The Formula One Championship season is set for a blockbuster finale as Lewis Hamilton won the Qatar Grand Prix. With this win only eight points separate championship leader Max Verstappen and seven-time champion Hamilton with two races remaining. The win was Hamilton’s 102nd in Formula One career. The occasion also marked a return to podium for Fernando Alonso after seven long years.
The championship battle was reignited in Brazil last week after 36-year-old Englishman won the Brazilian Grand Prix. His sixth win of the season was quickly followed by his seventh as he started the Qatar Grand Prix in pole position. Championship rival Verstappen who has nine wins this season was on full swing before turn seven in the fifth lap saw Hamilton establish a decisive lead. This lead was kept intact until the checkered flag arrived for the seven-time Formula One champion. In doing so, he has now won on 30 different circuits.
Although the defending champion was at full throttle, it was his rival Verstappen who had the fastest lap of the race. He registered the fastest lap point, where he has gone on level terms with Hamilton with five for the season. The occasion also served as a feather in the cap for Alpine as they finished on podium thanks to Fernando Alonso.
The third-place finish for the Spaniard was his first podium finish since Hungary Grand Prix of 2014. He finished second that time as Hamilton remained a common denominator, as the defending champion Hamilton finished third. The podium finish for Spaniard Alonso was 98th of his career. Interestingly, it is the longest ever gap between two podium finishes in the history of Formula One.
The win for Hamilton now sees Mercedes top the chart in the Constructors' Championship ahead of Red Bull. For Red Bull there was a piece of history as well. They became just the second team after Mercedes to register 100 podium finishes in the turbo-hybrid era. 21 of those 100 have come this year.
Tyre issues meant that Valtteri Bottas had the fourth Did Not Finish (DNF) of the season which is the joint-highest in a season of Formula One. However, it helped Red Bull as Sergio Perez’s fourth place finish helped to reduce the gap in the Constructors' Championship and now it is just five points with two races to go.
Lance Stroll recorded his best finish of the season with a sixth place in Qatar. Before the Qatar Grand Prix his third place finish at Sakhir in 2020 was his best. Esteban Ocon finished at the fifth place as Alpine registered two racers in top-five, this was the second time both the Alpine drivers finished the race in top-five this season. This performance helped Alpine to gain a 25 points advantage over Alpha Tauri in the Constructors' Championship.
