Hamilton wins Qatari Grand Prix, exacerbates overall fight / Article

Two stages before the end of the season are divided by eight points between leader Verstapen and vice leader Hamilton.

Hamilton won the qualifying on Saturday, but Verstapen was second, while the second “Mercedes” driver ValteriBotass showed the third result. Verstapen received a five-place penalty for ignoring the yellow flag, but Botas had a three-place penalty for not slowing down at the yellow flag. Thus, Hamilton was joined in the first row by Pierre Gasli (“Alpha Tauri”), while Botas and Verstapen started from sixth and seventh, respectively.

Hamilton defended first place in the start, Fernando Alonso (“Alpine-Renault”) conceded in Gasli, Verstapen climbed to fourth position, while Botass retreated to 11th place. In the first laps, Verstapen overtook Red Bull’s Alpha Tauri in Gasli and also passed Alonso in the fifth lap.

The two leading pilots held their positions, with Hamilton celebrating the victory and Verstapen finishing second, but Alonso, who had only been on the podium once for the first time since 2014, took third place. Verstapens got an extra point for the fastest lap.

After the first three, the second Red Bull driver was Serhio Perez, followed by Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault) and the first six were finished by Lens Strols (Aston Martin). Next was Carlos Sainne Jr., Charles Clare (both Ferrari), ninth was Lendo Norris (McLaren), and Sebastian Vettel was the last.

Botass, like Nicolas Latifi (“Williams”), didn’t go into the pits for a long time and withdrew from the race after more than 50 laps due to torn tires.

After 20 of the 22 stages and a sprint race, Verstapen is in first place with 351.5 points, eight points ahead of Hamilton. Botass is third with 203 points and Perez is fourth with 190 points.

The Mercedes team is the first with the 546.5 points in the Constructors’ Cup, but the Red Bull drivers have scored five points less.

In 2020, Briton Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes won the seventh F-1 title in his career and the fourth in a row. Only the legendary German driver Michael Schumacher managed to win seven times before. The Mercedes team also won the seventh Constructor’s Cup in a row.

A record number of races were originally planned for this season (23), but it turned out at the end of August that Japan was not going to take part. For this reason, 22 F-1 stages will be completed this season.

–