Tag: Hamilton

Bahrain Grand Prix Driver Ratings

There we go, that’s much better! The Bahrain Grand Prix extinguished any memories of last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix to put on a show in the desert; showcasing the best of Formula One.

Oscar Piastri made it look easy at the front with a commanding victory from pole position, however, behind him was pure entertainment. Several competing strategies meant a mixed up order throughout with overtaking all over the track, and a safety car to bunch the field, giving us action all the way to the end. Lando Norris managed to climb back up to third after a poor qualifying session. The Ferraris looked quick, and Lewis Hamilton appeared to be getting on top of his car, while the Red Bulls still seemed a step behind.

A shout-out to the rookies, in particular Ollie Bearman, who came from last to earn points—a great drive from the young Brit. There were solid performances all around; Antonelli had a great race even though he didn’t score any points, and so did Jack Doohan, but strategy decisions derailed their races.

Overall, it was a great race, exactly what we needed and a timely reinforcement for my next article on why Formula One should enforce each car to use all three dry tyre compounds per race. Look out for that shortly.

Right, into the ratings.

Oscar Piastri

Oscar dominated the weekend, securing a commanding victory from pole position. He led from start to finish, easing into the race during the first stint before pulling away in the second and third. The safety car briefly brought the pack closer, but Piastri remained untroubled, showing great speed and consistency.

8.8/10

George Russell

George Russell had another strong weekend, qualifying second but starting third due to a strange team penalty for instructing their drivers to leave the garage before the pit lane opened in Q2 after Ocon’s crash. He made a great start, taking second in the opening laps and holding his position throughout the race. His strategy of soft-medium-soft worked perfectly, and he held off Lando Norris in the closing stages to secure second place.

8.8/10

Lando Norris

Lando had a scruffy weekend in Bahrain which started in qualifying, leaving him sixth on the grid, and then a five-second penalty for being out of his grid box at the start cost him valuable time in the race. Despite this, he fought back to finish third, but more points dropped. In a tight title battle, he needs to be more consistent.

7.8/10

Charles Leclerc

The Monegasque driver outperformed his car, qualifying third and starting second after Russell’s penalty. Ferrari’s alternate strategy of starting on mediums saw him lose positions early, but he fought back with strong overtakes when he had the tyre advantage later on. A late switch to hards cost him some pace, but he held off Norris for a long time before finishing fourth.

8.2/10

Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champ had a better weekend, though qualifying remains an area he must improve upon, which is crazy to write. Starting ninth, he delivered a solid recovery drive, running medium-medium-hard, like his teammate. He showed strong pace in the middle stint, briefly climbing to fourth before settling for fifth. Progress with the car is evident, and he’ll look to build on this in Jeddah.


7.8/10

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen struggled with a twitchy Red Bull, qualifying seventh and finishing sixth. Brake issues hampered his ability to attack, and team operational problems in the pits cost him time. Despite these challenges, you’ve got to expect he extracted the most from his car, and did show great speed in bursts.


7.8/10

Pierre Gasly

Pierre was a standout performer in Bahrain, qualifying fifth and finishing seventh. He showed great pace throughout the weekend, battling with the top teams and narrowly losing out to Verstappen on the final lap. His consistency and aggression were impressive, making him my driver of the weekend.


9.1/10

Esteban Ocon

Ocon delivered a strong race, starting 14th after his Q2 shunt but finished seventh. An aggressive strategy of pitting early for fresh tires gave him a great undercut, and he maximized his pace in the Haas. This continues the team’s strong turnaround after a worrying start to the season in Australia.

8.5/10

Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda had a better weekend, qualifying tenth and finishing ninth. He was involved in battles throughout the race, including a collision with Carlos Sainz that ended the Ferrari driver’s race. Despite some setbacks, Tsunoda showed improved pace and consistency.

7.5/10

Ollie Bearman

Ollie Bearman was another star of the race, starting last after a poor qualifying but finishing tenth to score points. His overtakes and tyre management were exceptional, showcasing his potential as a rookie. This performance will boost his confidence moving forward.


8.9/10

Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli was another standout rookie, qualifying fifth and showing great pace throughout the race. Mercedes’ strategy cost him track position, but he fought back from 14th to finish 11th. His aggression and precision were impressive, even if he missed out on points.


8.1/10

Alex Albon

Alex Albon was unlucky to finish 12th after a strong race. He was on course for eighth before the safety car came out just after he pitted, dropping him down the order. Despite the setback, he showed good pace and made significant progress from 15th on the grid.


7.6/10

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg finished 13th in what is likely the slowest car on the grid. He took advantage of the chaos and safety car to move up the order, but there’s little more he could have done given the car’s limitations.


8.2/10

Isack Hadjar

Hadjar had a tougher weekend, qualifying 12th and finishing 14th. A slow start and aggressive strategy didn’t pay off, and he struggled to keep up with the pack after the safety car. It was a decent performance but not up to his recent standard.


7.3/10

Jack Doohan

Jack was unfortunate to finish 15th after running in the points for much of the race. A poorly timed pit stop before the safety car cost him track position, but he showed good pace and progress after a slow and, accident heavy, start to his F1 career.


7.4/10

Fernando Alonso

Alonso had a quiet race, qualifying 13th and finishing 16th. Aston Martin’s struggles continued, and there was little Alonso could do to make an impact. They are quickly becoming the forgotten team in 2025.


7.1/10

Liam Lawson

Lawson finished 17th after a race filled with battles and penalties. A ten-second penalty for a collision with Bortoleto summed up a difficult weekend for the man from Auckland. He is being shown up by the other rookies and needs to put in a performance quickly, before Helmut Marko gets another bout of itchy fingers.

6.2/10

Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll qualified 19th and finished 18th, reflecting Aston Martin’s struggles. He was largely invisible during the race, and there’s little to say about his performance. Again, sums Aston Martin up at the moment.


3.5/10

Gabriel Bortoleto

Gabriel Bortoleto finished 19th after being involved in a collision with Lawson. He struggled to make an impression really and made up the backmarkers throughout the race.


5.5/10

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz was unfortunate to retire after a collision with Tsunoda damaged his sidepod. He had a strong weekend, outqualifying his teammate and running in the points before the incident.


7.6/10

P.S.

Nico Hulkenberg was disqualified post-race for excessive plank wear, but his performance remains unchanged in the ratings.

Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings

F1’s first Sprint weekend of the year was by no means a classic. Still, McLaren will leave feeling pretty pleased with the way 2025 is shaping up as Oscar Piastri took a domination victory in China, leading home his teammate for an equally dominant 1-2 for the team in the main race. The Sprint was won in equally dominant fashion by Lewis Hamilton for Ferrari but Sunday turned into a disaster for the Scuderia as both cars were disqualified after post-race inspections.

While I will take into account the Sprint when picking my ratings, it’s the main race that really counts. I see the Sprint as equal to a qualifying session, it can help your score but isn’t going to define it. Lets get into it.

Oscar Piastri – 8.5

Oscar looked the quickest McLaren, and so the quickest car, pretty much all weekend apart from a few sectors in Quali but most importantly he was able to put the laps together when it counted, which Lando didn’t. Once Oscar defended Russell’s advances into Turn 1 and broke DRS to his teammate over the next lap or two, he wasn’t bothered again. This was a significant victory for the young Aussie, similar to Norris’ at Singapore last year. A mature, controlling drive from the front, to prove that they could do it. Finishing 2nd to Hamilton in the Sprint was a nice added extra, overtaking Verstappen late on to put that cherry on top.

Lando Norris – 7.1

A scruffy weekend for Lando as he got to grips with adapting his driving style to better suit the McLaren MCL39. He didn’t hook up the laps when needed in both qualifying sessions which left him out of ideal position. We are seeing Lando abandon final laps in Quali more regularly than the other top drivers, which will need to be remedied, those little mistakes can cost in a championship fight. He went backwards in the Sprint to finish 8th but came home with very solid points in 2nd for the main race, after nursing a brake issue late. Despite the scruffiness, 19 points is a good return.

George Russell – 7.9

Gorgeous George is living up to his name and driving beautifully at the moment. He has maximised his weekends so far in 2025. His final, front-row-securing lap in Quali was awesome (Lando take note) and set him up for his podium finish. He kept the McLarens honest throughout the race and even undercut Lando at the stops to take back 2nd. While he did lose it again soon after, he made sure that if the McLarens fell into problems, he would be the one to pick up the pieces, which very nearly happened.

Max Verstappen – 7.5

It’s hard to determine the outright speed of the Red Bull as his teammate is absolutely nowhere at the moment, but you have to assume that Max is pushing its performance as far as it can go. Which means that it is the 3rd fastest car in the field. So a 3rd and 4th place over the weekend for Max is essentially overachieving. He was really in no man’s land for most of the race. Not quick enough for the McLarens and George but fast enough to find his way past the Ferraris when needed. His highlight overtake of Leclerc around the outside of Turn 3 was simply lovely and his pace on the Hards will encourage Red Bull into Japan.

Esteban Ocon – 8.1

Ocon finds himself best of the rest after the Ferrari disqualification, in a fantastic 5th place. This was a really strong performance from the Frenchman, taking advantage of an optimised strategy with great pace on the hard tyre after pitting on Lap 11. His overtake on Antonelli into Turn 14 was really brave, putting half of his car on the grass and keeping his foot in. The adjustments Haas have made to their car have all been positive and Esteban took full advantage.

Kimi Antonelli – 7.3

Not quite as spectacular a performance as his debut in Aus, but another solid weekend. The performance gap between himself and Russell was 0.4 in quali which translated to around 40 seconds in the race but I think Kimi can be satisfied with that. No big mistakes and solid points again for 7th and 6th in the races, which is more than some of the other rookies. Another good foundational step for the young Italian.

Alex Albon – 7.5

Mr Reliable will be Albon’s new nickname I think. With 6 or 7 spots at the front accounted for through McLaren, Verstappen, Ferrari and the Mercedes, there are smaller points to fight for, for the likes of Williams, and Alex used his Williams well. Was comfortable with the medium wear in the first stint from 10th on the grid, and was consistent in the second to finish 9th on the road, which moved him up to 7th after the Ferraris DSQs.

Ollie Bearman – 7.7

Much better from Ollie in China! Which isn’t saying much after a disaster in Australia. After outqualifying his teammate for Sprint, he wasn’t able to get out of Q1 which we can put down to some rookie inconsistency and inexperience as others improved their setups in between the sessions. However, in the race he took advantage of the alternate strategy; starting on the hards and switching to the mediums and used his tyre advantage beautifully, setting multiple drivers up for lovely switchback moves at the Turn 14 hairpin to finish 10th and take his first points for Haas, which turned into even more once the DSQs were handed out. A great haul for Haas and a confidence booster for Bearman.

Lance Stroll – 7.1

Honestly, we didn’t see much of Stroll on TV this weekend but he did beat his teammate in both races! I know Alonso retired from one of them, but still! Stroll likes an alternate strategy and it worked for him in China. He gave the rest of the grid the green light to go to a 1 stop with his long stint on the hards and I did glimpse a nice lunge into the hairpin to overtake Lawson. Lance will take the points when he can get them in this Aston.

Carlos Sainz – 5.5

Sainz admitted himself that he was off the pace in China, and I agree with him. He is lucky to get his first point for Williams from the weekend and really only has the Ferraris, Alpine and Racing Bulls to thank. I say ‘only’ and then name a quarter of the grid, but DSQs and bad strategy gifted him this point. He never got close to Albon and the top half of any session. We will caulk it down to a learning weekend for the Spaniard.

