2021 Formula One Qatar Grand Prix

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.jpg

Who will win World Drivers' Championship?

  • Total voters
    2,049
With three races remaining on the 2021 F1 calendar and both driver and constructor championships still to be decided, the Qatar Grand Prix looks to be yet another exciting race.

Week after week in 2021, it seems like the driver's championship is not yet decided, but momentum appears to be favouring either Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. This is the situation we find ourselves in again as the field heads to Qatar. Hamilton's new engine in Brazil helped him to gain 25 positions over the course of a sprint race and grand prix weekend, and appears to have put him in a position to challenge Verstappen's 14-point advantage in the remaining races. A season full of surprises and twists, however, makes it unlikely that the narrative at the end of the year will be as simple as "Hamilton's new engine helped him win the remaining races and take the championship". Penalties, strategy calls, DNFs and weather may still have a significant effect on this battle.

Like the driver's championship, each time the constructor's championship appears to be close to a conclusion, something happens to draw Mercedes and Red Bull back into close contention. Entering Brazil, for example, the two teams were separated by just one point. A double podium finish from Mercedes has expanded that lead to 11 points.

Also in the constructor's championship, Ferrari has surged ahead of McLaren after an excellent showing at Sao Paulo, with Ferrari claiming the 5th and 6th spots and taking a 31.5 point lead over their rivals. McLaren managed just one point in the race, with Lando Norris finishing 10th and Daniel Ricciardo retiring on lap 49.

News broke this week that Antonio Giovinazzi will be leaving the Alfa Romeo F1 team after this season and joining Formula E. He will be replaced with current F 2 driver Guanyu Zhou. Zhou will drive alongside Valtteri Bottas next season, as Kimi Räikkönen is planning to retire.

Let us know your thoughts entering the Qatar GP this weekend in the comments below, with so much still to be decided in the three remaining races.

Image courtesy of Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

Badwheels
It amazes me that the F.I.A. can't put together professional stewards that travel to every race to make rulings. This having inconsistent outcomes is really bush league.
 
muzikant
muzikant said:
No its the same car ..in which Russell could easily win
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Equivalent cars Lewis is never going to be faster than Max. And as I said Max could have been world champion already... Then Lewis would not have been able to take his eighth title...This year it was the most difficult title for him to win and that shows how good Max is. He Lewis and Bottas always in top 3 Bottas is not beter then Perez and Perez is not always in top 5 in Qualy.. ;)
Best drivers for me on the grid Max, Norris, Leclerc. Where Max have the second best car.

and also enjoyed Alonso grandpa at his best :thumbsup:
 
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Paul Glover
muzikant said:
Equivalent cars Lewis is never going to be faster than Max. And as I said Max could have been world champion already... Then Lewis would not have been able to take his eighth title...This year it was the most difficult title for him to win and that shows how good Max is. He Lewis and Bottas always in top 3 Bottas is not beter then Perez and Perez is not always in top 5 in Qualy.. ;)
Best drivers for me on the grid Max, Norris, Leclerc. Where Max have the second best car.

and also enjoyed Alonso grandpa at his best :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
You crack me up. All world champions normally have the best car, that’s how it works.

But when comparing Max and Perez and Hamilton to Bottas they are a class above, that is what is needed. You can’t be a 7 times world champion without being a good driver, after all you have to keep it on the track.
 
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Damage Inc
Paul Glover said:
You crack me up. All world champions normally have the best car, that’s how it works.

But when comparing Max and Perez and Hamilton to Bottas they are a class above, that is what is needed. You can’t be a 7 times world champion without being a good driver, after all you have to keep it on the track.
Click to expand...
But when all the top drivers have a certain level of skill the main factor is the car. Especially the Merc, which is why people like me are narked by the often extreme hero worship of Lewis. Doesn't help that I'm also on Farcebook, just read a post about the result that said "good will triumph over evil"...I mean what sort of nonsense is that?

2 things would have made things better for Lewis, if his fans acknowledged the car has played a significant role in his stats (almost ALL Lewis' wins are from the front row). Also if he'd done more to bridge the racial divide rather than drive more of a wedge into it. He could have done more good by saying he's neither black nor white but the best of both.....no he firmly plonked himself on one side. The side that doesn't understand the misery that millions upon millins of white people have suffered, but because of a minority of rich white twats (who shafted poor whites for hundreds/thousand of years before they did anything to none whites) we all have had "privilege" and have never been "oppressed".
 
