Sainz shines at Silverstone in maiden F1 win

CARLOS SAINZ Jr kept his cool to achieve a maiden Grand Prix victory at the 150th attempt after a crazy race at a packed Silverstone.

The Spanish pole-sitter had fallen behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc ahead of a restart with only nine laps left following a late interruption by the Safety Car.

But, following a brief tussle, Sainz - on fresher soft tyres - used his big advantage with Leclerc left like a sitting duck on the hard compound.

That was far from the most incredible racing after the second restart, though.

Instead, the best of the action came from Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton as the British seven-time world champion moved from fourth place to second then was forced back down to fourth in the space of just five corners.

Hamilton eventually passed the struggling Leclerc but will rue a slow pit-stop by his Mercedes team which prevented him from making more of a run at a ninth win at his home circuit.

Nevertheless, the 37-year-old did set the fastest lap and made it onto the F1 podium at Silverstone for a 13th time, a record for any driver at a single track.

Now, the top three in this race does not tell half the story after the drama on the first lap and especially the first corner.

Immediately at lights out, Max Verstappen stormed past Sainz - but the real mayhem erupted behind the front-runners as contact between George Russell and Pierre Gasly diverted Russell's Mercedes towards Zhou Guanyu, resulting in a massive shunt.

In a terrifying moment, the Alfa Romeo of Chinese driver Zhou was flipped over on impact, skidded upside down through a gravel trap and over a tyre wall, only coming to a halt in a catch fencing right in front of grandstand of spectators.

The cockpit halo was a controversial addition to these open-seater cars when made mandatory by the FIA in 2018 - but it had undoubtedly made yet another remarkable intervention.

In fact, Zhou's accident came just a few hours after the halo had prevented Roy Nissany from being decapitated by Dennis Hauger's car in the F2 feature race.

Following a worrying delay, Zhou was confirmed to be conscious and on his way to the medical centre, where Alex Albon was also sent for a check-up.

Several other cars also sustained damage as a domino effect took hold through the midfield - and, after a delay of almost an hour, it came as something of a surprise that 17 of the 20 drivers were still in the race.

Along with Zhou and Albon, Russell was the only other driver to retire despite not actually being stricken.

Mercedes man Russell had dashed out of his cockpit from a safe position at the side of the track towards Zhou - but received outside assistance, albeit unwanted help, from a tow truck which took his car back to the pits.

Regardless, the 24-year-old deserves huge commendation for his response - but, from a regulatory perspective, it was frustratingly impossible to argue against.

Russell should console himself with the fact that he will have many more chances to make a big impression at Silverstone - and, most importantly, that he had still done the right thing.

Back to the racing and a standing restart was taken in grid order because the accident had come so early.

Ferrari fared better second time around as Verstappen and Leclerc went wheel-to-wheel behind Sainz, and Perez sustained damage to his front wing.

However, Verstappen kept second place and closed in on Sainz to put himself in the perfect position to seize on a mistake by the Spaniard on lap 10.

The lead did not last long, though. On lap 12, the Dutchman picked up some debris along the Wellington Straight and damaged the floor of his car, leaving him with performance issues for the rest of the afternoon.

At the same time, though, the 24-year-old will be satisfied enough with a seventh-placed finish after another difficult day at the Northamptonshire circuit, a venue at which he has never won.

After all, the Dutchman still leads the World Drivers Championship on 181 points, ahead of team-mate Perez (147), with Leclerc in third place on 138.

It is a rather different picture to the early part of the season when reliability issues for Red Bull allowed Leclerc to build a lead of 46 points over Verstappen.

Since then, though, Leclerc has suffered two engine failures while leading in Spain and Azerbaijan - before a strategic error in Monaco turned a likely home win into fourth place.

In Canada, the number of engine replacements forced the Monegasque to start from the back of the grid in Canada - and, to complete the set, a mistake by Leclerc himself in Imola dropped him down from third to sixth.

So, instead, it is Leclerc who has much to ponder as this campaign speeds towards its four-week summer recess in August.

Perhaps, the race at Silverstone will signal a shift against Verstappen like it did last year - and it would be fair to say that Leclerc is due something of a change in fortune.

