![]() He's passed by Perez, Alonso, Gasly and Norris on track as he drops all the way down to 14th behind Daniel Ricciardo. ![]() Nightmare for Mercedes as Bottas develops a puncture on his front left! He can't turn into turn seven and just about makes it out of the gravel. Hamilton meanwhile could well lap the whole field on this pace, he's just been let through by Leclerc and he's rapidly catching Sainz too. Lap 36: Gasly pits againĪs expected, Gasly has pitted for a second time which releases Norris who had caught the Frenchman very quickly over the last handful of laps. ![]() Hamilton also believes he has a vibration but the AWS graphics think his tyres are still in good nick. Lap 40: Vibrating VerstappenĬoncern for Red Bull as Max Verstappen announces he has vibrations in his car which will send Christian Horner's leg twitching afte Bottas puncture. Bottas is recovering from his puncture as he passes Ricciardo for 12th. Hamilton responds the next lap as we all assumed he would as Perez also pits but drops down to seventh, but those ahead may have to pit again still. With a 54 second gap behind him, Verstappen can pit and maintain his second place. Perez has to pass Stroll before he can look at Ocon who is eight seconds behind Norris in fourth. It might not be that simple though as the DRS has proved effective down the main straight. Lap 45: Defend like a lion, Estebanįernando Alonso is well aware that Sergio Perez is coming as he radios his team to tell Esteban Ocon to defend 'like a lion' from the Red Bull. Norris is next on the agenda for Perez but he has to close eight seconds to the Brit and a further eight to Alonso to get back onto the podium, with less than ten laps to go. The Red Bull wouldn't be denied however and he did pass Ocon at the first attempt. Perez looked to have made an easy move down the main straight but Ocon fought back into turn four. Perez could still get that podium as Alpine tell Alonso to stay off high speed kerbs and Bottas retires his Mercedes from outside the point scorers. Lap 50: Norris pits, Russell puncture, Bottas retiresĪ really strange decision from McLaren to pit with so few laps left but George Russell gets a puncture in the Williams! Maybe McLaren are expecting lots of tyre problems late on but they've dropped behind both Ferrari's as well as Vettel and Gasly. Latifi finds a service road to retire in as Ocon, Stroll, Sainz and Leclerc in a train for fifth. Major worry for Alpine with Alonso still out on hard tyres which have been going off like fireworks at the end of this race. Lap 52: Latifi punctureĪ second Williams puncture in three laps as Latifi's front left goes down on the main straight. Verstappen takes a free pit stop for soft tyres to try and set the fastest lap but if this VSC doesn't end, then Verstappen has the fastest lap already. That is a relief for Alpine and Alonso who are on for a brilliant podium. Lap 55: Virtual safety carĪ weird decision from the FIA as Latifi's well out of the way Williams starts to be moved unnecessarily. Verstappen takes second and the extra point for fastest lap while Alonso earns a podium for Alpine! Ferrari gain more points on McLaren after Norris' late puncture and pit stop. ![]() The VSC is withdrawn too late for Hamilton to set a fast lap but he cuts the deficit to Verstappen again with victory in Qatar. And Esteban Ocon's fifth is not to be sniffed at in the battle for fifth in the constructors championship between Alpine, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin. Unsurprisingly, Alonso's first podium since he left Ferrari in 2014 earns him the driver of the day award, voted for by fans. 2021 Drivers Standings after Qatar Grand Prix Just eight points separate the title contenders as Formula One looks ahead to a first visit to Saudi Arabia in two weeks time before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. That brings to an end a hectic triple header which has seen Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes come back swinging. So, follow along with us as we find out if Verstappen or Hamilton will come out on top in the desert! 15:45 GMT: Two races to go This is the start of our Qatar Grand Prix live blog, with the most recent entries the ones nearest the top. F1 Qatar GP Race Live Coverage - Live text commentary and updates It promises to be a thriller and we'll have all the updates for you on this race live blog. Max Verstappen leads the world championship, but Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes is on pole at the Losail International Circuit for the first ever F1 race here. ![]() Hello everyone and welcome along to ou r live blog for the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, which is set to be a crucial race in this Formula 1 season. ![]()
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