Fat-Alfie
Premium
muzikant said:
No its the same car ..in which Russell could easily win
Click to expand...
So, in your opinion, Russell is a rubbish driver?

GP3 champion. Formula 2 champion. And yet when he is put in a Mercedes F1 car and does well, it must be the car that is fast? Sometimes, you make yourself look so foolish. You are so focussed on your denial that Hamilton is a very quick driver that it clouds your view of other very obvious facts.

Verstappen finished third in the Formula 3 championship. Oh, it seems he won some karting championships, but was also beaten to one of them by Alex Albon :coffee:

Maybe it is only the Red Bull F1 car that has put him at the top of the table... :whistling:
 
Zolazem
Premium
Paul Glover said:
You crack me up. All world champions normally have the best car, that’s how it works.

But when comparing Max and Perez and Hamilton to Bottas they are a class above, that is what is needed. You can’t be a 7 times world champion without being a good driver, after all you have to keep it on the track.
Click to expand...
Please check Max vs Teammate and Lewis vs Teammate over there careers. This season Bottas 3 poles Lewis 4, how much poles Perez has vs Max? Remember Rosberg WDC for example…. But overall the gap between Max and Teammates is much bigger then Lewis and teammates over there carreers.
 
T
Fat-Alfie said:
So, in your opinion, Russell is a rubbish driver?

GP3 champion. Formula 2 champion. And yet when he is put in a Mercedes F1 car and does well, it must be the car that is fast? Sometimes, you make yourself look so foolish. You are so focussed on your denial that Hamilton is a very quick driver that it clouds your view of other very obvious facts.

Verstappen finished third in the Formula 3 championship. Oh, it seems he won some karting championships, but was also beaten to one of them by Alex Albon :coffee:

Maybe it is only the Red Bull F1 car that has put him at the top of the table... :whistling:
Click to expand...
People often forget that it is a matter of how the whole package is working. This includes the car, team and driver and - as seen this year - luck. It would be foolish to claim that Lewis isn't a great driver. He is certainly among the best in the field. What annoys me a bit though is that people allways come to fast conclusions like Bottas=sh*t, Hamilton=great. It's the same like in the Schumacher era when the teams only worked for one driver and the other driver was simply a tool. RB isn't any better in that regard btw. If the RB16B wasn't tailored towards Verstappen and more to Perez' driving style the standings would be looking different. If you have to adapt your driving style for a car you allready loose against someone who can drive a car naturally by instinct. And for Mercedes it's the same. Would be interesting to strip the engine of Lewis into Valtteris car and give Lewis the engine of Valtteri. I am not even sure if he is getting the latest tech for his car at this point in the season. Add to that the technical issues and bad luck that Bottas had and you get a completely different impression of the skills of the different drivers. The results don't tell the whole truth.
 
randomcallsign
Zolazem said:
Please check Max vs Teammate and Lewis vs Teammate over there careers. This season Bottas 3 poles Lewis 4, how much poles Perez has vs Max? Remember Rosberg WDC for example…. But overall the gap between Max and Teammates is much bigger then Lewis and teammates over there carreers.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that RB second seat must have really crap drivers all the time then. Albon, Gasly, Dani Ric, now Pérez. Some call it a curse.
Or it must something else in terms of car development focus in one team versus the other.

Damage Inc said:
Also if he'd done more to bridge the racial divide rather than drive more of a wedge into it. He could have done more good by saying he's neither black nor white but the best of both.....no he firmly plonked himself on one side. The side that doesn't understand the misery that millions upon millins of white people have suffered, but because of a minority of rich white twats (who shafted poor whites for hundreds/thousand of years before they did anything to none whites) we all have had "privilege" and have never been "oppressed".
Click to expand...
I wonder if there's some correlation between denying Lewis' wins and mocking/undermining his positions about equality (racial/LBGT rights) as well as the "all Max/RB haters"/ British bias.
Am I the only one seeing this?
 
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muzikant
Fat-Alfie said:
Dus volgens jou is Russell een vuilniswagenchauffeur?

GP3-kampioen. Formule 2 kampioen. En toch, als hij in een Mercedes F1-auto wordt gezet en het goed doet, moet het de auto zijn die snel is? Soms maak je jezelf zo dom. Je bent zo gefocust op je ontkenning dat Hamilton een zeer snelle coureur is dat je zicht op andere zeer voor de hand liggende feiten vertroebelt.