Isack Hadjar – 7.4

Isack continued his strong start to 2025 (forget the incident we shall not mention last weekend), showing great pace throughout, even outqualifying Yuki to line up 7th! This Racing Bull is showing great speed, but it’s the strategy calls that are letting them down, and costing them points. Isack was on his way to them before the team called him in for a 2nd stop, which those around him didn’t take, saving them 25 seconds that Hadjar couldn’t claw back before the flag.

Liam Lawson – 3.2

Another struggle for Liam in China. This 2nd Red Bull is definitely the Bermuda Triangle at the moment but qualifying last in 2 of the three sessions so far this season is hard to explain away. His race pace wasn’t much to write home about either, he barely progressed in the race and only finished in front of Doohan and the two Saubers. This will be the last we see of Lawson in the Red Bull as the team has taken the extraordinary decision to replace him after two races, which even for them, this is pretty brutal. Lets see if Tsunoda can do any better.

Jack Doohan – 4.9

Another rookie that improved his performance in China, but was starting from a pretty low bar. Jack was more involved this weekend but still made up the bottom third of the pack. He out-qualified his teammate for the sprint but then went backwards over the weekend. He was the last driver on the lead lap at the chequered flag and got a slap on the wrist from the stewards for some late moves in defending from Hadjar, which was fair. Small progress, but with Colapinto waiting in the wings, and Red Bull setting the precedent, if Jack doesn’t improve quick, he could be the 2nd victim of 2025.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 6.7

A quiet but good weekend for Bortoleto. This weekend is unfortunately more a clear representation of the Sauber speed, likely the slowest car on the grid but Bortoleto completed THE objective, out-perform your teammate. He finished each session ahead of his more experienced and very fast teammate, despite a clumsy spin on the first lap which put him 10 seconds back from the pack.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5.2

A really quiet weekend from Hulkenberg. Never finished outside the bottom two runners across the competitive sessions. This is all I have to say! Beaten by his teammate consistently but I’m going to say that is more on Bortoleto doing a good job, than Nico doing a bad one.

Yuki Tsunoda – 7.9

Another weekend, another strategy call that cost Yuki points. He was driving beautifully and looking set to finish 6th before his team brought him in for a second stop, which everyone else decided against. This brought him out 16th and with lots of time to make up, and he was making some progress until his front wing failed, to add insult to injury, and forced him to pit for a 3rd time, ending the race in last. Yuki can take confidence though from these weekends, despite not collecting any points, and he is going to need it to tame the Red Bull he now finds himself in.

Fernando Alonso – 6.5

A very short race for Alonso in China, lasting only 4 laps before a fiery brake made him call it a day. He was in and around his teammate all weekend, both taking up positions at the fring of the points but not quite getting there, until the Ferrari’s were disqualified. That’s two DNFs in two to start 2025 for Fernando but neither were really his fault.

Charles Leclerc – 7.6

An interesting weekend for Charles, he was thoroughly outperformed by Hamilton in the Sprint section of the weekend but then thoroughly outperformed Hamilton in the race, despite knocking part of his front wing off on the first lap, after colliding with…Hamilton. These Ferraris are going to be entertaining this year. I don’t think Charles would have challenged for a podium, despite his claim of being held up by Lewis for a number of laps, as he faded towards the end and was overtaken by Verstappen. Its a moot point anyway, as his car was found to be underweight post race, which instantly disqualified him.

Lewis Hamilton – 7.8

The first half of the weekend was classic Lewis Hamilton. Out performed his car to stick it on pole, and then calmly led the race, managing his tyres masterfully before pulling away to make it look easy to win the Sprint. However, Ferrari made some set up changes for the race, to help with tyre wear but screwed with the car’s balance and Lewis’ performance dropped off dramatically. Never really being able to show strong pace in the race, he let Charles go and couldn’t hold onto him, finishing 6th on the road. Again, moot point though, as he was disqualified for excessive wear on his car’s plank, there to stop the cars running too low to the ground. A poor judgement mistake from the team, so absolutely no points for Ferrari in the main race in China.

Pierre Gasly -7.3

Pierre was also penalised for an underweight car in China. He didn’t lose anything but pride as he finished 11th on the road, for the second weekend in a row, which was good progress from his 16th place starting position. The car looks solid in parts in the hands of Gasly, who is pushing its limits which is back end of the points at the moment. He wasn’t quite able to get into them before his disqualification but he is proving himself as the clear team leader at Alpine, just needs a bit of luck.

F1 Turning Points – The Le Mans Disaster

The next turning point in F1 history didn’t take place on track – not an F1 track at least.

Once Alfa Romeo dominated the 1950 championship, they split the next 3 with their Italian counterparts Ferrari. However, halfway through 1954 the F1 pecking order would be ripped up with the introduction of a new Constructor – Mercedes Benz.

Mercedes entered F1 at the 1954 French Grand Prix with the iconic W196, and they would go to take a 1-2 on their debut. They even had the audacity to steal the greatest driver of the era, Juan Manuel Fangio, from Maserati mid season to lead their attack. He had already won 2 races with Maserati at the start of the season and would go on to win 4 more with Mercedes, becoming the only driver to win a World Championship with different teams in the same season. A record that will never be broken now.

But this turning point isn’t about the 1954 season, or F1 at all really, but it would change the course of the sport forever. Mercedes started the 1955 season the way they ended the ’54 season, winning 2 out of the first 4 races, with the second coming at the Belgian Grand Prix in June. However, a week later, the motorsport world would be devastated by it’s worst tragedy.

During the 1955 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans road race, Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorn pulled over to the side of the track to go into the pits, braking as he did. In doing so, he cut across Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey who in turn swerved to avoid. Catastrophically he swerved right into the path of Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes Benz 300 SLP, who was going around 125mph. Levegh’s car launched over the back of the Austin-Healey and straight into the spectator area by the side of the track, which was only protected by a grass verge. The impact with the ground caused the car to disintegrate and explode into flames. The impact threw Levegh from the car back onto the track and killed him instantly. The debris from the exploding car would kill 83 spectators and injure 180 more.

This disaster caused Mercedes to pull out of motorsport entirely, as they were only really in it for technological testing purposes, not for the love of competition. They didn’t see the point in risking lives for the sake of progress.

Mercedes would complete the 1955 season, winning the remaining 3 races – 2 for Fangio and one for Sterling Moss (remember him?) but that would be their last season until 2010.

The Silver Arrows’ dominance of F1 ended as quickly as it started, but what a run it was. The won 10 out of the 13 races they entered to blow the competition away. Something they would continue to do when they returned to F1 – winning 8 straight Constructors Championships from 2014-2021, but more on that in a later post.

How different would the history of F1 look if they had stayed? Would they be the most successful team over Ferrari if the Le Mans Disaster never happened? All these questions we will never have answers to but I think this quote from an article in Motorsport Magazine from December 1955 gives a hint of the feeling at the time.

“The complete withdrawal by Daimler-Benz is an unhappy thing for many of us, especially those interested in technical development, but, on the other hand, they had monopolised racing to such an extent that their withdrawal will at last allow someone else to win”

Red Bull Lay Down a Big Marker

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in emphatic fashion on Sunday with a performance that should really scare the rest of the F1 grid. Once he navigated the first couple of corners without incident he just disappeared into the distance. Even Charles Leclerc on fresh soft tyres couldn’t get anywhere near him. 

It was an opening race performance that reminded me of Sebastian Vettel in his prime Red Bull years but this time, Verstappen had the reliability to finish the job. His teammate would recover from losing positions at the start to take an easy 2nd place as well. Both Red Bull’s finished 26 seconds ahead of anyone else despite turning their engines down for the last 10 laps. Max must have wondered where everyone else was at points as he sauntered around the Sakhir International Circuit. 

Behind the two Red Bull’s this race was all about tyre management as Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes traded superiority throughout their stints. All three ran pretty close to each other throughout the race which bodes well for future races to see who will get that final podium place behind Red Bull. Ferrari are the second fastest car on pure speed but have much more tyre wear than both Aston and Mercedes. Mercedes really just lack overall downforce to maintain the pace of Ferrari and Aston. On a highly abrasive track surface like in Bahrain they were always going to use more of their tyres to keep up. This showed as Alonso was able to stay out a couple of laps more in both stints to create a tyre delta to attack Hamilton and Sainz late on after losing places at the start. It would have been really interesting to see what Alonso could do against the Red Bulls if he gained positions at the start rather than losing them. He would have at least been able to mix it with Leclerc before he retired with engine issues. 

This really was the worst start for Leclerc’s season. Ferrari had to replace his energy story component before the race as a precaution but it was the replacement part that failed which caused him to retire. This means Charles has already used his whole allotment for that part for the season, without completing a race distance. The Ferrari is quick but seems to have a very tight window when it’s able to deploy that performance. They will hope the next race in Jeddah doesn’t highlight their tyre wear issues as much as Bahrain. 

Behind the ‘Top 4’ fight there were some performances that went under the radar. Pierre Gasly climbed from the back of the grid to take a comfortable 9th on his Alpine debut, just behind Bottas who used the undercut to great effect to jump from 12th to 8th by the flag. The midfield does look very close and I would imagine that the balance of power will shift race to race as it doesn’t seem like there are any ‘backmarkers’ this year. The whole grid can arguably fight for points. 

This is because Williams have made great strides, in Bahrain at least, to join the fight and Alex Albon even got points in 10th place. His teammate Logan Sargent had the best debut out of all the rookies in 12th and finished under 10 seconds behind his much more experienced teammate. That is a great performance and one that should give him and the team great confidence. 

But Bahrain wasn’t rainbows and smiles for all the competitors. McLaren had one of the worst opening races that I can remember. Norris qualified 11th which was much higher than the team expected with his teammate being knocked out in Q1. But that was where the ‘positives’ ended really. Piastri did make up some places from 18th but was forced to retire after 13 laps as an electrical issue in the steering column meant his steering wheel shut down and Norris had to pit 6 times after his car developed a pneumatic pressure leak so had to come in every 10 laps to get its air topped up. He finished 2 laps down in the end. The only sliver of good news is that the car did show more pace than the team was expecting before retiring. They must do better so let’s hope the major upgrade planned for Baku really works. 

But at least the race went better for McLaren than it did for Esteban Ocon. He was penalised three times that all stemmed from one issue. He was initially penalised 5 seconds for being incorrectly positioned on the starting grid: he rolled a little too far into his slot and was JUST in front of his grid box. He was able to take this time penalty at his first stop BUT Alpine started working on his car before the 5 second penalty had been served, so he got another time penalty – 10 seconds this time. When he came in to serve the 10 second penalty at his next stop, he approached a bit too quickly and sped in the pitlane by 0.1 mph, receiving another 5 second penalty. Alpine ended his nightmare on Lap 41 when they retired the car. So McLaren, it could be worse!

Overall, it was an interesting first race of the season, mainly because of Aston Martin’s jump into the fight at the front. But it is worrying to see that Red Bull have only extended their advantage over their traditional rivals but only time will tell how close Aston Martin really are in a straight fight. 

23 to go but at this rate, it will be Max Verstappen 3 time World Champion by the summer break. Happy New Year!