Unlike the seemingly favourable situation for Verstappen at Red Bull, though, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto is resistant to the imposition of team orders on his drivers.

That cost Leclerc on Sunday when, despite leading and showing quicker pace than Sainz in the first part of the race, he was left to finish the race on the rapidly degrading hard compound while the Spaniard was able to pit for soft tyres.

Such are the stated terms of engagement at Ferrari that it seems distinctly possible that the same approach could happen and cost Leclerc again later this year.

More critically, though, Verstappen's title win in December has given him supreme confidence with the extremely controversial circumstances leaving him with no doubt or regrets.

The Dutchman has won his six races in 2022 already - in Saudi Arabia, Imola, Miami, Barcelona, Baku, and Montreal - with no other driver winning more than two.

🏁

◾️ 2022 GRAND PRIX RACE CALENDAR ◾️

	Date			Winner | Venue
(1)	20-March		BAHRAIN	Charles Leclerc
(2)	27-March		SAUDI ARABIA	Max Verstappen
(3)	10-April		AUSTRALIA	Charles Leclerc
(4)	24-April		EMILIA ROMAGNA	Max Verstappen
(5)	08-May		MIAMI	Max Verstappen
(6)	22-May		SPAIN	Max Verstappen
(7)	29-May		MONACO	Sergio Pérez
(8)	12-June		AZERBAIJAN	Max Verstappen
(9)	19-June		CANADA	Max Verstappen
(10)	03-July		GREAT BRITAIN	Carlos Sainz Jr
(11)	10-July		AUSTRIA	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
(12)	24-July		FRANCE	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet
(13)	31-July		HUNGARY	Hungaroring, Mogyoród
(14)	28-August		BELGIUM	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
(15)	04-September		NETHERLANDS	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
(16)	11-September		ITALY	Monza Circuit, Monza
(17)	02-October		SINGAPORE	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
(18)	09-October		JAPAN	Suzuka International Course, Suzuka
(19)	23-October		UNITED STATES	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX
(20)	30-October		MEXICO	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
(21)	13-November		BRAZIL	Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo
(22)	20-November		ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

🏁

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

			Points
1	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull	181	(6 wins)
2	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Red Bull	147	(1 win)
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	138	(2 wins)
4	Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP)	Ferrari	127	(1 win)
5	George Russell (GBR)	Mercedes	111
6	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	93
7	Lando Norris (GBR)	McLaren-Mercedes	58
8	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	46
9	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Alpine-Renault	39
10	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Alpine-Renault	28
11	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	AlphaTauri-Red Bull PT	16
12	Kevin Magnussen (DEN)	Haas-Ferrari	16
13	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	15
14	Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)	McLaren-Mercedes	15
15	Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)	AlphaTauri-Red Bull PT	11
16	Guanyu Zhou (CHN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	5
17	Mick Schumacher (GER)	Haas-Ferrari	4
18	Alexander Albon (THA)	Williams-Mercedes	3
19	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	3
20	Nicholas Latifi (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	0
21	Nico Hulkenberg (GER)	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	0

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

			Points
1	Red Bull (AUT)	Verstappen | Pérez	328	(7 wins)
2	Ferrari (ITA)	Leclerc | Sainz Jr	265	(3 wins)
3	Mercedes (GER)	Russell | Hamilton	204
4	McLaren-Mercedes (GBR)	Norris | Ricciardo	73
5	Alpine-Renault (FRA)	Alonso | Ocon	67
6	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari (SUI)	Bottas | Zhou	51
7	AlphaTauri-RedBullPT (ITA)	Gasly | Tsunoda	27
8	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Magnussen | Schumacher	20
9	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes (GBR)	Vettel | Stroll | Hulkenberg	18
10	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	Albon | Latifi	3

Index 2021

 

FOOTBALL
• Season 2020/21
23.04 Super League coup attempt leaves nasty scar

06.06 For the record: Tuchel guides Chelsea to European glory
• Euro 2020+1
11.06 The Guide: Better late than never
26.06 Southgate seeks to banish the ghosts of Euro 96
10.07 And Final-ly...
13.07 Not this time, maybe never
• Season 2021/22
27.08 Premier League preview: Ronaldo returns after Man City miss out on Kane
19.11 Goal glut for Kane as England qualify for World Cup