Verstappen eindigde als derde in het Formule 3-kampioenschap. Oh, het lijkt erop dat hij een aantal kartkampioenschappen van heeft gewonnen, maar ook door Alex Albon werd verslagen door een hen:koffie:

Misschien is het alleen de Red Bull F1-auto die bovenaan de tafel heeft gezet... :fluiten:
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it's a painful thing for the LH fans when you talk about the extremely fast car. Which just makes the difference. Half F1 drivers can be world champion in that car thats what I say. Russell is good but he have show nothing special yet LH made a lot of mistakes this year, because of the flat tire Baku... torpedo silverstone and Hungaria Max got zero points... add those to it and he would have been world champion now those are facts! and I don't like LH how he behaves as a sportsman all the theather. Max is definitely the better of the two this year but the mercedes illegal or not? Brazil was weird that speed difference was so big... Toto is a cry man who even banned Redbull's fast pit stops. Will the flex rear wing really be investigated by the MaFia?
 
randomcallsign
muzikant said:
it's a painful thing for the LH fans when you talk about the extremely fast car. Which just makes the difference. Half F1 drivers can be world champion in that car thats what I say. Russell is good but he have show nothing special yet LH made a lot of mistakes this year, because of the flat tire Baku... torpedo silverstone and Hungaria Max got zero points... add those to it and he would have been world champion now those are facts! and I don't like LH how he behaves as a sportsman all the theather. Max is definitely the better of the two this year but the mercedes illegal or not? Brazil was weird that speed difference was so big... Toto is a cry man who even banned Redbull's fast pit stops. Will the flex rear wing really be investigated by the MaFia?
Click to expand...
OK Alex Jones.
 
BrainsBush
muzikant said:
Will the flex rear wing really be investigated by the MaFia?
Click to expand...
They did this weekend and the results will not be shared with the public. It was a new test method and for that not officialy to be used to check if a wing meets the regulations (yet). BUT! This week we can expect announcements for the race in Jeddah. That's what a couple of onsite reporters already shared with us this weekend. It seems (RUMOUR!) that the Mercedes wing is not allowed anymore in the way they used it over the last races. Too much flex in the lower part of the rear wing. Again: not offcialy confirmed yet.

To end up with a positive note: Max can already become champ in Jeddah! If the circuit is ready on time
 
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muzikant
BrainsBush said:
They did this weekend and the results will not be shared with the public. It was a new test method and for that not officialy to be used to check if a wing meets the regulations (yet). BUT! This week we can expect announcements for the race in Jeddah. That's what a couple of onsite reporters already shared with us this weekend. It seems (RUMOUR!) that the Mercedes wing is not allowed anymore in the way they used it over the last races. Too much flex in the lower part of the rear wing. Again: not offcialy confirmed yet.

To end up with a positive note: Max can already become champ in Jeddah! If the circuit is ready on time
Click to expand...
if it is like that? shouldn't they give their points back? no because Merc is usually biased
 
Sasha Jednak
I am confused with the poll, were most of votes done before practice sessions this weekend? How can 2/3 expect at this point that Lewis is losing this title... 2 of best drivers in current F1 are separated with 8 points and current trend looks like merc car is clear in front.

Note for "kids" here: phrase "2 of best drivers" means that Max and Lewis are in same group of the best drivers in F1. And they are not alone in that group. Without those included in best drivers we wouldn't have any fight in 2021, 2018, 2017, 2012, not to mention 2010. Try to support your driver while respecting his opponents. They respect each other so it should be easy for just simple spectator without personal involvement to do it.
 
BrainsBush
And to spice things up a little bit: Mercedes decided to mount the 'Brazlian engine' back into Lewis' car.

Pro or con Mercedes we all have to give them massive kudos for their relentless masterpiece of engineering. What a performance they deliver! Looks like they are 'playing' with their opponents.
 
Damage Inc
randomcallsign said:
I wonder if there's some correlation between denying Lewis' wins and mocking/undermining his positions about equality (racial/LBGT rights) as well as the "all Max/RB haters"/ British bias.
Am I the only one seeing this?
Click to expand...
Who denies Lewis' wins? And there's nothing wrong with equality, as long as it really is equality. The problem is lumping ALL whites into the same category and ALL straight people into the same category is counter productive and just causes more problems IMO. For example when I was in school it was all about helping girls catch up with boys, fair enough....now for many many years girls have been out performing boys in school and I'm STILL waiting to see when boys will get some help. Some people need to fully understand what exactly "equal" means. Rashford has it right, his campaign is for disadvantaged kids.....of any background. Lewis would do well to follow that example IMO.
 
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