Why We Can’t Lose Spa

I have heard more and more noise about Spa losing its spot on the calendar and this troubles me deeply. After we have lost historical tracks like Nürburgring and Hockenheim in Germany because of finances, it is looking like we could have another victim. The situation with Spa is slightly different as it is not just about the money but also the space on the calendar with Spa’s contract running out at the wrong time. Stephano Domenicali said to the F1 bosses over the Montreal Grand Prix weekend that the calendar could grow to 24 races next year. F1’s expansion priorities to new markets mean that 16 of the 24 races are allocated to races outside of Europe, which I have no problem with, but that does feel a little high. Of those 8 slots, Silverstone, Budapest, Spain, Imola, Zandvoort and Monza all have contracts in 2023. Meanwhile, Monaco is still negotiating, and Austria is very likely to survive as it is owned by Red Bull (nepotism much?) This means that there is no room for Spa, even if it had all the money in the world. Out of all of those races, only Silverstone and Monza are at Spa’s level of thrill, action, weather variability and overtake probability. Budapest is a fantastic circuit, but it does not suit Formula One cars, I have watched too many races there that are processions as the drivers can’t get anywhere near each other because Budapest’s layout is too tight and twisty, and the one straight isn’t long enough. Also, don’t get me started on Monaco, a once crucial circuit for the popularity of the sport but F1 has outgrown it, the cars are too big, but to be honest, F1 cars haven’t been able to pass there for decades and that was only because drivers sometimes missed gears in their manual gearboxes back in the day.

While I understand F1 is a business, it is not like it is short of money since Netflix’s Drive To Survive has made it the fastest growing sport in the world. It has endless high end sponsors and reaches places only Football can reach in scope. It has been reported that to host an F1 race for 10 years, it would cost 1 billion dollars. I just don’t think it needs to be prioritising areas and money over its competitive spectacle. In recent years the sport has added Saudi Arabia, Vietnam (even though they never made it), Miami and Las Vegas – all willing to pay big money for street circuits. I can safely say that none of these tracks even come close to Spa in terms of challenge, spectacle and most importantly, competitiveness. Yes, street circuits create a different challenge for the drivers but apart from when chaos ensues during the race, the racing is usually boring and processional because the tracks are created to fit around the existing structures, they are too tight for the cars and usually not suited to overtaking. While having the races in different cities gives the locals are closer look at the cars and creates an exciting atmosphere in said city, I just experienced that in Montreal, the racing is the core of the sport and if F1 continues down this road, I think they are sacrificing the level of racing for commercial gain which just feels wrong. Franz Tost’s recent comments really scared me when he said

“No money, no game. If they have the money, we go there. If we don’t have the money, we don’t go there”

What is this? Is this the pinnacle of motorsport, where the best drivers and the best teams go up against each other on the best tracks in the world? Or is this a pyramid scheme where only money and greed matter? Unfortunately, I think I know that answer now.  

Ok, now let’s talk about Spa. The 7.004km track winds itself through the trees high in the Ardennes Forest which creates varied and highly localised weather. It is perfectly likely that the top end of the track can be covered in cloud and rain but down the hill it can be sunny and dry. This creates strategic nightmares for the teams and often chaos out on track as they scramble to sort themselves out as their drivers are driving around averaging 142mph. The track itself has 20 corners with a mix of slow, medium, and fast including some of the most iconic in the world – La Source, Eau Rouge, Raidillon, Pouhon, Blanchimont and the Bus Stop to name a few. The lack of runoff area which is populated by grass takes no prisoners. It also has 3 legitimate overtaking spots. The lap starts with the first spot, the tight hairpin of Le Source at the top of the hill that quickly dips down towards the Eau Rouge/Raidillon combo. The fast left-right-left which takes us back up the hill is one of the most feared on the calendar and ends with the blind crest at Raidillon. This leads on to the second overtaking spot on the track – the braking zone into the Les Combes chicane after the long Kemmel Straight. From here the track starts to wind back downhill through the middle sector which consists of only medium to high-speed corners, the most notable of all being Pouhon – a 150 mph multiple apex left hander that requires deadly accuracy and bravery to ace. Once the middle sector is over, the final sector is a full throttle blast through Blanchimont towards the final overtaking spot on the track – the bus stop chicane – where the cars arrive at 190mph. The widening braking zone creates opportunities for overtaking and as the short start/finish straight is the only thing between this last overtaking spot and the first of the next lap, it means that cars can try and take revenge straight away if overtaken into the Bus Stop. This contributes to keeping the cars close together and gives the racing a nice flow. It is like a rollercoaster for the drivers and a track they all want to tame (another reason to keep it).

Now, this really is my final point, and it is very much last but not least. In a 2021 fan survey, Spa was voted as one of the four ‘Critical Grand Prix’s’ alongside Silverstone, Monza and Monaco. On Page 24, the document classes it as part of the ‘Untouchables’ with the above-mentioned trio. While Monaco has its own issues and a fractious relationship with F1, they are all seen as THE F1 tracks. A core of races that are not just historically valuable to F1 but what the fans want to see and treasure. If this Liberty media regime is at all bothered by fan experience, and their PR machine indicates they do, they must keep their promises.

“We are focussed on the fans. We must give them what they want in order to keep them engaged.”

This is a quote from Stephano Domenicali’s foreword on the Global F1 Fan Survey of 2021. How is getting rid of a track you called ‘Untouchable’ at the first time of asking a focused and engaged approach aimed at THE FANS? Or is it more about money? Where is the fight?  I get you want to expand but dedicating 16 of the potentially 24 races to outside of Europe, to then suffocate tracks like Spa and Hockenheim which bring pedigree, prestige and personality. They are also tracks that are very good for racing, weirdly. Money should not be the defining factor in deciding where F1 races. Formula One is the World Championship event for the highest class of motorsport, it should be about being the best. You can’t call yourself the best if you don’t go up against the best. I know it feels like a futile battle these days to argue against money in sport, but it feels like if we lose Spa, F1 is in danger of losing its heart.

Them’s the Rules

The Formula is changing. In 2022 we will see the largest single regulation change in F1 history. As is always the case in Formula 1, the rule makers want to create better, more exciting racing and in this version of the Formula, they are stripping everything to basics and changing the aerodynamic philosophy of the sport. Formula 1 has been busy over the last four years researching, testing and simulating their way to the best solution. The numbers have been mindboggling, they have conducted over 7500 simulations, created over 21 iterations of the design for the car and have collected half a petabyte of data to work from. This is enough data to fill 10 million standard four drawer filling cabinets full of paper. After all of this, what have they decided I can hear you ask? Well, you came to the right place. In this article I will do my best to explain the upcoming regulation changes and the ways in which they will change the spectacle, hopefully for the better. The changes can be conveniently put into three areas of the car: the aero, the tyres and the fuel. By far the largest is in the aero department so let’s start there.

Venturi Effect

The aerodynamic performance of the 2021 cars was the best it has ever been. They cornered quicker than any car in history. Their large wings, winglets and other devices spread over the car helped to push it into the ground, creating grip and stability in corners that cars have no business taking so quickly. This effect is called downforce. However, with great performance does come pitfalls. This performance is gained by manipulating the air that passes over their car in a way which helps this suction effect and sticks the car to the ground. Formula 1 cars perform best when running in undisturbed air but once they pass through it, the air is heated and energised so doesn’t flow over the car behind as expected. Imagine the difference in water before and after a boat has moved through it. If you stand at the back of a boat, you will see this ‘wake’ of disturbed, almost bubbly water. This is the same effect that an F1 car has on the air around it. If you were to drive a boat through that ‘wake’ you will be bouncing all over the place and probably feel quite sick. Within 20 meters of another, a 2021 F1 car would lose 35% of its aerodynamic efficiency and thus performance. Within 10 meters, they lost 46%. This is a massive amount when they rely so heavily on it for performance. This means that it is very hard for a car behind to be able to drive quick enough in this ‘dirty air’ to get close enough to pass the car in front. It is estimated that to pass in F1 the car behind has to be, on average, a second and a half quicker and in a formula that is so close, this is hard to do.

This new era of Formula 1 aerodynamics has two main aims:

  1. To reduce the wake or amount of dirty air that the car in front produces.
  2. To make the car behind less sensitive to this disrupted or dirty air.

While the previous aero philosophy had been to push the majority of the air over and around the car, the new one is to direct it underneath and then up over the top of the curved rear wing. This principle of using the underside of a racing side to generate negative pressure which produces downforce is commonly known as ground effect.

Can you spot the differences between these two cars? F1 2021 vs F1 2022 (L-R)

Ground effect has history in Formula 1, with the cars of the late 70s and early 80s deploying this aerodynamic phenomenon to gain performance over their rivals still relying mainly on mechanical grip and rudimentary wings. The difference between then and now is then’s use of ‘skirts’ around the edge of the car to direct and trap in the air between the underbody of the car and the road, while the new era sends it underneath as part of a more compact chassis. The Lotus 79 below demonstrates these skirts, the structure where the Olympus advertising sits while the McLaren MCL36 contrasts its with more compact bodywork and use of sidepods (look for DeWalt) behind the front tyres to direct the air to the floor.

The proportions of the two eras couldn’t be more different as they demonstrate different ways the aerodynamics can be worked!
Pictured: Ronnie Peterson in the Lotus 79 & McLaren MCL36

This new era of ground effect relies on what is known as the Venturi Effect. The theory is that you create an area of lower pressure by isolating and squeezing air into a narrowing tunnel, which speeds it up. This area of lower pressure on the floor creates a downwards suction and pushes the car into the ground. The bodywork traps the air in that ‘Venturi tunnel’ and because downforce is generated elsewhere, it doesn’t require as many exterior aero devices. As a result, the car is smoother so doesn’t energise the air travelling over the car behind as much. This should mean the car behind can follow much closer, for longer without losing as much performance. From the simulations that Formula 1 have run with cars at the 2022 specifications, it is estimated that the loss of downforce at 20 meters will be reduced to 4% and 18% at 10 meters. This is way down from the 35% and 46% of the current crop. This should hopefully make the cars easier to race and provide the drivers with conditions in which they can be aggressive and fight without everything overheating and losing performance.

18-inch Wheels

The aerodynamics aren’t the only area of the cars that is getting an uplift in 2022. The tyres are going from 13-inch to 18-inch rims and are losing some of their profile. Losing their profile means the amount of rubber on the tyre’s rim is being reduced. Despite the obvious visual difference, these changes have a big effect on the tyre’s performance. The new low profile tyres won’t deform or move as much under lateral forces, meaning they won’t overheat as easily. This should mean that the drivers can push for longer and run close together without burning them out. The tyre revamp is not just to help their performance but has also been incorporated into the aerodynamic philosophy. The tyres will now have covers. This is to help control the amount of heat ejected from the tyre rims which will reduce the wake created by them. The front tyres will also include winglets on the inside plane of the tyre to help direct air into the Venturi tunnels on the floor of the car, rather than it being pushed outside. The pictures below will probably do a much better job of describing the looks than me.

Wheel Cover on the Left and Winglet on the Right

E10 Fuel

The final area of change on the new breed of F1 cars is in the fuel. In an effort to move towards running completely sustainable fuel by 2025, the new fuel compound will include 10% sustainably produced ethanol alongside 90% petroleum product. While helping sustainability, it also theoretically takes away 20 horsepower but the whispers from the engine manufacturers seem to indicate that they have already found that performance back, highlighting their adaptability and problem solving power.

What to expect

While the regulation change is aimed at making the racing closer, this reset of the rules also gives the teams a fresh start and an opportunity for the pecking order to change. A team lower down the grid could find a better solution to the new regulations and move up the grid as the others try to replicate their idea. This has happened at the previous two big changes: Brawn and Red Bull in 2009 and Mercedes in 2014. Ironically, this is the same team that the new regulations have been partly created to reel in. With the new wind tunnel restrictions, the teams at the bottom of the championship get more time using theirs, so this should give them even more of a chance to move up. Ferrari in particular will benefit from their terrible 2020 as that sixth place finish has granted them a lot more time in their wind tunnel than the frontrunners over the last year, as per the regulations. Expect them to be quick. While the regulations can cause a shake-up, don’t be surprised to see Mercedes and Red Bull right up there when points are on offer in Bahrain, as is the sheer quality of those two teams. One thing I am hoping for this season is for a variety of winners as the teams and drivers get used to and learn more about these new breed of machine across the different tracks. I am sure performance levels will vary great between the circuits in the first quarter of the season.