OLYMPICS
• Tokyo 2020+1
24.07 The unwanted Olympics
31.07 Proud Daley achieves his dream at last
10.08 Kennys keep their Golden Touch

FORMULA ONE
• 2021 season
28.03 Verstappen closes in on record-chasing Hamilton
19.07 Hamilton revives title challenge after dramatic day at Silverstone
23.11 Tetchy title race goes to the wire

CRICKET
• Ashes series 2021/22
07.12 Overshadowed, uncertain Ashes series steps out of the shade
29.12 Ducking hell
• Earlier series
05.02 Root seeks a jewel in the crown

OTHER SPORT
• Snooker
18.04 Trump targets second World Snooker title
03.05 Obdurate Selby grinds down doughty Murphy
• Tennis
19.09 Raducanu makes the grade in New York
• Golf
27.09 Windswept Europe battered by Americans in Wisconsin
• Ice Hockey
22.05 Free hit for Team GB in ice hockey finals

POLITICS

• Local elections
09.05 Labour holds London but loses in Hartlepool and heartlands

INDEX 2021 
• Previous years 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

F1 2021: Tetchy title race goes to the wire

LEWIS HAMILTON moved within striking distance of Championship leader Max Verstappen with victory at the inaugural Grand Prix in Qatar as a bad-tempered title race enters its final stretch.

Seven-time champion Hamilton cut his deficit to the Dutchman down to just eight points, with a maximum of 52 available from the two remaining races in Saudi Arabia on 5 December and Abu Dhabi a week later.

Verstappen still has a points advantage for now then - but, after spending the majority of the season on the back foot, Mercedes driver Hamilton will be satisfied at just being in with a shout after back-to-back race wins. 

In fairness, rather than being completely dominated by one team, this year has seen a seesaw battle straight from the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, with the lead in the Drivers' Championship already switching five times between the pair. 

Coincidentally, at my last write-up following the British Grand Prix in July, Hamilton had closed the gap on Verstappen to eight points then as well. 

And it actually got better for the Briton prior to the summer recess after a crazy start to the Hungarian Grand Prix on an extremely wet day in Budapest.

At the very first turn of the race at the Hungaroring, there were two major shunts caused by Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll who were both too late on the brakes. 

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Bottas crashed into the back of Lando Norris who, in turn, careered into Verstappen, causing major damage to the Red Bull. 

An out-of-control Bottas slid off Norris into the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez - while, further back, Stroll went into Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who, in turn, sent Daniel Ricciardo into a spin. 

Hamilton had avoided all of the carnage but, on the restart from the red flag, he was the only driver to start from the grid on intermediate tyres. 

The rest of the drivers still in the Grand Prix restarted from the pits having changed to slicks - and it soon became apparent that Mercedes had missed a trick as Hamilton fell through the pack after taking a belated pitstop. 

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon took full advantage and eventually sealed his maiden Grand Prix victory with Hamilton happy to scramble back up to second and the hamstrung Verstappen down in ninth. 

That gave Hamilton a lead in the Drivers' Championship of eight points at the four-week break but his advantage did not last for long into the autumn. 

At Spa-Francorchamps, another weekend of soaking wet weather ended in farce as the 20 drivers - after hours of delays - pootled around behind a safety car to record the one official lap required for a classification to be determined. 

It counted for half-points in the standings but it could not exactly be considered to have been a race. At least, there was no fastest lap point awarded. 

Next, the calendar took the paddock over the border to the Netherlands where the Dutchman retook the Championship lead in his home race with a commanding win from pole position.

Rather disgracefully, second-placed Hamilton was booed on the podium by the Dutch fans - and, in recent races, the anomisity held by the rival fans has been further fuelled by the behaviour of the teams, especially that of Red Bull. 

At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the two leading drivers were involved in their second massive flashpoint of the season following their earlier clash at Silverstone. 

This time, Verstappen - behind and on the outside approaching the first chicane - turned in on Hamilton, taking both drivers off the track and out of the race on lap 26. 

