Formula 1 in Qatar: Galactic Hamilton, Alonso amazed – Sport

Lewis Hamilton

(Photo: Andrej Isakovic / AFP)

How can you explain that Lewis Hamilton found the shape of his life at exactly the right moment, which his racing engineer even considers “galactic”? Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes that – apart from the new Mercedes engine and the good balance of the racing car – it is a defiant reaction caused by the events at the World Cup in Brazil. According to Wolff’s interpretation, the downgrades have “awakened the lion in him”.

The Austrian is not a dreamer, but after his 102nd Grand Prix victory he sees the British return to the inner strength that once made Nico Rosberg despair: “He drives cold-blooded, almost brutally and gets the best out of himself. Always, when it comes to setbacks, it mobilizes his superhero powers. ” So the 19 points deficit in the World Cup have melted to eight. The next two racetracks should also be Mercedes, but the practitioner Hamilton does not give anything to theory: “We just needed these points. It was a really tough year. That was an important step forward. I feel fit like never before.”

Max Verstappen

F1 Grand Prix of Qatar
(Photo: Mark Thompson / Getty Images)

Does the man who has now been second to Lewis Hamilton twice but still leads the World Cup have anything to do with the beaming winners of Austin and Mexico? At first glance, Max Verstappen seems snotty and relaxed as always, but the recent turnaround is troubling him. Justament, when he gave up his pessimism of purpose after his ninth win of the season, the strength of his Red Bull Honda began to crumble. Instead, the background noise around the team increased, fueled by its bosses themselves.

But apparently this distracts Red Bull itself more than Mercedes. Verstappen therefore gives the stoic. The driving performance of the Dutchman is on a par with the Hamilton’s, only sometimes his hyper-aggressiveness comes through. When his colleagues in Doha wanted to ask him for it in the driver briefing, he pretended to be deaf. He gave the answer after being downgraded from second to seventh place – with a rocket launch. After five laps he was second again.

Fernando Alonso

Seven Formula 1 curves: undefined
(Photo: Andrej Isakovic / AFP)

Third. Basically just a consolation prize for someone who wanted to become Formula 1 world champion at least three times. But third in a car that is good for points, but not for triumphs, that was what caused Fernando Alonso to call Olé over the pit radio – which came back as a polyphonic echo from the Renault-Alpine team. At first he even expected to be the first to take the first corner. Which means that the beneficiary of the numerous starting place penalties has an absolutely intact self-confidence. The audience voted the 40-year-old returnees driver of the day, he hadn’t stepped onto a Grand Prix podium for seven years. “I’m enjoying this Formula 1,” said Alonso, putting the small triumph of Doha on a par with his sports car successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “It was just fantastic.” And from below from the pit lane up to Alonso, team advisor Alain Prost, the four-time champion, applauded.

Mick Schumacher

Qatar Grand Prix
(Photo: Hasan Bratic / dpa)

Just one stop in 57 laps, from 19th place on the grid to 16th place. Made a small driving mistake, but continued to gain confidence. If the German debutant had a car that was a tiny bit better than the outdated Haas Ferrari, his dream of scoring his first championship point could come true on days like this one in Qatar. “Still good, and we can be happy,” says the perhaps most optimistic driver in the entire Formula 1 field after Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo.

The team is getting used to vehicle set-up and strategy, and in these things the 22-year-old is his father’s son: doing everything for the well-being of the team, because that benefits you yourself. In the competition with his colleague Nikita Mazepin, who ended up in 18th place, a long way behind, Schumacher junior also made an important moral point. The Russian had previously sounded that he would finally be able to fight with the same means, since this time no simulator training was available at Ferrari for the German Ferrari pupil. Mazepin blames the recent defeat on changing the underbody of his car.

Toto Wolff / Christian Horner

F1 Grand Prix of Qatar - Practice
(Photo: Dan Istitene / Getty Images)

The relationship between defending champion Mercedes and challenger Red Bull cannot get any worse, because for Christian Horner “there is no relationship at all”. He doesn’t have to crawl Wolff’s ass either. The joint round of interviews with Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff turned into a talk show of alienation. Horner considers the actions and reactions of Mercedes to be a sign of how much the world championship team is under pressure. Wolff forbade that. He has faced completely different situations in his life. For him it is quite normal that the title fight is bitterly fought on all levels – politically, athletically, technically. Nevertheless, he sees a fatal development of the rivalry over the season: “We started like Olympic boxers, then switched to the professional camp – and now it’s a full contact martial arts.”

Jeddah

The Losail Circuit in Doha, built for motorcycle races, has mastered its sudden Formula 1 premiere properly. The asphalt might be a bit rough, which is how the late tire damage occurred. How it will behave with the course in Jeddah, no one can say yet. The Saudis were only awarded the contract a year ago, and since then the area has looked like a large sandpit. There’s a lot of digging going on and Formula 1 is worried that in a week and a half there won’t be a racetrack that is worthy of a penultimate World Championship round and perhaps even the title decision. Now 3000 workers are supposed to toil day and night. Is that enough?

The inspectors of the international automobile association Fia have brought back half-reassuring news from the port city. The route would probably be finished, one shouldn’t expect too much with the infrastructure. After the failed Belgian Grand Prix had already influenced the World Cup, Formula 1 cannot afford to distort competition. To reassure you, the organizer has circulated pictures of the construction progress. To see: sections of a properly swept slope. And a lot of blue sky.

Michael Masi

MASI Michael, FIA Race Director, portrait during the Formula 1 Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021, 20th round of the 2021 FIA;  Michael Masi Formula 1
(Photo: Xavi Bonilla / Imago / PanoramiC)

To become Charlie Whiting’s successor as Formula 1 racing director was a huge career leap for the Australian. However, one with a tragic starting point, because Whiting was found dead in his hotel room before the start of the 2019 season. Masi never tried to imitate Whiting, who was an authority like Bernie Ecclestone. He is approachable, polite, even when the team bosses approach him by radio, he makes quick decisions and sometimes he just lets things go. A good head referee.

The 42-year-old could make a lot of friends with this way of gaining authority – if he hadn’t got caught in the poisoned battle between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes right now. Two crashes between the World Cup candidates, several critical evasive maneuvers, countless protests and accusations. When Christian Horner accused the marshals of not doing a good job in view of the downgrading of Max Verstappen, the official of the Fia Automobile Association was enough. After the summons, Horner was meek, apologized (“You are doing a wonderful job”) and got away with an official warning.

.
source site