After the F1 shakedown in Barcelona, the cars looked amazing and the drivers, particularly the Ferrari drivers had complementary things to say about the desired effects F1 has been seeking (see above). This all bodes well for, hopefully, another highly competitive and unforgettable chapter in the high speed journey that is Formula 1.

F1 Driver POWER Rankings – Abu Dhabi Edition

Welcome to the twenty second and final edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.

Sorry if this feels like too late to post about this now but I needed time to fully digest, reflect and settle on my feelings towards the final race of 2021. What a season its been and writing about it has given me a different way to experience and understand Formula 1. Thank you for being on the journey with me during my first season of writing things down, whoever or wherever you are and I hope it has, at the very least, given you something to pass the time.

It was never going to end smoothly, this season’s story wasn’t going to go out with a whimper. As you expect, I have my own opinion on the events in Abu Dhabi but I will get to that. Firstly, congratulations to Max Verstappen on winning his first World Championship. He does deserve to win the title this year, make no mistake about that. He has been mighty; consistant, brave, precise, decisive, resilient but most importantly really, really quick. He has shown that he can handle anything a title fight can throw at him. This was not a Mercedes vs Red Bull battle, the teams were evenly matched and evenly powerful, both having their advantages. This was a Hamilton vs Verstappen battle. Both drivers elevated themselves and pushed each other to a level I don’t think I have seen in my life. They dominated this championship completely and Max came out on top in the end.

The final 10 minutes of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 will live in the annuls of Formula 1 history forever. However, to understand my feelings towards the outcome, you need to look at the whole race. This was a championship decider on a level F1 has only seen one other time. No matter what had happened previously, the championship would be decided by who crossed the finish line at the end of the 58th lap first: Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton. As with this season’s form, the two title rivals locked out the front row, but it was not on equal ground. The Red Bulls would both be starting the race on the soft tyre compared to the medium on the Mercedes. This was caused by Max Verstappen locking up in Q2 and flat spotting his medium set. The start reminded me of Abu Dhabi 2014 when Hamilton nailed the launch from 2nd to take the lead against Rosberg. This took away Red Bull’s tactical advantage of using the soft tyres to build a gap. You knew Max was going to try something straight away if he was overtaken at the start and he dutifully obliged at Turn 6 with a big lunge down the inside but one that I think Lewis left the space open to attack. Lewis turned in, was blocked by the Red Bull’s presence on the inside and drove over the run off area to get back on track. This is the first point of controversy. Hamilton keeps the position by going off track but he was forced there by a late lunge from Verstappen. This is also the first case of inconsistency from race control. In the final four races there have been two incidents of Verstappen perceivingly forcing both or one of the drivers off of the road, when defending the position but he received two different decisions – a penalty and a pass. This is why I think the decision there really could have gone either way depending on how the stewards felt at that time and in this race they were more relaxed because they felt that when Hamilton rejoined the track he established the previous gap between himself and Verstappen. Hamilton then worked to build an 8 second gap before shadowing Red Bull’s pitstop onto the hards on Lap 14 and 15 respectively. The gap was now stretching out towards 10 seconds before Sergio Perez did some great defensive driving to hold up Hamilton and close the gap to Verstappen to only 1.3 seconds. His driving was borderline slow but fine, he just made his car nice and wide. Once they dispatched the Mexican, Hamilton once again built a lead of around 8 seconds to Verstappen on the hards until Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo packed up and brought out the Virtual Safety Car. Mercedes decided to stay out and keep track position but Red Bull pitted Max for a new set of hards. This put Max 18 seconds back with just over 20 laps left to go. He needed 0.8 seconds a lap to catch back up. At the time, I thought Mercedes should have pitted Hamilton to give him the tyre advantage on a day where he was the quickest package out there, but after the initial chase of Verstappen the pace advantage the Dutchman had started to diminish as Hamilton kept his old hard tyres in condition while maintaining the lap time. The laps started to count down quicker than the gap until Hamilton held a 12 second lead with 5 laps to go. This is where the root of all my feelings lie – without Nicolas Latifi crashing at Turn 14, bringing out the Safety Car, Lewis Hamilton would have deservedly won the title decider, and therefore the title. Everything that transpired after that contradicts what I know deep down in my soul to be true – Hamilton deserved to win the race and, because of that fact, he deserved to win the F1 World Championship as well. I am not taking anything away from Max Verstappen, he deserved to the win title as well, but he did not deserve to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. That is the wonderful contradiction of our sport; every single race matters in a championship but, sometimes, the last one means that little bit more.

Once the Safety Car came out it swung things back into Red Bull’s hands if the race were to restart. They pitted Verstappen in clear air for soft tyres while Mercedes couldn’t risk pitting and losing track position that late on with the possibility of the race not restarting. This pitted Lewis’s worn hards against Max’s new softs, not a completely done deal but a very large advantage. Now, to the second instance of race control inconsistency with a bit of confusion chucked in. As Latifi’s car was on the racing line and required marshals and a recovery vehicle, a Safety Car was warranted, no problem there. While I was marching around the house, muttering to myself like a madman, the safety car did it’s thing of slowing down the leaders and collecting the rest of the pack but the real sticking point would lie with the 4 lapped drivers in between Hamilton and Verstappen. Initially, they were told that they would not be allowed to overtake the safety car to unlap themselves which felt unusual but there is confusion over if that was just while the Latifi car was being removed. Following this, there must have been a couple minutes of frantic brokering from the Red Bull and Mercedes pitwalls to Race Control about if the race should restart and lapped cars etc etc. (I agree with Ross Brawn that this communication should not happen anymore) Race Control then instructed the lapped teams on the back straight, on Lap 57 of 58, that the 4 cars could now unlap themselves but also that the safety car was ending that lap. I have suffered through enough seemingly unnecessary extra final laps under the Safety Car in my life to know that this is a part of the Sporting Regulations and Michael Masi even confirmed that at last year’s Eiffel Grand Prix. This felt like Race Control wanting to get the action underway because it was the title decider. In any other race when the ‘cars unlapping’ rule has been in force, the cars have gone round one more time once the lapped cars have passed. Don’t get me started that not all the lapped cars were allowed to overtake. Is the championship points battle the only one that matters? Once again, if the cars had gone that extra lap and finished under the Safety Car, Hamilton would be Champion. I know, I realise that this conveniently gives me the result I support, but its the sudden change from normality that is hard to accept. But accept it we must. I would not want the decision to be changed in court and Michael Masi didn’t do anything directly against the rules so there is no real argument, its just the way it went down stings deep for the Hamilton camp. For Max Verstappen fans, this Safety Car and the subsequent overtake for the title were levelling of the score for bad luck on the Dutchman’s side earlier in the year and that it’s just the way she goes. Whatever side you sit on, at least we all agree that this season has been a privilege to watch and we are lucky to have witnessed it. It truly was the season the hybrid era needed before we go into another regulation change where it could all change once again, which I can’t wait for. That will be explained further in another post.

In non championship affairs, Carlos Sainz finished his strong first season at Ferrari with a podium and took fifth place in the Driver’s Championship above Norris and Leclerc. Yuki Tsunoda saved his best result to last and Kimi finished his career with a DNF. I’ll elaborate in the rankings so lets get into it.

After Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (22 of 22)

1. Max Verstappen (+1)

Max Verstappen is World Champion and I am sure it won’t be his last. He has driven brilliantly all year, despite some moments I disagree with him on, and didn’t back down to the challenge of battling Hamilton. The weekend was building nicely after being on the backfoot in practice and he took a surprise pole by over a quarter of a second. Once the race got going though, it seemed he didn’t have an answer to the pace of Hamilton and needed the intervention of others to help. He got this and then took his opportunity when it came, that’s what champions do.

2. Lewis Hamilton (-1)

What a heartbreaking way to lose a championship. Lewis Hamilton has had to suffer through a few of those in his career but this will probably feel the worst. He will be back next year, despite all the rumour, he is too much of a competitor to leave this fight with that outcome. He did everything in his control to win the championship in Abu Dhabi which should be a silver lining when the emotions die down, he still has the speed to go and try to win it again.

Carlos Sainz (+3)

This isn’t just last race bias, Carlos’ season has been bubbling away, showing consistant pace compared to his highly rated teammate throughout, whilst transitioning into one of the hottest seats in F1 better than other drivers changing teams with year. Abu Dhabi was the icing on the cake after a series of weekends that showed promise at times but didn’t come together. He qualified as the lead Ferrari in fifth which was quickly converted to fourth at the start as he flew back Norris into Turn 6. He was there to capitalise on the unreliability of Perez’s Red Bull to claim his third podium of the season and fifth in the Driver’s Championship, which is essentially best of the rest after the two championship teams. This gives him great momentum into the winter with a new set of regulations coming that Ferrari are banking on getting them back in the mix. Binotto is already talking about contract extensions which I think has been deserved and more.

4. Charles Leclerc (-1)

Charles was unfortunately another example of a Ferrari driver taking an early pitstop in an Abu Dhabi title decider and coming to regret it, frustrated in traffic. This time, the consequences were less severe but a tenth place did lose Leclerc his inter and intra team championship battles to drop from fifth to seventh. He just didn’t have the pace to get past the traffic to be in no mans land by the late safety car. He used that to collect one point but it wasn’t enough in the end.

5. Lando Norris (-1)

Lando can not catch a break at the moment. He was looking good for fifth before he had to pit late because of another slow puncture. This took away fifth in the championship for the young brit who really stamped his place in the F1 world this year. His consistent pace rewarded him with 20 points scoring finishes including four podiums and a whole lot of respect from fans worldwide. His final qualifying lap for third on the grid was a thing of beauty after being more towards the bottom end of the top 10 throughout the session. Its just another instance of Norris’ talent shining through the crowd.

6. Pierre Gasly (-1)

Pierre deserves to be in this group of elite youngsters making their way to the front of the F1 grid. He has been outstanding this season in the Alpha Tauri. He missed out on Q3 while his teammate made it and used the late safety car to move up to fifth for what must be the team’s best result of the season. Can Alpha Tauri give him the platform he needs to challenge for titles? I’m not so sure unless these regulations really do mix it up.

7. Sergio Perez (+2)

Sergio was the more effective teammate when it came down to it as he was able to get in the way and hold up Hamilton which would be crucial for giving Verstappen a chance to overtake later. Without losing the 8 seconds behind Perez, Hamilton would be have been able to pit after Latifi crashed and not lose position to Max. He hasn’t been able to get near Max at times but that is not what Red Bull really want from Perez, they want exactly what they got in Abu Dhabi, good teamwork to help Max win. Unfortunately, I don’t think he has the pace to beat Verstappen in a straight fight so that is what Red Bull is going to get.

8. Fernando Alonso (-1)

I think we can class Fernando’s return to F1 as a success. Another double points scoring finish in Abu Dhabi for Alpine with Alonso in front. His highlight being his first podium since 2014 in Qatar. I think if the car is half decent next year, Alonso could be dangerous, he is still one of the fastest out there.

