[corvus corax]

I don't know whether to feel sad for Checo or to be happy for Alonso. RedBull should have left Checo out, known for his skills to preserve tyres he could have pulled of an one stopper and more points in the bag for sure! But better safe than sorry.

A word to those who debate on Verstappen vs Lewis, mates, whats the point. Whether we like it or not the circus will go on. So lets not stoop to the level of Youtube comment box warriors and enjoy the rest of the races for the season. Peace. ✌️😊

[mayankk]

Brilliant drive for the champ, that was. As a fan, the punctures were a constant source of heart in mouth , expecting a safety car at any instant. Chuffed for Alonso, though. It took that old fox to manage those tyres when they were exploding around him. Lovely drive from him. Too bad for bottas, though, but if he had managed the start better, things would have been so much better. May even have managed to hold up Max somewhat.

Flexi wings, drugs, I wonder what's coming up next from Horner and Helmut ....

Salut to the champ, everything notwithstanding.

[saurabh2711]

HAM & VER can take a hike. Sick & tired of watching these two (Teams & persons) and all the off field drama around these two.

Alonso on pole, made my day. First podium after 7 years. Hope this gives him much needed boost.

Hard luck Checko. The Championship is wide open now.

[DIY410]

Why did Mercedes retire Bottas, he should have been hanging on to the race for stealing the fastest lap, unless the car suffered floor damage.

Bottas is a good in qualifying but takes his own sweet time to pass cars, I think in this aspect checko has improved.

[sachin_cs]

Seeing one's favourite driver on the podium after a whole 7 year gap is an emotional moment. Had tears in my eyes when Alonso got out of his car, this was the race I was waiting all these years. The only F1 related poster I have pasted on my wall is of Alonso from 2013 season. And on a side note, those pirellis giving up was quite a fireworks on the track.

My old man -

[DIY410]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Flexi wings, drugs, I wonder what's coming up next from Horner and Helmut ....

Look who was just got summoned to stewards, it is Horner. For breaching FIA code.

[baby_driver999]

As a Max fan, the penalties certainly do hurt, but hey, at least it'll be a proper battle for WDC this year. I'm hoping the 2022 regulation shake-up will also add some more fun next year.

[click]

Alonso, you beauty, what a drive.

A lot of people are saying Perez would have won without virtual safety car. But with three laps remaining, he still was 7 seconds behind and in the end 2.5 secs out. Which means that they would have come neck to neck in the last lap even without safety. I don’t think Alonso would have just let him pass-by this close to the end, he would have fought tooth and nail. So it is not a clear cut assumption that Perez would have passed. It could have gone either way.

What is clear is Alonso drove the crap out of the car, managed the pace and the tyres with a one stopper to make it to the end. Many others on the same strategy could not. The first two positions after first few laps were on auto mode and boring. Fight from position 3 onwards made this an exciting race to watch.

Hopefully many more to come from the rookie Alonso.

[iamahunter]

What a fantastic drive by Alonso, his start and defense against Max was amazing too!

It was a good race for both the RedBulls as well. Perez up to 4th from 11th and Max 2nd from 7th. There was no chance Max was going to catchup with Lewis. I had hoped for a safety car somewhere near the last 10-15 laps , as it was the only way Max could get near Lewis. However, the VSC came out too late.
Nevertheless, great damage control by RBs.

Sad for Bottas, I am not too sure why he was retired. Even after the incident, he seemed to be running fine, slower but fine.

More than sad for Perez, I am happy for Alonso, it been a long time no see. Hungary 2014 to Qatar 2021, is actually a very long time.

I am not sure what could have happened if there was no VSC.
On one side we have the faster RB which could have caught up Alonso in the final 2 laps at the earlies, and then overtaking is a different ballgame. But Alonso was on a one stop strategy, if Perez would have caught-up, it would have been difficult to defend the position with those tires.

Overall a very normal race, not much of drama apart from the punctures. Stage is set for the last 2 races now.

[Ashishkel]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Checo, man, what a drive. Those pit stop strategies were not optimum for him yet he did such a great job overtaking some drivers (like Ocon) even twice! Poor luck for him with the virtual safety car robbing him if the chance to fight Alonso for the podium. He's only getting better and better, it'll be fun to see him perform in 2022.

And good to see teams other than Mercedes & RedBull on the podium. Wonder what's the deal with Mclaren though, both Norris and Riccardo have not been doing well lately.

I think Checo was on an overtaking spree. Looks really under pressure from Horner, lot of risky manuevers on the outside and late breaking.
I was hoping for a race btw Bottas and Checo, didn't happen.

Max, nice getaway to 2nd, others didn't stand a chance.

Lewis might get one more race with the new engine advantage, then it's gonna wear off like Max mentioned last week. I hope it gets really interesting before that..

Really nice to see Alonso up there, Ocon could not become a real lion, but did try to hold Perez with that engine and tires.

Ricardo, so sad that it's not really working on a new track too 😟

[BlueFreedom]

If not for the Alonso podium nothing brilliant in the race.
Race outcome was determined in the first few laps, once Max settled down for P2, settled down because there is nothing at moment that can make RB go faster than the Merc, Max drove like a man possessed to P2, but that is all he can achieve with the current pace deficit.
Ham wins the next two races and even if Max gets the fastest lap point and P2 they will be tied for first place, Wins and podiums will probably determine the outcome and I have a strong feeling even with new penalties the Merc engine will easily win the next two races.

[Hatari]

What a great race!

So happy for Alpine and Alonso, long due and very well deserved.
'Move of the day was Alonso overtaking Gasly on the outside on the 1st lap!

The reason Lewis and Max were looking in a different league during the 1st stint was Alonso behind managing his pace and going long.
25 points more than Alpha Tauri is huge.

Nail biting finish with the tire failures had us all on edge!

[click]

Have mixed feelings about this track. Without the nail biting drama between Alonso and Perez in the end, rest of the race was like watching a train go by. Overtaking came from Bettas and Perez who started back. But had the normal order been restored in the start lineup, we would have seen the same order of cars finish.

This race was made exciting by the battles in the mid-field; but the track also has the potential to be a huge borefest. The only way it can be exciting is if all cars are very closely matched.

I am hoping next year regulations do that, or else f1 will completely loose it sheen regardless of Netflix treatment.

[DevilzzzzOwn]

New and potentially dangerous tactic being deployed by both teams.

A member of the Formula 1 community on Reddit noticed at the Qatar Grand Prix that Mercedes did not withdraw their pneumatic lines, narrowing the pit box approach for Red Bull with the latter doing the same to narrow Mercedes’ exit.

Reminds me of Ralf Schumacher's incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbsyh1-d7WE

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by DevilzzzzOwn

New and potentially dangerous tactic being deployed by both teams.

A member of the Formula 1 community on Reddit noticed at the Qatar Grand Prix that Mercedes did not withdraw their pneumatic lines, narrowing the pit box approach for Red Bull with the latter doing the same to narrow Mercedes’ exit.

Reminds me of Ralf Schumacher's incident.

Noted this during the Hamilton pit stop, I was like "Woah, that's close", I am glad that the F1 community has caught note as well.

This is just dirty from both teams even if either one of them has started it.