To add to the drama, Verstappen's Red Bull ended up flipping itself and landing on top of Hamilton's Mercedes - and, in a shocking lack of regard for his fellow competitor, the Dutchman walked off without checking if his rival was safe. 

After both drivers had gone their own way bitterly blaming each other, Verstappen was officially censured by the stewards for the incident - though he still took two points from the weekend with second place in the sprint race. 

In Russia, Hamilton regained the title lead once more, recording his 100th Grand Prix by overtaking long-time race leader Norris after the younger Briton found himself skidding all over the place in his McLaren on the wrong tyres during a late shower. 

Hamilton's advantage in the Championship was short-lived again though, as a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change and a poor early pit-stop strategy meant he finished the Turkish Grand Prix down in fifth. 

At least Verstappen did not win in Istanbul, after his own race was compromised by Carlos Sainz Jr, with victory instead going to Bottas. 

Nevertheless, the Dutchman had turned a two-point deficit into a six-point lead and he used that momentum to extend his lead further with consecutive race wins in Mexico and Brazil. 

Suddenly, Verstappen had stretched his Championship lead to 19 points - only once during the season had the lead been greater. 

In short, he looked unstoppable at this stage with even Hamilton admitting on the team radio that his rival was too quick for him. 

But the racing gods determined this engrossing battle deserved at least one more twist. 

At the famous undulating Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, where Hamilton won his first title on the final corner of the final lap of the last Grand Prix in 2008, he reinvigorated his pursuit for an eighth crown with a drive for the ages. 

Disqualified from qualifying for a larger-than-permitted drag reduction system slot, Hamilton started from the back of the grid in the sprint race but fought his way up to finish fifth - only then to lose another five places on the starting grid for a change of engine. 

The defining moments of the race itself came on laps 48 and 59, in failed and then successful overtaking attempts by Hamilton. 

On his first attempt, Hamilton was forced off the track by Verstappen who missed the apex of the corner and left his his braking ridiculously late - and yet somehow avoided a penalty. 

The second attempt was similar but Hamilton was closer and executed the move brilliantly around the outside to cap off a magnificent all-round performance. 

Hamilton's win in Qatar was rather more straightforward lights-to-flag affair - but that, in itself, underlined the threat set to be posed by Mercedes in what is left of this season.

By contrast, Verstappen and Red Bull principal Christian Horner got into more hot water, with both called to the stewards.

First, Verstappen was penalised with a five-place grid penalty after ignoring double-waved yellow warning flags in qualifying.

Then, Horner was summoned following a controversial interview in which he accused a "rogue marshal" for the flags which led to his driver's penalty.

Red Bull are clearly riled - aghast at a Mercedes car which is finishing the season more strongly than expected based on its performances before the race in Brazil. 

Horner and Verstappen suspect something is up, specifically the legality of the rear wing on the Mercedes, with Verstappen fined €50,000 for fiddling with Hamilton's car after qualifying in Sao Paulo. 

However, Mercedes did not fall foul to any of the additional checks made by the officials in Qatar - and, instead, it feels as if it is the lack of composure shown by Red Bull which threatens to derail Verstappen's bid for a first Driver's Championship in F1.

At the same time, Hamilton will be well aware that he is still behind in this title race - and he will also know that, if Verstappen wins in Jeddah on 5 December, he will have to finish sixth to stand a mathematical chance of the title, or fifth if the Dutchman picks up another point for the fastest lap. 

Surely, though, the improved Mercedes will manage better than that. After all, this enthralling adventure of a title race deserves to go to the wire.