9. Esteban Ocon (-1)

Despite a victory in Hungary, Esteban was beaten by his teammate in his first year back. However, as mentioned with the victory, it was a year of progress for Ocon and Alpine. He really looked strong the last couple of races but doesn’t quite get into that group of elite young drivers.

10. George Russell (-+)

Finally George can move over to Mercedes after a great three year stint at Williams, where he made that team relevant again. His Williams career unfortunately fizzled out with a retirement in Abu Dhabi but George’s career is about to rocket to another level in 2022.

11. Daniel Ricciardo (-+)

An overall disappointing year for Daniel as he got used to the 2021 McLaren but he did get back on the top step of the podium in Italy for the only 1-2 of the season. He never broke into the top 10 because he was just not consistant enough, he disappeared for large chunks of the year.

12. Valtteri Bottas (-+)

The final example of why Valtteri Bottas is no longer a Mercedes driver played out in Abu Dhabi. When Mercedes needed him, like Red Bull needed Perez, he failed to deliver, qualifying sixth and then was miles back in the race, leaving his teammate to be outnumbered without help. It feels like Mercedes tried not to hurt Valtteri’s feelings with their tactics in Abu Dhabi and it may have cost them. When it is all said and done, Bottas just wasn’t quite good enough in most areas, apart from in Austria and Russia.

13. Yuki Tsunoda (+2)

Yuki saved his best until last with a great fourth place finish and leading his teammate all weekend. This drive could well be a turning point for Tsunoda, both in his confidence and reputation within the paddock. His overtake on Bottas on the final alp was brilliant, he was so late on the brakes but there was no lockup or drama and he made the apex beautifully. It’s a shame the season ended for him, as he probably would have liked another race around Abu Dhabi. He just needs to do that every weekend to get on terms with his teammate. No mean feat.

14. Sebastian Vettel (-1)

Vettel and Aston Martin finished in Abu Dhabi where they have in the championship, it felt about right for them this year, in eleventh and thirteenth respectively. Vettel showed glimpses of past glory with some nice performances but this was mainly getting used to a new team so we will see what next year brings.

15. Lance Stroll (-2)

Similar to his teammate, it wasn’t a vintage year for Stroll and Aston Martin. He put in some good performances but the usual mistakes do haunt Stroll – as in Hungary – that stunt his growth up the grid with his team.

16. Mick Schumacher (+1)

A year where Mick Schumacher somehow increased his reputation within the paddock despite driving the slowest car on the grid by some margin and having a semi-amateur teammate. He will be Ferrari’s reserve driver in 2022 which I’m sure will only help his chances of a future seat. It does only feel like a matter of time before he is in a red seat if Mick keeps the performances up. My highlight for Mick was his Quali performance in Turkey where he outqualified his teammate by 2.5 seconds. Even in a crap car, that is mightily impressive.

17. Nicolas Latifi (-1)

Unfortunately, Latifi will forever be known for his role in the final laps of the season and the hate and abuse he has got online is completely unacceptable. Yes, you can be angry with what happened, but that gives you no right to send some of the abuse that Nicolas has received since. Did he do it on purpose? Obviously not. Will the abuse change the result? Obviously not, so lets just be kind to people. Something needs to be done about social media. Overall, a more promising year for Latifi where he scored points on multiple occasions and did push Russell at some events, even breaking the Brit’s long run of beating Williams’ teammates in Quali.

18. Kimi Raikkonen (-+)

We say goodbye to the Iceman and I am sure he is happy about that. It was a shame he didn’t have the car to impress late on in his career but he will leave a mark on the sport no other driver has so far. He was loved by everyone for being 100% himself throughout and being one of the most naturally gifted drivers of all time. Ice Man Out.

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (-+)

Kimi’s teammate’s F1 career also fizzled out as he also retired in Abu Dhabi. He just wasn’t consistent enough and blew most of his big points scoring chances with mistakes or team strategy error. While Binotto has suggested Ferrari will try and find him a seat for 2023, I think this is the last we will see of Gio in an F1 race seat.

20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)

Mazipin also raced this year but most of his action came with the issuing of blue flags, he saw 256 of them in 2021, 60 more than his teammate.

F1 Driver POWER Rankings- Saudi Arabia Edition

Welcome to the twenty first edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Qatar Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.

We have what we deserve! The two title rivals going into the final race of the season level on points. This is the first time it has happened in F1 since 1974 when Fittipaldi and Regazzoni were vying for the crown. Like the pundits and drivers alike, I don’t really know where to start with the events of one of the craziest races we have witnessed, and not always for good reasons. Let me start with the host country. I wasn’t happy when it was announced that Saudi Arabia would host a Grand Prix, I think sport holds ethical values of sportsmanship, fairness, and meritocracy but what does it say about this sport’s values if they are happy to promote countries with less than suspect human rights records and inequalities present in exchange for a large cheque? I don’t think there is any country in the world that is innocent, in particular my home country of England, but the way Saudi Arabian and Qatari authorities use immigrant workers with essentially no rights or pay to build their sporting infrastructure with cost to human life and then promote themselves on the world stage in a certain way is something I wholly disagree with. Unfortunately, money talks in the world of the 21st century and sport can be used as a distraction to the real picture. Ok, I have said my bit, on to the racing.

This Jeddah track was advertised as the fastest street circuit ever and I think they got that right. While the track has 27 corners, most of them are high speed, if not full throttle. The first sector is the most technical with a couple chicanes and twisty bits but then it’s mainly long straights and a nice, banked corner. One thing that was noticeable immediately was that this track is narrow and the walls very close. This would be key to the weekend with virtual safety, safety cars, yellow flags and even red flags appearing. Over the weekend we had multiple heavy crashes, in particular one that ended the F2 race early and put two drivers in hospital. This chaos would translate into the F1 race with one safety car, two red flags and three virtual safety cars.

I think the only way to truly understand this crazy, chaotic race is putting the events in context so I will be highlighting the flash points and events that changed the face of it as it progressed and hopefully piece together a timeline to get us to the end. Hold on to your hats, this could get messy.

Lap 1 – The Mercedes duo get away cleanly to lead 1-2 from Verstappen. All cars make it through the first corners safe.

Lap 10 – Schumacher crashes heavily into the barriers at Turn 22, bringing out the Safety Car. Both Mercedes pit for hard tyres, Verstappen doesn’t pit and inherits the lead but is still required to pit. Seemingly advantage Mercedes. Most of the top 10 also pit for fresh tyres.

Lap 13 – The red flag comes out due to barrier damage. Everyone is now able to put on fresh tyres, Max gains those places gained during the Safety Car and takes the outright lead because of it. Mercedes, Perez, Norris and Alonso are the main losers.

Lap 15 – The race is restarted after the red flag with a standing start. Hamilton gets the better start from second to lead into the first corner, however, Max tries sticking it out around the outside but runs out of space and cuts the second corner to retake the lead. As a result, Ocon gets ahead of Hamilton as he has to avoid the Red Bull coming back on track. Perez is tagged and spun by Leclerc as three cars try to go into a space for two and retires. Mazipin hits Russell heavily from behind as everyone slows to avoid Perez. Both Mazipin and Russell retire on the spot. This brings out the second red flag immediately.

During the red flag break, Michel Masi (Race Director) and Red Bull negotiate that if Max doesn’t start behind Lewis at the restart, he will get a penalty, so they move behind the Mercedes. Ocon starts on pole as a result.

Lap 17 – Third standing start of the race. Ocon, Hamilton, Verstappen are the top three. Hamilton gets alongside Ocon off the line, but Max makes even better start and dives down the inside to pass them both into Turn 1. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, it was brave, executed well and most importantly he made the corner under control. Hamilton is sandwiched and makes contact with Ocon on the outside but sustains no damage. Max leads from Ocon, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas. Shoutout to Tsunoda, who makes great move around the outside of Leclerc at banked Turn 13.

Lap 36/37 – The two title rivals disappear up the road with Hamilton close behind Verstappen. Hamilton gets within DRS range coming onto the pit straight and looks to overtake into Turn 1 and is marginally ahead going into the braking zone. Like Brazil, Max breaks very late, gets oversteer mid corner and has to take to the runoff to get through the complex. From the overhead shot, it is clear that Hamilton would have been able to properly make the corner if Max wasn’t on the inside, trying to keep control of his car. This is the difference between this incident and the overtake on Lap 17 which was legitimate from Max. Race Director Michael Masi orders Red Bull to give Hamilton the place which they subsequently relay to Max. He decides to let Hamilton through on the back straight just before the DRS line for the pit straight. Meanwhile, Masi goes to Ron Meadows, Mercedes Sporting Director, to inform him that Red Bull will let Hamilton by. However, there isn’t enough time for the message to get to Hamilton before and confusion ensues. Max keeps backing off, Hamilton slows behind, probably confused about what is going on or doesn’t want to give Max the DRS for the main straight/lining him up for the main straight. The radio messages from driver to team would indicate Hamilton was in the dark about Max letting him through. They get closer and closer until Max slows once more, Hamilton can’t react in time, and they run into each other. Hamilton’s right front wing connects with Max’s left rear tyre. What I don’t quite get is Max driving off quickly as soon as the contact happens. It had a ‘job done’ air to it. Max would be given a 10 second time penalty post-race as it was found his “erratic” braking made him “predominantly at fault” for the contact.

Lap 42 – Max has been told again to let Hamilton through after some heated exchanges between Masi and Meadows about the sequence of events. He does this once again on the back straight before the last corner. This time he keeps more to the right and Hamilton knows what is happening so passes without incident. However, as soon as he does this, Max dives back down the inside to retake the lead before the corner arrives. Something I have seen Hamilton do in the past and got penalised for (circa Spa 2008).

Lap 43 – As they cross the line for Lap 43, it is announced that Max gets a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage from the original Lap 37 (Turn 1) incident. Later on in the lap, Max gives up the position once again before the final corner, but this time Hamilton isn’t taking any chances and crowds out Verstappen’s attempt to retake the position around the outside. Max’s race engineer comes on radio to say they didn’t need to do that. This would indicate that Max felt he had to give up the position to avoid further penalty from the previous lap’s antics.

Lap 50 – Hamilton crosses the line to take victory and the fastest lap at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Championship is tied. Max is unable to pit and go for fastest lap due to Ocon within his pitstop window.

What a crazy, chaotic, confusing race that was in Jeddah. The main talking point I can take away from this race is that there needs to be consistency in the stewards’ room so the drivers know what they can and can’t get away with when in wheel-to-wheel combat. I can see why Max would be annoyed as his defensive move in Brazil was arguably worse than his one in Jeddah, yet he was penalised for the latter and not the former. These decisions set precedents but then they immediately go against that precedent the next week. It is a big job, but consistency will only be secured if there is a team of 4 stewards that follow the circus around to every race. The rules are also quite vague and open to interpretation, which is a cause of this war of words between the two title fighting teams. More practical, specific rules with a consistent stewardship wouldn’t give teams the opportunity to challenge every single decision being made and hopefully sorting out the nonsense we saw in Jeddah, where it felt that Max was under investigation for 10 laps and the audience not having the state of play being played out on track but instead in a small room away from the cameras. Don’t get me wrong, we need rules to moderate the action and keep the drivers safe, but at the moment they are too vague and enforced too inconsistently for them to do the sport justice.

There is so much to talk about in the title battle that I am sorry that I won’t get around the rest of the teams until the driver rankings. Hopefully you can appreciate the importance of this title fight and I am not neglecting the rest of the grid, there just isn’t enough time in this section.

