Lewis Hamilton did not shake and won the first Qatar Grand Prix in F1 history. Starting from pole position, the Briton quietly kept his lead in the first corner before taking off little by little and going it alone for 57 laps in order to secure the 102nd victory of his career.
Twenty-five more points that allow him to return to eight lengths of Max Verstappen in the standings. Because the Dutchman, finally seventh on the grid after receiving a penalty of five places, had an excellent start to find himself fourth at the end of the straight line then second a few laps later and up to the checkered flag.
Hamilton and Verstappen on the top two steps of the podium, no wonder. On the other hand, the presence of Fernando Alonso in third place calls out a little more. The Spaniard took full advantage of the penalties from Verstappen and Bottas to gain two places on the grid. Starting third, he quickly got the better of Pierre Gasly before having to give in to the leader of the World Championship in the fifth round. Returned to his original place, he kept his Alpine on the podium. His first for seven years (Hungary 2014) and 105 Grands Prix.
Disappointment for AlphaTauri and Gasly
Second and ninth on the grid, the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were out of the game throughout this Grand Prix. In particular the Frenchman who has never found the rhythm which was his since Friday. Result: nine places lost for the winner of Monza in 2019 and two cars out of points for the Italian team (11th and 13th). Faced with 25 points gleaned by Alpine thanks to Alonso’s podium and Ocon’s fifth place, the differential is crucial in the race for the Constructors’ Championship.
The second part of the race was animated by the tires. Valtteri Bottas, the last to stop on lap 34, suffered a puncture on his front left tire. In a staggered strategy to make only one stop, the Finn lost everything before giving up almost 20 laps later when he was stuck behind Gasly in 12th position. Sacrament in demand at Losail, the front left tire also exploded on the Williams of George Russell then of Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian provoked a Virtual Safety Car in the last laps by stopping his car at the end of the gravel pit.