		HAMILTON			v			VERSTAPPEN
28-March	BAHRAIN	1st	25		(+7)		18	2nd
18-April	EMILIA ROMAGNA	2nd	19	44	(+1)	43	25	1st
02-May	PORTUGAL	1st	25	69	(+8)	61	18	2nd
09-May	SPAIN	1st	25	94	(+14)	80	19	2nd
23-May	MONACO	7th	7	101	(-4)	105	25	1st
06-June	AZERBAIJAN	15th	0	101	(-4)	105	0	18th
20-June	FRANCE	2nd	18	119	(-12)	131	26	1st
27-June	STYRIAN	2nd	19	138	(-18)	156	25	1st
04-July	AUSTRIA	4th	12	150	(-32)	182	26	1st
18-July	GREAT BRITAIN	1st	27	177	(-8)	185	3^	Retired
01-August	HUNGARY	2nd	18	195	(+8)	187	2	9th
29-August	BELGIUM*	3rd	7.5	202.5	(+3)	199.5	12.5	1st
05-September	NETHERLANDS	2nd	19	221.5	(-3)	224.5	25	1st
12-September	ITALY	Retired	0	221.5	(-5)	226.5	2^	Retired
26-September	RUSSIA	1st	25	246.5	(+2)	244.5	18	2nd
10-October	TURKEY	5th	10	256.5	(-6)	262.5	18	2nd
24-October	UNITED STATES	2nd	19	275.5	(-12)	287.5	25	1st
07-November	MEXICO	2nd	18	293.5	(-19)	312.5	25	1st
14-November	BRAZIL	1st	25	318.5	(-14)	332.5	20	2nd
21-November	QATAR	1st	25	343.5	(-8)	351.5	19	2nd

* Half-points were awarded as less than 75% of the race distance was completed
^ Verstappen retired from the Grand Prix but won points in the sprint race

REMAINING CALENDAR

(21)	05-December	5.30pm	SAUDI ARABIA	Jeddah Street Circuit, Saudi Arabia
(22)	12-December	1pm	ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull-Honda	351.5	(9 wins)
2	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	343.5	(7 wins)
3	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	203	(1 win)
4	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Red Bull-Honda	190	(1 win)
5	Lando Norris (GBR)	McLaren-Mercedes	153
6	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Ferrari	152
7	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Ferrari	145.5
8	Daniel Ricciardo  (AUS)	McLaren-Mercedes	105	(1 win)
9	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	92
10	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Alpine-Renault	77
11	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Alpine-Renault	60	(1 win)
12	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	43
13	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	34
14	Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	20
15	George Russell (GBR)	Williams-Mercedes	16
16	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	10
17	Nicholas Latifi (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	7
18	Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
19	Mick Schumacher (GER)	Haas-Ferrari	0
20	Robert Kubica (POL)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	0
21	Nikita Mazepin (RUS)	Haas-Ferrari	0

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Mercedes (GER)	Hamilton | Bottas	546.5	(8 wins)
2	Red Bull-Honda (AUT)	Verstappen | Pérez	541.5	(10 wins)
3	Ferrari (ITA)	Leclerc | Sainz Jr	297.5
4	McLaren-Mercedes (GBR)	Norris | Ricciardo	258	(1 win)
5	Alpine-Renault (FRA)	Alonso | Ocon	137	(1 win)
6	Alpha Tauri-Honda	Gasly | Tsunoda	112
7	Aston Martin-Mercedes (GBR)	Stroll | Vettel	77
8	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	Russell | Latifi	23
9	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari (SUI)	Räikkönen | Giovinazzi | Kubica	11
10	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Schumacher | Mazepin	0

Hamilton revives title challenge after dramatic day at Silverstone

LEWIS HAMILTON collided with World Drivers' Championship leader Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix - and then won the race - to revive his ailing title defence. 

The victory following the incident on the opening lap at Silverstone reduced the Dutchman's title advantage back down to just eight points - and sparked an angry set of exchanges between the drivers and team bosses at Mercedes and Red Bull. 

Christian Horner, the Red Bull principal, said he considered Hamilton to have earned a "hollow victory" and commented in a tone dripping with sarcasm: "I hope Lewis is very happy with himself." 

Verstappen later wrote on Twitter from hospital where he underwent precautionary checks: "Very disappointed to be taken out like this. 

"Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike but we move on."

In the case of the defence, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff responded: "It is a situation we all have seen in the past when great drivers race with each other. 

"When nobody is prepared to give in, these kinds of situations can happen. But it takes two to tango."

Hamilton himself added his own comment on Twitter which read: "Today is a reminder of the dangers in this sport. I send my best wishes to Max who is an incredible competitor. 