Quick update on the Constructors however – Ferrari have virtually secured third in the championship; McLaren need to outscore them by 38.5 points to take it back so basically a 1-2 in Abu Dhabi which I don’t see happening. Alpine have also secured fifth in the constructors over Alpha Tauri with a very strong last two events. They hold a 29-point advantage over the Faenza team.

After Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (21 of 22)

1. Lewis Hamilton (-+)

Hamilton secured his third win in a row, drew level with Verstappen on points and I think took the moral high ground in his wheel-to-wheel battles with the Dutchman as some of the Red Bull’s moves felt a little desperate. He took pole due to Max’s mistake at the last corner when he clipped the wall and damaged his tyre when over 0.25 seconds up. This was looking like a crucial error in the early stages as both Mercs were ahead of him but then the red flag came out and turned the race on its head. However, Lewis kept his cool through multiple setbacks and battles with the Red Bull that resulted in contact but even without the Race Director’s intervention, Red Bull conceded they would have struggled to stay ahead of Hamilton. He now goes to a track where he has won a highly tense championship before, so I am sure he is full of confidence to take his 8th World Title.

2. Max Verstappen (-+)

Max put his all into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and overstepped the mark on one occasion, maybe two. He also showed his great speed, decisiveness, and car control (until he clipped the wall on his final Q3 lap, it was an all-time commitment lap). This is the two sides of Max Verstappen that remind me of Michael Schumacher and others of Ayrton Senna. This pushing of the rules to the limit and packaging it as hard racing. Martin Brundle once said of Senna that he would put his car in dangerous positions when overtaking so that the car in front had to get out of the way, or they would crash. This gave Senna a psychological advantage in direct combat. I see this in Verstappen, however, nowadays this sort of thing will get you penalties, while in Senna’s time it got you the position. He must have felt like he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with all the penalties and instructions to give positions back in Jeddah, but for better or worse, this is the state of play and drivers have to abide by the rules. I don’t think Verstappen would intentionally crash into anyone, but he will put his car in danger in pursuit of this title – high risk, high reward. He also knows that Lewis can’t afford not to finish the race, otherwise his fight will be over. We go into Abu Dhabi with a winner-takes-all situation, but I believe Max wants to win this fairly and outright, so I don’t see a repeat of Senna Prost in Japan 1990. Whoever wins it will completely deserve it. Bring it on.

3. Charles Leclerc (-+)

Charles split the Red Bulls in qualifying to start 4th and was running well until the second restart where he got slightly squeezed by Perez, who was in a car sandwich at Turn 3, clipped the Red Bull and had to flat spot his tyres avoiding it. Luckily, the red flag came out immediately and it didn’t ruin his race. After the third start, he dropped back a few spots until he was in a long battle with his teammate that he was lucky to stay ahead of and finished just ahead of Sainz for 7th. This did help Ferrari essentially secure 3rd in the Constructors.

4. Lando Norris (-+)

Lando did well to secure a Q3 birth and 7th on the grid. He moved up at the start and was running high in the points until the red flag came out on Lap 10 and he suffered from the rule that lets everyone change tyres during this period. Lando was one of the cars that pitted while the Safety Car was out pre-red flag so effectively dropped to 15th after that. He battled back throughout the race to get back into the points for 10th, but it was more bad luck for the Brit who desperately needs a clean race in Abu Dhabi to take some momentum into the winter. He will hope that McLaren’s focus on next year’s car will pay off handsomely.

5. Pierre Gasly (+1)

All the 6s for Gasly in Saudi Arabia as he qualified and finished 6th. This time around his qualifying pace translated into the race and he was able to stay out of trouble, as he usually does in chaotic races like this, to bring the car home and secure points for the team but it seems to come too late to overtake Alpine for 5th in the Championship.  

6. Carlos Sainz (-1)

Carlos could not get the car going in qualifying and made multiple mistakes to not get through Q2 and lined up 15th on Sunday. However, he got himself together and moved up during the race, keeping out of trouble and taking advantage of others falling by the waist side. He would have argued he was faster than his teammate and should have finished ahead of him, but Charles was able to keep it after some border line defensive moves into Turn 1. As Max got a penalty, I think Charles should have got one as well. Carlos showed his mental fortitude and battling to turn a bad Quali into another good points haul. This is exactly why Ferrari signed him.

7. Fernando Alonso (-+)

A down weekend for Fernando after his podium in Qatar, where it seemed he never got used to the new Jeddah track. He was knocked out in Q2 to start 13th and finished the race in the same position with a high-speed spin in between. He couldn’t match his teammates pace and was lapped in the end. My highlight for him was his facial expressions watching Verstappen’s final Q3 run, probably wishing he was in that car.

8. Esteban Ocon (+2)

Esteban was about 50 meters short of consecutive podium finishes for Alpine but was passed by Valtteri Bottas at the last. While he started 9th, he would find himself on pole by the Lap 17 restart. How may you ask? I am not 100% sure but he turned a Tsunoda squeeze into an overtake at Turn 1 and then used the Safety Car/Red Flag period to move up to 4th. At the first restart, he took advantage of Bottas’ lockup and the fight between the two title rivals to take 2nd. Once Max’s penalty was issued, this put Ocon on pole which he wasn’t able to hold but looked to have the pace to hold 3rd until the very last second. He should be proud of his pace and this pace was what kept him out of trouble. While he will be disappointed not to secure the podium, he should take confidence in extracting what he did from his Alpine in Saudi Arabia.

9. Sergio Perez (-1)

An unfortunate early bath for Perez on Sunday in Jeddah. He qualified 5th and was well within the danger zone going into Turn 1 on the restarts and unfortunately it was second time unlucky for him as he wasn’t able to give Leclerc enough space against the wall at the quick Turn 3, got clipped into the barrier and broke his transmission so was unable to put the car in gear. This ended his race and really put a dent in Red Bull securing the Constructors’ Championship.

10. George Russell (-1)

Another driver with an early bath in Jeddah and one that was directly linked to Perez’s exit at the second restart. While the cars in front slowed to avoid the horizontal Red Bull, Mazipin wasn’t able to react in time and drove into the back of Russell’s Williams for a heavy impact. This destroyed Mazipin’s Haas and broke Russell’s. He complained about the safety of the track and his radio message once retired was essentially ‘I told you so’ to the FIA.

11. Daniel Ricciardo (-+)

Daniel wasn’t able to get into Q3 on Saturday, narrowly missing out in 11th but made up for it in the race. He also stayed out of trouble and used the red flag rule to his advantage and came home 5th, just in front of Leclerc. The reason he doesn’t move up on this list is that he can’t be trusted to put in consecutive positive performances at the moment. I also don’t believe he would have got that high up in a straight fight, but he will take it at the moment. Seemingly important points for McLaren but it is too little too late.

12. Valtteri Bottas (+1)

Valtteri was doing the team role in Jeddah until the red flag ruined Mercedes’ advantage and put him out of position. He nearly drove into the back of Verstappen at the second start and then got stuck behind Ocon for pretty much the whole race until he finally got onto the podium on the final lap. The Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas combination is now the most common in F1 podium history, but he will probably only get one more opportunity to extend that in Abu Dhabi before he moves to Alfa Romeo.

13. Lance Stroll (-1)

Lance was essentially last in qualifying, only starting in front of the Haas’ but, again, stayed out of trouble to nearly find himself in the points, finishing 11th. I am not sure how he got there as the camera’s followed the battle for the lead. Stroll did well to not get taken out by the Lap 15 incidents, but he got no reward for his troubles in Jeddah.

14. Sebastian Vettel (-+)

Seb was unlucky with collisions on Sunday as he could argue he was driven into twice by Raikkonen and Tsunoda. He was running in the points after starting 17th until these incidents damaged his car too much to continue and he was forced to retire. This season is fizzling out for Aston Martin who are under big pressure to get things right next year or some culling is going to take place.

15. Yuki Tsunoda (-+)

Yuki showed promising pace in Jeddah, qualifying 8th and running in the points until contact with Vettel, when he should have really given up the place and lived to fight another day. However, his front wing got stuck underneath his car and he wasn’t able to move for a long time, losing bundles of time and ending his chances of points. He needs to put a result together to go with these turns of speed to convince Red Bull he deserves a spot in F1 beyond next year. His overtake on Leclerc at the banked Turn 13 proves his race ability.

16. Nicolas Latifi (+1)

Latifi gets a bump after finishing on the lead lap and just over 20 seconds off the points, which is a decent effort in this Williams. Unfortunately, we saw very little of him, but he finished ahead of Alonso in a car nearly on the podium. Good effort indeed.

17. Mick Schumacher (-1)

Mick lost the rear of the car at Turn 22 on Lap 9 to head straight to the scene of the accident which brought out the red flag and threatened to have big ramifications on the title fight. As it were, the threat didn’t materialize, but Mick sure felt the heavy impact of the tyre barrier. One more race in this forgettable car and we hope for his and the team’s sake, next year’s Haas is competitive.

18. Kimi Raikkonen (-+)

Kimi came together with his friend Vettel in quite a clumsy collision considering the two share 5 World Championships between them. This was the most notable part of Raikkonen’s race as he laboured home 15th and last. He has one more chance to thrill F1 fans before heading to retirement but I’m not sure its going to happen, he looks like he has checked out.

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (-+)

Gio showed good pace in the Alpha to secure a Q3 appearance and held on to his 9th place by the flag to add 2 points to his F1 tally. He also pulled off a great move around the outside of Alonso which showed certain other drivers *cough cough* how to overtake at Turn 1 effectively.

20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)

Finally, an incident I can report on that involves Mazipin where I can say it wasn’t his fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he found himself at the back of the queue who were slowing to avoid Perez on Lap 15 and he ploughed into the back of Russell as he couldn’t react and slowdown in time in a zone usually meant for full acceleration. The car was absolutely wrecked but it was good to see him get out unharmed from quite a scary crash.

F1 Driver POWER Rankings – Qatar Edition

Welcome to the twentieth edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Sao Paolo Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.

What a difference two weeks makes in Formula 1. After the Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were sitting pretty with a nineteen point lead but after two Hamilton wins in a row in Brazil and Qatar, the lead is back to just over the seven point difference between a 1st and 2nd place finish. We could go into the season finale in Abu Dhabi with the two title rivals level on points, what an event that would be – the ultimate head to head.

Every weekend brings new drama and heightened tensions between the two juggernauts of Formula 1 2021. This week it was a 5-place grid penalty for Verstappen after he was judged to have ignored double waved yellow flags on his final run in Q3. While the yellows weren’t massively clear and there was confusion about where exactly the yellow zone was, it felt like a slam-dunk once replays showed him passing a yellow flag zone and not slowing down when passing Pierre Gasly’s stricken Alpha Tauri on the pit straight. Valtteri Bottas was also judged guilty but only given a 3-place penalty as it was only a single yellow when he passed through. This caused Christian Horner to say some unsavoury things about the marshals and stewards which got him a smack on the wrist from the FIA and for the phrase ‘The pot calling the kettle black’ to pop into my head. The battle to control narrative has been rampant this year but Horner overstepped the mark on this occasion. On the other side of the fight, Toto Wolff came out with strong words to say that the recent media talk about the slide of Mercedes has ‘woken the lion’, referring to the team and their seven-time World Champion driver and that they have some ‘spicy’ equipment (that engine) in the bag to help lead them to another unprecedented title.

