2021 Formula One Qatar Grand Prix

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Who will win World Drivers' Championship?


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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
About author
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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You know, all I ever see here on this site for real racing are these goofy F1 races.. When are we going to start seeing some reminders of some actual good racing, ie.. IMSA, GT racing, Supercars, etc... You know, REAL RACING.. When??
Feel free to start articles about any form of motorsports in this forum here please and when it's original well written content we will promote it to the frontpage with a single click.

Not joking, go for it and make sure to tag me when you have posted interesting news about the above series and i'll make sure it's seen here by the masses.
 
I should have been more precise: it is not really the flow of the track but the lack of nearly everything alongside the track: no buildings, no trees, no grandstands etc. Adding to that Losail is totally flat. It's just a bland asphalt ribbon placed in no mans land.

I mean…look at it:

View attachment 518641
I normally hate flat tracks, but I'm partial to Losail....love it in MGP and the games
 
Already on it I see? Haven't you got anything else better to be doing like actually supporting Max rather that concentrating your efforts on Hamilton and Mercedes?

It's getting very tedious now.
WHAT, Horner’s words, not mine. Would you react like this when I’am Ham-fan? All info comes from UK sites…………….
 
Terrible track. 5km simple flat circle would be more interesting, with no camber or curbs at all. Then it would be at least formula 1 one track with primal principles. Track would be on natural landscapes and in natural circumstances.
 
Terrible track. 5km simple flat circle would be more interesting, with no camber or curbs at all. Then it would be at least formula 1 one track with primal principles. Track would be on natural landscapes and in natural circumstances.
It IS on natural terrain. For that region. Just lousy flat terrain. Miller Motorsports park in Utah was a very complex squggly-wiggly track, but it was almost flat with just a small hill near the back. Miller never caught on, probably due to the brutal summer temperatures that the Utah Desert produces. I am not a fan of most Tilke F1 tracks, I don't know if he had any role in this track, but two of his most sucessful track designs are the Red Bull Ring and Cota, both of which have elevation changes, but the big hill at COTA is man made, so NOT natural terrain. ;)
 
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It IS on natural terrain. For that region. Just lousy flat terrain. Miller Motorsports park in Utah was a very complex squggly-wiggly track, but it was almost flat with just a small hill near the back. Miller never caught on, probably due to the brutal summer temperatures that the Utah Desert produces. I am not a fan of most Tilke F1 tracks, I don't know if he had any role in this track, but two of his most sucessful track designs are the Red Bull Ring and Cota, both of which have elevation changes, but the big hill at COTA is man made, so NOT natural terrain. ;)
COTA is manmade and designed track like you said and quite bad, I think. A1 ring isn't. Red Bull Ring is old track, but cutted. It's still floating landscape and I say, natural track.
 
Feel free to start articles about any form of motorsports in this forum here please and when it's original well written content we will promote it to the frontpage with a single click.

Not joking, go for it and make sure to tag me when you have posted interesting news about the above series and i'll make sure it's seen here by the masses.
Good idea. Had I known, I would have started something about the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Amazing race that ended with a dramatic finish after 10 hours of racing.
 
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