now lead Red Bull Racing by just five points after Sergio Pérez recovered to fourth, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff knows that there are still many challenges remaining with just two races left this season.