On track, Hamilton and Mercedes had the edge as the best package on the grid and they took advantage with a pole to lights performance. Once Max had been demoted to seventh (he qualified on the front row) it felt like it was damage limitation to get back in range of Hamilton. It was thought that if he didn’t get in front at the start anyway, Hamilton had enough in the bag to win regardless. Max made a great start and while everyone went for the wide line at Turn 1, he went tight, found grip and moved up to fourth once Alonso slammed the door at Turn 2. Max did get past Alonso and Gasly for P2 after 5 laps with around an 8-second gap to Hamilton. What the two title rivals would go on to do was consistently drive 1.5 – 2 seconds faster than the rest of the grid, as Martin Brundle said in commentary – these two were not just in a different race, but a different formula. I am going to keep banging on about what sets drivers apart in a sport supposedly ruled by machines and this is an example. They take the car and beat everyone else into submission with it while making it look easy. They finished a minute ahead of the rest of the field in 57 laps.

Behind them, the standout performance was Fernando Alonso who secured his first podium since 2014, which is before Max Verstappen came into F1, to give it a bit of context. Alonso benefitted from the grid penalties but took full advantage with a great move around the outside of Gasly at Turn 2 and used the one stop to perfection to beat Perez for that final step on the podium. This also helped Alpine’s fight for fifth in the constructors. Speaking of Constructors, McLaren had another torrid weekend to lose even more ground to Ferrari after Norris suffered a late puncture while running in 4th. The secondary curbs proved a bit too much for the tyres as both Williams drivers and Valtteri Bottas got punctures which I don’t mind, the tracks should push the cars and drivers to the limit.

We move into the final two races of the season with both championships finely balanced and its just the way we like it. We go to essentially two new tracks (Abu Dhabi’s layout has been changed significantly which will make it 10 seconds quicker) which means we enter the unknown just at the right time for us, the viewers. Now, on to the rankings.

After Qatar Grand Prix (20 of 22)

1. Lewis Hamilton (+1)

Hamilton moves to the top of this list as the momentum is well and truly on his side after two wins in a row and he has closed the gap to Verstappen to 8 points. It is also expected that the Jeddah track in Saudi Arabia should suit the Mercedes with their fresher engine in Hamilton’s car. He looked the standard in Qatar and wasn’t troubled in the race to take his 5th win of the season. He will go into the last two races full of confidence and probably the slight favourite at this point.

2. Max Verstappen (-1)

Once Max got demoted on the grid, it took away any real chance of winning the race as long as Hamilton and Mercedes didn’t make any mistakes, which they didn’t. He got a great start and placed his car cleverly to get up to 4th and then quickly passed Alonso and Gasly. Once he was behind Hamilton, he wasn’t able to close and Red Bull tried the two stop strategy but Mercedes just shadowed them to bring it home. While Max is so strong mentally, this change in momentum must be worrying and something Red Bull need to get on top of if they don’t want Hamilton winning a title they probably should secure based on the statistics.

3. Charles Leclerc (-+)

Charles struggled during qualifying to the bafflement of himself and the team to line up 13th. It was discovered post qualifying that he had a crack in his chassis that would have been unsettling the car. He luckily didn’t have to change it, they could fix it under FIA regulations and he kept his 13th place grid slot. He had a relatively quiet afternoon but used the one stop to jump cars and get into the points, finishing 8th and only a second behind his teammate who started 5th. More solid points for Ferrari in their fight with McLaren and his individual battle with Norris for 4th in the Drivers.

4. Lando Norris (-+)

Lando can’t seem to catch a break at the moment. His race was ruined on Lap 1 in Sao Paolo and his race was ruined late on in Qatar when he had to make an extra stop due to a puncture to his Papaya-mobile which put him out of the points. He was able to get back into them for 9th but he was running 4th when his tyre failed. This would have been much needed points, McLaren have only scored 4 points in the last 4 races, which is the same as Alfa Romeo to put that into context. Not form to secure third place and I think that is already out of reach.

5. Carlos Sainz (-+)

Sainz once again was the leading Ferrari in qualifying and race in Qatar. He qualified 5th and finished 7th, which is maybe one space lower than he would have liked, letting Stroll get ahead of him. More consistant performing from the young Spaniard though.

6. Pierre Gasly (-+)

It was all looking peachy for Gasly after qualifying. He was promoted to the front row after Verstappen and Bottas’ penalties but that was where the fun ended for him. Ironically, it was his puncture and subsequent stoppage on the track that caused them to get the penalties in the first place. He pitted early after going backwards from second and was put into traffic where he couldn’t or wasn’t able to move through the field and by the flag he was out of the points in 11th. His fastest lap time would indicate that he just didn’t have the outright pace in the race to really trouble big points.

7. Fernando Alonso (+2)

That was a classic Alonso performance in Qatar. He dragged every ounce of performance from his car on a technical track that rewards bravery, consistency and precision – Alonso’s bread and butter. He was instantly quick on this new circuit and was rewarded with a 3rd place starting spot. His move around the outside of Gasly at Turn 2 was beautiful, he found a line that just gave him so much more grip and bravely took to the curbs to complete it. He probably caught Gasly napping as well. Once he sniffed a podium with the one stop, he never looked like losing it, even with Perez closing at the end. I think he still would have finished 3rd without the late virtual safety car. His first podium since 2014 is tragic for a driver of Alonso’s quality but it is probably his career decisions that have let him down in that regard. A Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso podium is one that we should have seen way more than the solitary one occasion in Qatar.

8. Sergio Perez (-1)

Not getting through to Q3 in Qatar in a Red Bull was criminal from Perez and ruined his chances of a podium finish, or to help his teammate pressure Hamilton from the front. He did have a spirited fight back to 4th but wasn’t close enough to Alonso to catch up in the end. What he did do was secure more points in the Constructors fight they are desperate to win.

9. George Russell (-1)

George outperformed his teammate all weekend but was one of the victims of the curbs in Qatar. He was nowhere near the points all race so the puncture really didn’t effect things for him. Two more races and then it’s go time for Mercedes in 2022.

10. Esteban Ocon (+3)

Ocon got into Q3, albeit not quite as high as his teammate but used the one stop strategy to gain spots and do well to hold onto them. He partially repaid the favour to Fernando, after he kept Hamilton behind long enough in Hungary for Esteban to win that race, with a shorter defense of Perez but it was spirited and did effect the Mexican’s progress. He finished 5th which completed Alpine’s 2nd best result all season.

11. Daniel Ricciardo (-1)

Daniel keeps his spot mainly because I didn’t feel Ocon deserved to go up three spots. Daniel had a torrid time in Qatar. He was nowhere near getting out of Q2 on Saturday and didn’t trouble the points on Sunday, even finishing behind his teammate who got a late puncture. He is just inconsistent, his performance are so track based, it is hard to judge. You know what, he can go below Ocon, I’ve convinced myself.

12. Lance Stroll (+2)

A great race from Stroll who started 12th on the mediums and was able to gain places at the start and then had the pace to keep his tyres in range for a one stop strategy. His move around the outside of Tsunoda was lovely and he pushed on from there. He would end the race in 6th after holding off Sainz for a lot of the race and only half a second behind Ocon in 5th. He needed that performance after a run of poor drives.

13. Valtteri Bottas (-2)

Bottas was arguably unlucky to get a penalty but the rules are the rules. He didn’t help himself though with a rubbish start that dropped him from 7th to 11th and got him stuck behind slower cars. He struggled to get past initially but once he did, he showed good pace and was on course to enter the podium fight when his left front tyre let him and itself down. It would take him over a minute to get back to the pits and he would eventually retire to save the car. While he hasn’t performed as he would like, he does seem to get the misfortune at Mercedes, similar to Barrichello at Ferrari in the early 2000s.

14. Sebastian Vettel (-2)

Vettel outperformed with teammate in qualifying but that was probably his downfall in Qatar. This meant he started the race on the soft tyre, starting 10th and wasn’t able to do the one stop strategy, like his teammate. He did still come home in 10th for a point and a double points scoring event for the team.

15. Yuki Tsunoda (-+)

Yuki showed more of his one lap pace in Qatar but it was the same story on Sunday as in Sao Paolo, he didn’t have the consistant pace to keep up with the points battle. However, this time his performance was much less crashy. When we saw him during coverage it was usually being overtaken which is unfortunate. One thing in Yuki’s favour is that he did match his teammates fastest time in the race, which is probably not a common occurrence this season.

16. Mick Schumacher (+1)

Mick outqualified his teammate by 2.4 seconds and disappeared in the race which is a slam dunk in the Haas battle for supremacy. The race performance feels familiar but the qualifying difference was seismic. I know the car is bad but they are both driving it and that gap is bigger than the rest of the field combined, by 0.9 seconds, its not even close.

17. Nicolas Latifi (-1)

The weekend was going as you would expect for Nicolas Latifi until a late puncture at literally the worst place to get it – just as you pass the pitlane entry. As if like magic his tyre started to visibly inflate on the replay as he past the aforementioned pitlane entry and he had to complete more than a lap with only three functioning tyres. By the time he got back to the pits, they decided to retire the car as the front left wasn’t all pointing in the right direction.

18. Kimi Raikkonen (-+)

Kimi was knocked out in Q1 and only made up spots from his 16th place start due to retirements ahead. He slowly got away from his teammate in the race and was pressurising Russell until the Williams got a puncture in the late stages. The Alpha – Williams battle seems their level at the moment.

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (-+)

Giovinazzi mainly shadowed Raikkonen during the weekend and also only moved up the grid through retirements ahead to come home 15th, be it 200 seconds behind his teammate. With the lower teams in F1 looking towards 2022, the Alpha isn’t getting any better and both drivers are leaving so it does feel like their season is just fizzling out.

20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)

Another embarrassing comparison with his teammate in Qatar for Mazipin. 2.4 seconds is ridiculous but I have already shared my thoughts on that in his teammate’s section. In conclusion, that sums up his season.

F1 Driver POWER Rankings – Sao Paolo Edition

Welcome to the nineteenth edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. Sorry this is late again, my bad but life has got in the way. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Mexican Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.

I essentially said that the Sao Paola Grand Prix would be a must win for Hamilton to keep his title hopes on track and boy did he go above and beyond to do that. This was another classic, drama filled championship weekend at the atmospheric fishbowl that is the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in the neighbourhood of Interlagos. There is so much to unpack from the Sao Paolo weekend which was the host of the third and final Sprint format of the year and each one of those weekend has had significant championship moments. Without the extra racing session, it would have been even harder for Hamilton to finish ahead of Max. The drama ensued before the weekend started when Mercedes announced that Hamilton would be taking a 5 place grid penalty for an extra Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), already putting him on the back foot. The drama continued on Friday after Hamilton had taken a commanding pole position when the FIA, after a tip off by Red Bull, investigated the DRS activation elements of Hamilton’s rear wing. The regulations state that when activated, the gap in the rear wing must be between 10mm and 85mm when a force of 10N (newtons) is imposed on it. The inner section of Hamilton’s wing failed this test and he was subsequently disqualified from qualifying. The FIA did state that this was a part failure and not a deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations to create an advantage.

This took away Hamilton’s good work and the opportunity to take maximum points from the weekend. What he did do was remind us what the best can do with the tools given to them. He went from 20th to 5th in 24 Sprint laps to give himself a chance in the feature race but that earlier 5 place penalty set him back to 10th. His overtaking was tidy and decisive but for me the part of Hamilton’s game that is above the rest is his ability to drive both quickly and kindly to his tyres. I think this allows him to have these sustained fight backs through the field, compared to when Valtteri fights back, he does seem to fall off or get caught behind cars in the dirty air. Hamilton is able to stay in the dirty air and still be able to use the advantage his car gives, that’s another difference between great and the best.

