QATAR GRAND PRIX 2024
Photo Credit: formula1.com
The Qatar Grand Prix is done and dusted and it was a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least. The 4 time world champion Max took the win in the desert, his first after becoming a 4 time world champion. Although he took the lead from George into turn 1, the win wasn't as easy as it would seem as Lando Norris was right on his tail till the closing stages of the race until he was given a 10 second stop go penalty for not slowing down under the yellow flag, which is seemed to be a very harsh penalty as it is felt by the F1 community and the whole paddock. The penalty was mostly given due to Max prompting his race engineer about the yellow flag infringement which might have otherwise gone unnoticed. A cheeky move by Max to gain an advantage over his rival.
Overall there were 3 safety cars and a whole lot of incidents. The stewards and the race director are being criticized for some errors they made like not putting a VSC or a yellow flag to clear off the wing mirror fallen off of Alex Albon's car which was then run over by Valterri Bottas after a few laps which potentially caused damage to his floor. Furthermore, even when that happened a VSC or Safety car was not put until both Sainz and Hamilton ran over the debris getting a puncture, ruining both of their races miserably.
For the McLaren the race did not pan out in the way they wanted as Oscar Piastri was stuck behind George for quite a long while till he pitted and in the end he could not even overtake Leclerc, as a result finishing in P3. Lando Norris on the other hand had a day to forget. Since the start of the race he was on the tail of Max Verstappen, challenging him to go even faster which made both of them cut off way ahead of the whole pack. But after the 3rd Safety car restart when only a few laps were left, he was given a 10 second stop and go penalty which put him at the back of the pack and way behind his main competition with only a handful laps left which ruined his race. Yet, he was the fastest man on the track for those few laps putting in multiple fastest laps and ending up in P10 at the end which is not what he wanted but the best he could do with his situation. In the end he only scored 2 points one for P10 and one for the fastest lap of the grand prix. In the end they got outscored by Ferrari which really puts them under a lot of pressure due to the penalty and will keeps them on their toes in Abu Dhabi.
Ferrari were there but yet not there. They had the pace of the leading cars but yet not able to capitalize fully and come into the lead ever. In the end both drivers did a good job with Leclerc finishing P2 and Sainz P6 behind Pierre Gasly, a good recovery after the puncture.
The Mercedes team will be a bit disappointed as they finished P4 and P12 after starting P1 and P6. Hamilton just did not have luck on his side as first he got a 5 second penalty for a start procedure infringement, plus he lost three places at the start due to same reason. Then he was just not able to overtake Perez like Piastri was not able to overtake the cars in front due to the DRS being reduced by 170 meters this year. After that he got a puncture on the start finish straight due to which he drove a whole lap on 3 tires, putting him right at the back of the pack hence ruining his race completely. George also was compromised due to a horrible pit stop which was 7 seconds long, or else he would have finished P3 where he was for quite a part of the race.
There were many COLLISIONS throughout the race. The first happening down at lap 1, turn 1 when Hulkenberg oversteered into Ocon, who into turn tagged Colapinto, ending both Colapinto and Ocon's race. Then on the same lap Stroll tagged Albon, damaging Stroll's car and earning him a penalty.
Pierre Gasly was somewhat the star of the show putting Alpine back in 6th in the Constructor's World Championship, possibly earning his team a big payout at the end of the championship. Also, Sauber scored their first points of the season due to the Safety Cars helping them and also due to their car suddenly being competitive. Zhou scored 4 points for them and also earned himself the driver of the day. On the other hand, VCaRB and William's gamble on the soft tires did not pay off at all in the end.
Sergio Perez also retired in the race when he lost drive.
This rounds off the Qatar Grand Prix which was possibly one of the most eventful race of the season with plenty of retirements, collisions, overtakes and Safety Car periods. It was truly a RACE TO REMEMBER, putting everyone on the edge of their seats glued to their screens as anything could have happened. A truly fun track and a deserving race to be the penultimate of the season.
Next week we head on to Abu Dhabi, where we will see whether Ferrari can take the fight to McLaren with the gap being only 21 points now. Also, it is going to be a sad race for many fans as......
IT'S HAMILTON'S LAST DANCE WITH THE BRACKLEY OUTFIT ...... THE MERCEDES TEAM IN WHICH HE HAS BEEN IN SINCE 2013!!
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