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Qatar GP
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Qatar GP
Saudi Arabia GP Abu Dhabi GP
2021 Formula 1 Qatar GP
Nov 19, 2021 to Nov 21, 2021
| Losail International Circuit, QA
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Formula 1 Qatar GP
F1 Qatar GP Live Commentary and Updates - race day
Minute-by-minute updates for the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail
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Stopwatch
09:27:59 am
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Hamilton then did a 1m27.779s to further extend his lead. Pete Bonnington reports that Verstappen appears to be struggling with rear grip, and that overtaking seems to be easier than expected.
Quote
09:27:24 am
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"Hi Valtteri, it's James. Great job, you are fighting for third place if you can pass these cars." Handy that the Finn just charged by Sainz on lap 15, then.
09:26:18 am
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As of lap 15, Hamilton's got the gap up to 6.9s - and is continuing to further extend that.
09:25:25 am
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Vettel charges by Russell at Turn 1, taking the inside route, to grab 14th place.
Pit stop
09:24:59 am
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Gasly duly pits from sixth, having had enough of the soft boots. Medium tyres now go onto the #10 car.
09:24:42 am
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Bottas is tucked up behind Sainz but after a couple of looks at Turn 1 he hasn't found a way by yet. The Ferrari driver is also getting a slipstream and DRS boost following behind Ocon.
09:23:50 am
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Perez now puts a move on Gasly at Turn 1, taking fifth place as the French driver begins to struggle on his soft tyres.
09:22:06 am
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Norris has a dip at Gasly into Turn 1 at the start of lap 12, rounding the AlphaTauri and collecting fourth place.
Pit stop
09:20:49 am
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At the end of lap 10 Raikkonen is the second driver to pit in the race, coming out right behind fellow early pitter Tsunoda.
09:19:45 am
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Bottas has started to get a move on after getting a hurry up from Mercedes boss Wolff. The Finn dives up Stroll for ninth place but he is already 28s off the leaders.
Stopwatch
09:19:30 am
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Hamilton then does a 1m27.906s on lap 10, so that's an extra half-a-second tacked onto his lead.
Pit stop
09:18:47 am
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Tsunoda pits to ditch his softs for a fresh set of mediums. The AlphaTauri driver comes out in last place.
Stopwatch
09:18:14 am
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Hamilton posts a 1m28.127s on lap 9, extending his lead over Verstappen to five seconds.
09:17:48 am
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Tsunoda gets swallowed up by both Stroll and Bottas on lap nine to lose two places at one corner. Stroll on his inside is now ninth and Bottas on his outside is 10th.
09:16:23 am
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Verstappen is worried that he has front wing damage, so he's been asked to stay off the kerbs.
09:16:15 am
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A lap later, Perez perfects the same move on Sainz at Turn 1 and moves up to seventh place. Further back, Ricciardo has overtaken Russell and Giovinazzi to move up to 14th.
09:15:32 am
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If you want to see some action today, stick yourself at Turn 1. Perez sells Sainz the dummy and tries to go on the outside, with the Ferrari driver defending the inside, but the Mexican runs off the racing line and loses out on corner exit.
Stopwatch
09:13:05 am
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In free air, Verstappen does a 1m28.166s on lap 5, so it's tete-a-tete between the title contenders.
09:12:49 am
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On lap six Leclerc runs it very tight to Raikkonen but gets the move done at the first corner to move up to 12th place.
09:11:59 am
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And there's another, as Perez dives by Tsunoda at Turn 1 to take eighth place.
09:11:20 am
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Meanwhile, Verstappen passes Alonso to get second now, so it's game on at the front.
09:11:08 am
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The midfield runners remain static in their positions, partly expected given the track characteristics, but DRS has been enabled now so more moves should be possible, particularly at Turn 1.
Stopwatch
09:11:04 am
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Verstappen did a 1m30.080s on that lap to get the fastest lap, but Hamilton puts that to the sword with a 1m28.807s to extend his lead.
09:09:45 am
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Gasly goes wide into the final corner at the end of lap 3, which lifts Verstappen up to third with DRS.
Stopwatch
09:08:47 am
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Hamilton sets a 1m30.198s to give us our first full-speed fastest lap. Meanwhile, Verstappen complains that he's a bit "stuck" in fourth, perhaps angling for Gasly to move over.
09:07:09 am
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Hamilton ends lap 1 with a 1.8s gap over Alonso, who at the same time is trying to gap Gasly, who's got Verstappen behind him. Norris is fifth, with Ocon up to sixth after a mighty start too.
09:06:52 am
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At the start of the second lap, Perez keeps in nailed up the inside of Stroll at Turn 1 to take ninth place.
09:05:56 am
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Meanwhile a poor start for Bottas, going back five places to 11th, and Vettel dropping seven places to 17th place.
09:05:19 am
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Hamilton gets away very well, covering off Gasly, as Alonso sweeps past the AlphaTauri!
09:04:45 am
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Super start by Verstappen moving up to fourth place coming out of the first corner!
Checkered flag
09:04:05 am
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Here we go - the Qatar Grand Prix is go go go!
Green flag
09:00:30 am
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The formation lap now begins.
08:59:43 am
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has turned up with the World Cup trophy. There's already been plenty of penalties today, so it's not out of place here.
Breaking news
08:57:58 am
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Tyre news: Gasly, Alonso, Norris, Tsunoda, Ocon, Vettel, Russell, Raikkonen, Latifi, Giovinazzi and Schumacher start on softs. The rest are on mediums.
Sun
08:55:00 am
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We've got 57 laps ahead of us - 0% risk of rain, air temperature of 26.3 degrees C, track sits at 31.1 degrees.
08:49:53 am
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The sidenote of the penalties means that Bottas starts ahead of Verstappen, but the Dutch driver has the clean side of the grid into Turn 1.
08:41:27 am
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Gasly, as a result, moves up to P2 and sits on the front row alongside Hamilton. That's a proper 7/10 strategy.
08:37:09 am
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The FIA wasn't quite sure how the grid shakes up as a result, but it seems that Bottas now starts sixth, with Verstappen starting seventh.
08:35:55 am
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Truly, the Qat has been let out of the bag in the stewards' room.
Penalty
08:35:29 am
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After Pierre Gasly sustained a puncture in qualifying, there was a period of confusing yellow flags at the end of the lap. Valtteri Bottas got a three-place drop for ignoring a single yellow, Max Verstappen got five places for ignoring double-yellows.
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By: Autosport Staff
Published: Nov 21, 2021, 2:28 PM
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