Hamilton may have saved his best work for Sunday however. We knew he would be able to get past the first five cars in front but it was when he got to the Red Bulls when the real work would start. He got a small helping hand from the Safety Car as it put him onto the back of his rivals after Yuki Tsonoda came together with Lance Stroll and spewed carbon fibre at Turn 1. Once the Safety Car came in, Hamilton set after Perez and had to overtake him twice around the outside of Turn 1 as the Mexican returned the favour at Turn 4 after the first attempt. Once all the other drivers had been dispatched, it was just Verstappen left to catch and he had 52 laps to do it. He slowly whittled down the Dutchman’s 3.8 second lead but was unable to get close enough to attempt a pass until Lap 48 when the title rivals had another flash point. Hamilton had DRS on the main straight up the hill into Turn 1 and for the first time in my memory, a dummy from Lewis got Max moving in the braking zone and put him slightly off line through the Senna S section of 1/2/3 and Hamilton picked up DRS again into Turn 4. Max defended the inside line and Hamilton got ahead into the braking zone on the outside. Both braked as late as they could but Max definitely braked too late, pushing him wide and off the track. With Hamilton on the outside, memories of Austria 2016 surfaced when Rosberg refused to turn into the corner and the teammates collided (Rosberg got a penalty that day *cough cough*). Luckily this time, they didn’t touch but Hamilton was unable to take the corner as he appeared to have the ability to do so without Max being in the way. Inexplicitly, the stewards didn’t investigate the incident after not seeing much wrong, without a crucial bit of evidence – Max Verstappen’s onboard camera. The onboard showed, for me, that Max could have made more of an attempt to make the corner – there wasn’t a lockup indicating excessive braking, and he didn’t put as much steering angle as previous laps when logic dictates that he should have been inputting more steering angle if he was truly trying to take the corner. I have to say that he did force another driver off the track, which has definitely been penalised this year quite regularly with a 5 second time penalty, and would have put him behind Bottas and lost him 3 valuable points. Now, it is very easy to say that post race but its very hard to say that Bottas would still have finished within 5 seconds if Max had been penalised in-race. Actually, I am pretty sure he wouldn’t have, no way Max would have let that happen. So its all a bit of a mute point for me but I do think the stewards are less likely to penalize Max Verstappen because of this notion he is a ‘hard racer’ and the challenger to the ‘Empire’. There I said it. All that matters for Hamilton is that he gained that crucial momentum and reduced the gap to Verstappen before it’s too late while producing a performance that will live long in the memory.

Behind the title fight, Ferrari once again had a great weekend in the constructors, taking a 32 point lead over McLaren for third, Gasly had another impressive weekend for Alpha Tauri and Alpine got two drivers in the points for the first time in a while to draw level them level with Alpha Tauri once again. Ok, lets get into the rankings.

After Sao Paolo Grand Prix (19 of 22)

1. Max Verstappen (-+)

Max keeps the lead on this list but it is a close thing with the momentum swinging towards Mercedes with this new found engine advantage that they have found. Verstappen did everything that was required of him in Brazil and probably got the maximum he would have expected going into the weekend apart from probably three points and pole position for Sunday. He was cheeky on Lap 48 and I am sure he knew what he was doing when he went wide and I am also sure he doesn’t think that warranted a penalty as well. He defended hard against an opponent he was fighting a losing battle to keep behind so can’t blame him for trying. He moves on to Qatar hoping the track suits his car more and he can regain that momentum.

2. Lewis Hamilton (-+)

This was definitely up there with one of Hamilton’s best drives in a Mercedes. He had to overcome 25 places worth of penalties over two races – 20 of them after having taken pole position on Friday so to overcome that and perform as he did in Saturday’s Sprint shows both his physical ability and mental strength. Hamilton was decisive and accurate with his car placement in the Sprint to take pretty much every opportunity and finished only 2 seconds back from Sainz in third. This set him up nicely for the race, starting in tenth, to be able to get through the midfield without losing too much time to the leaders. He dispatched of said midfield very quickly (see pass on Gasly on Lap 1) and then performed two great overtakes to get past the Red Bulls. This drive showcased lots of Hamilton’s traits that have made him a 7 time world champion: speed, consistency, relentlessness, overtaking, tyre preservation to name a few. Brazil was exactly what the doctor ordered for Hamilton and Mercedes in this title fight. On to Qatar.

3. Charles Leclerc (-+)

These sort of weekends are now expected for this Ferrari package in this ever evolving development race. When I say ‘these sorts of weekends’ I mean a double points finish while threatening the fun of the championship teams. This is of course not where Ferrari feel they belong but this is very encouraging signs for the team. Charles’ teammate beat him in the Sprint but Charles took honours when more points were on offer. Charles dropped back one spot from his 6th place from qualifying but got ahead of his teammate again and Lando Norris at the start of the race proper and didn’t really look back. He has had a couple of boring but impressive races in a row now so not much to report apart from some great first lap car placement and bravery to get himself into position to score highly in 5th.

4. Lando Norris (-+)

It was looking like Lando Norris had put together a really nice Sprint weekend, after ‘qualifying’ 7th he got ahead of Gasly and Leclerc in the Sprint to gain 5th place on the grid for the race on Sunday. He got a good start and was getting past the slow starting Sainz for third but misjudged his positioning, he must have thought he was already past the Ferrari, and moved over too early, contact was made between tyres and Lando came off worse with a left rear puncture. The beautifully crafted weekend was shattered in an instant. He dropped waaaay back but an early Safety Car put him on the back of the pack and he started his fight back. Solid pace and some good overtakes got him a reward – a singular point but it was well deserved. Annoyingly it should have been many more.

5. Carlos Sainz (-+)

It was Carlos’ turn to be the car that was interfering in the front runners race during the Sprint on Saturday as he used his red soft tyres to move up from 5th to 3rd but he was unable to hold on to that advantage and podium spot. He crossed the line 6th behind his teammate which will be a disappointment for him. This is just another weekend showing of how strong a driver Sainz is. He needs to be given lots of credit for his overall Ferrari performance this year, he really hasn’t missed a beat and has helped push this team back forward.

6. Pierre Gasly (-+)

There are only so many times I can say what a strong weekend Gasly has had without sounding like a broken record but I am going to say it again. Qualifying 4th in Brazil was the 16th time in 19 races he has qualified in Q3 which is a phenomenal record for the Alpha Tauri driver. Unfortunately he lost places in the Sprint and race to finish 7th at the flag but once again brought home much needed points in their fight with Alpine in the Constructors. They are still tied for 5th thanks to him after he passed both of their rival cars in the closing laps.

7. Sergio Perez (-+)

Sergio was around but never really in the fight for the win in Sao Paolo. He qualified 3rd but got caught behind Sainz’s Ferrari for the entirety of the Sprint and did his best when Hamilton came up behind in the race but wasn’t quick enough to keep him behind. He shouldn’t feel too bad, no one was in Brazil. He was able to get ahead of the Ferrari’s and the midfield to collect decent points for the team in 4th in what was seen as damage limitation in response to Mercedes’ new found speed.

8. George Russell (-+)

George keeps his place in 8th mainly through sheer will power from me and the juicy potential he brings to next years Mercedes line-up. I am adamant he will be a step up from Valtteri Bottas so it is hard to put an up and coming star in potentially the best car anywhere lower than 10th. He is also still quietly getting the job done and finishing in front of faster cars in the race, this time Giovinazzi and Tsunoda. He is battling cars but it is clear this Williams is a step off. He finished 13th in Brazil for those wondering.

9. Fernando Alonso (+1)

A dogged performance for Alonso in Brazil where he was eventually rewarded with a singular point. He qualified 9th but was caught out in the Sprint by those around him starting on the red soft tyre compared to his yellow medium. He could have easily not finished the Sprint but narrowly avoided being sandwiched by the Alfa Romeo’s before they came together themselves. He dropped back to twelfth for the race proper but battled back into the points to help Alpine remain level with Alpha Tauri in the Constructors.

10. Daniel Ricciardo (-1)

Ricciardo was close to Norris on one lap pace; they were separated by less than a tenth in qualifying and lined up 7th and 8th for the Sprint but when it came to racing, Daniel was a step behind. To make things worse, he dropped out of the race on Lap 49 with power loss caused by a crack in his chassis. Monza is starting to feel quite a long time ago now.

11. Valtteri Bottas (-+)

Valtteri did the team job in Brazil but didn’t do it very well. He got ahead of Verstappen at the start of the Sprint and secured pole position to at least take one point from Max. However, he was beaten into Turn 1 in classic Bottas style by Max and then went wide at Turn 4 to let Perez through. He at least let Hamilton past without any problems and got back ahead of Perez because of a cheap stop during the virtual safety car to make the podium and help close the gap in the Constructors.

12. Sebastian Vettel (-+)

Another weekend where Sebastian was the best Aston Martin but not exactly a rewarding one as he was always just behind the points. He qualified 11th and got up to 9th for the grid due to Hamilton’s grid penalty but then dropped out of the points again by the flag, getting pipped at the last by a recovered Norris.

13. Esteban Ocon (+1)

A return to the points for Esteban Ocon in Brazil as he beat his teammate in qualifying and the race to lead the lead the team home in 8th. After disappearing in Mexico he was in the action in Brazil and took advantage of the virtual safety car to go for the one stop strategy and used it to great effect. I am sure we wished he could have kept Gasly home but the tyre advantage was too much to defend against.

14. Lance Stroll (-+)

Lance had a bit of a nightmare in Sao Paolo. He was knocked out in Q1 and then started next to Yuki Tsunoda in the race which would not end well when Yuki went for an audacious effort at Turn 1. This would cause Lance a lot of damage which would end his race on Lap 47 but would also effect the overall race as some body work came flying off, bringing out the virtual safety car.

15. Yuki Tsunoda (-+)

A pretty shocking performance from Yuki as his rookie season doesn’t get any better. He did show some one lap pace once again to nearly get into Q3 but once the racing got going, he looked lost. He was barking up the wrong tree with his complaints at Stroll for his part in the Lap 5 incident as Yuki went for a lunge that was a day late and a dollar short, breaking his front wing and causing a Safety Car. That was all the action Yuki would see on Sunday.

16. Nicolas Latifi (-+)

Another driver waiting for the year to end and the hopeful possibility of a better car next year with the regulation changes. He was in no man’s land for most of the weekend, trying to hang on to the end of battles but not quite joining them. Nowhere near the points.

17. Mick Schumacher (-+)

After Mick mentioned that he hoped he could have more on-track action with Kimi Raikkonen, he probably didn’t mean to get as close as he did, causing his front wing to break off and pour even more debris over the track. He was nowhere after that after losing over a minute coming back to the pits.

18. Kimi Raikkonen (-+)

Kimi had quite the ordeal in Sao Paolo, first getting spun in the Sprint by his teammate, but that could be seen as a racing incident as Kimi could have left more room on the inside of Turn 1. He then made the aforementioned contact with Mick Schumacher but that wasn’t his fault as Mick oversteered into him and came out worse. He tried a late pitstop but it didn’t help get him into the points, finishing 12th.

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (-+)

It has finally been announced that Giovinazzi will be replaced by Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou for 2022 to partner Valtteri Bottas. It has been a strange and unfulfilling ride watching him in F1 since he first arrived in 2017, so I can’t imagine what it has been like for him, probably even more unfulfilling. He has shown speed and put together great performances but they have been too few and far between for him to keep his seat. I think it is the right decision, Zhou deserves a seat.

20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)

Nikita Mazipin finished behind his teammate in both qualifying sessions but took advantage of Schumacher’s mistakes to take a point in their intra-team battle but he must be quite far behind anyway.