2021 Qatar Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 20 of 22
[1] in the
2021 Formula One World Championship
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Race details [2] | |||||
Date | 21 November 2021 | ||||
Official name | Formula 1 Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021 | ||||
Location | Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Al Daayen, Qatar | ||||
Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
Course length | 5.380 km (3.343 miles) | ||||
Distance | 57 laps, 306.660 km (190.550 miles) | ||||
Weather | Clear | ||||
Attendance | 80,000 [3] | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver | Mercedes | ||||
Time | 1:20.827 | ||||
Fastest lap | |||||
Driver | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing- Honda | |||
Time | 1:23.196 on lap 57 (lap record) | ||||
Podium | |||||
First | Mercedes | ||||
Second | Red Bull Racing- Honda | ||||
Third | Alpine- Renault | ||||
Lap leaders |
The 2021 Qatar Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race, held on 21 November 2021 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, it was the 20th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the race ahead of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, while Alpine's Fernando Alonso scored his first podium since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, [4] as well as his first podium with Team Enstone since the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix.
As a result of Hamilton's victory, Losail became the 30th different circuit where he has won a Grand Prix. [5]
The Qatar Grand Prix did not feature on the original calendar, but was added in place of the Australian Grand Prix, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first Qatar Grand Prix, with a 10-year contract to host the Qatar Grand Prix from 2023 at a new purpose-built circuit; [6] there was no Qatar Grand Prix in 2022, as the country hosted the FIFA World Cup. [7] [8] [9]
Heading into the race, Max Verstappen led the World Drivers' Standings with 332.5 points, 14 points ahead of second-placed Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas was in third on 203 points, too far behind Verstappen to be able to win the title but 25 points ahead of Sergio Pérez in fourth, with Lando Norris fifth on 151 points. In the World Constructors' Standings, Mercedes led with 521.5 points, 11 points ahead of second-placed Red Bull Racing. Ferrari were third with 287.5 points ahead of McLaren on 256. Alpine and AlphaTauri were fifth and sixth with 112 points each, with Alpine being ahead courtesy of a win, compared to no wins for AlphaTauri. [10]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race or practice. [11]
Sole tyre supplier Pirelli allocated the C1, C2, and C3 compounds of tyre to be used during this Grand Prix weekend. [12]
The event held three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first two practice sessions were on Friday, 19 November at 13:30 and 17:00 local time ( UTC+03:00) respectively. The first practice session ended with Max Verstappen fastest for Red Bull Racing, ahead of AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. [13] Second practice ended with Valtteri Bottas fastest, then Gasly and Verstappen. [14] In the third practice session, held on Saturday from 14:00, Bottas was again fastest, with his teammate Hamilton second. [15]
Qualifying took place at 17:00 local time, and lasted one hour, with Hamilton qualifying on pole. Verstappen, who qualified second, received a five-grid place penalty for failure to respect double yellow flags in Q3. [15]
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
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Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:21.901 | 1:21.682 | 1:20.827 | 1 |
2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing- Honda | 1:21.996 | 1:21.984 | 1:21.424 | 7 1 |
3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:22.016 | 1:21.991 | 1:21.478 | 6 2 |
4 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri- Honda | 1:22.535 | 1:21.728 | 1:21.640 | 2 |
5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine- Renault | 1:22.422 | 1:21.894 | 1:21.670 | 3 |
6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren- Mercedes | 1:22.839 | 1:22.216 | 1:21.732 | 4 |
7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:22.304 | 1:22.241 | 1:21.840 | 5 |
8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri- Honda | 1:22.458 | 1:22.058 | 1:21.881 | 8 |
9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine- Renault | 1:22.565 | 1:22.012 | 1:22.028 | 9 |
10 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin- Mercedes | 1:22.549 | 1:22.146 | 1:22.785 | 10 |
11 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing- Honda | 1:22.398 | 1:22.346 | N/A | 11 |
12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin- Mercedes | 1:22.551 | 1:22.460 | N/A | 12 |
13 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:22.742 | 1:22.463 | N/A | 13 |
14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren- Mercedes | 1:22.688 | 1:22.597 | N/A | 14 |
15 | 63 | George Russell | Williams- Mercedes | 1:22.863 | 1:22.756 | N/A | 15 |
16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing- Ferrari | 1:23.156 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
17 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams- Mercedes | 1:23.213 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing- Ferrari | 1:23.262 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas- Ferrari | 1:23.407 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin [a] | Haas- Ferrari | 1:25.589 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
107% time: 1:27.634 | |||||||
Source: [17] [18] |
Notes
The race began at 17:00 local time and was contested over 57 laps. [15] The race was noted for four front-left tyre failures, as teams attempted to run one-stop strategies against Pirelli's advice. [21] [22] [23] Hamilton won the race, leading every lap, but Verstappen, who finished second, denied him a grand slam by setting the fastest lap. Fernando Alonso finished third, taking his first podium since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Notes
Drivers' Championship standings
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Constructors' Championship standings
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