"I'm glad to hear he is ok. I will always race hard but always fairly."

In fairness to Hamilton's critics, the stewards at Silverstone did not entirely agree with that assessment on this occasion - and they punished him with a 10-second penalty. 

Red Bull criticised the leniency of the punishment - the second-lowest available - but they are increasingly in danger of coming across as rather sore losers. 

For sure, Hamilton stuck a wheel up the inside of Copse corner and failed to make it to the apex - but it felt as if the main reason for the clash was that neither driver wanted to give an inch to their title rival. 

In this regard, the British Grand Prix stewards judged Hamilton to be "predominantly at fault", adding that Hamilton went into the corner "slightly behind and on the inside". 

However, they appear to have assessed the incident accurately - and their penalty award, while not harsh, was a pretty fair outcome. 

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took the main immediate advantage from the shunt, gaining the lead from third place on the grid, and going onto hold it for the next 49 laps of the 52-lap race. 

But the 23-year-old Monegasque in the red Prancing Horse came up just short as Hamilton - despite his penalty - got into position to complete a clean overtake, ironically at Copse, on lap 50. 

Hamilton therefore secured an eighth win at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix - but this was not any ordinary victory at home. 

Following the recent dominance of Verstappen during this first half of the season, this must count as one of the most important wins in his 15-year F1 career. 

Ahead of the race at Silverstone, the Dutchman had won four of the previous five races to turn a 14-point deficit after the Spanish Grand Prix into a 32-point lead following his lights-to-flag victory at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

In Monaco and in the Styrian Grand Prix - which was also at the Red Bull Ring - an utterly dominant Verstappen had also led from start to finish. 

Indeed, it could easily have been so much worse this year for Hamilton so far.

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 6 June, in the sixth race of the season, Verstappen retired from the lead with a left-rear tyre failure on lap 45 of 51. 

The Dutchman's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez scored only his second win in F1 after Hamilton made a bad braking error on the restart to fall out of the points altogether - but a Verstappen victory in Baku would have been far more costly to the Stevenage-born champion.

Even this weekend at Silverstone, Verstappen - once he recovers and calms down - will still feel as if he has the edge on Hamilton. 

The British driver qualified ahead of Verstappen in the traditional qualifying session, held on Friday evening - but his Dutch opponent was in front of him before the first corner in the new-fangled one-third distance sprint qualifying trial held on Saturday afternoon. 

In a break from tradition, it was the latter session which confirmed Verstappen on pole for the Grand Prix itself - and, perhaps more vitally, confirmed to everyone that the Red Bull is the faster car. 

Undoubtedly, Verstappen has had a rough weekend - and a hell of a heavy crash at the force of 51G, that is 51 times the force of gravity - but he is still rightly odds-on for the Drivers title. 

Next week, the Hungaroring in Budapest will host the last Grand Prix before the four-week summer break - but, after the recess, the races really come thick and fast. 

The nine visits to Belgium, Verstappen's Netherlands home race, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Japan, United States, Mexico and Brazil are all scheduled to be crammed into a 10-week period between 29 August and 7 November - ahead of two races in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

In other words, Mercedes must work fast to improve their pace if Hamilton is going to have a genuine chance against Verstappen.

It may have been a tough weekend - but the future remains bright for Verstappen.

HAMITON v VERSTAPPEN

		HAMILTON			v			VERSTAPPEN
28-March	BAHRAIN	1st	25		(+7)		18	2nd
18-April	EMILIA ROMAGNA	2nd	19	44	(+1)	43	25	1st
02-May	PORTUGAL	1st	25	69	(+8)	61	18	2nd
09-May	SPAIN	1st	25	94	(+14)	80	19	2nd
23-May	MONACO	7th	7	101	(-4)	105	25	1st
06-June	AZERBAIJAN	15th	0	101	(-4)	105	0	18th
20-June	FRANCE	2nd	18	119	(-12)	131	26	1st
27-June	STYRIAN	2nd	19	138	(-18)	156	25	1st
04-July	AUSTRIA	4th	12	150	(-32)	182	26	1st
18-July	GREAT BRITAIN	1st	27	177	(-8)	185	3	Retired

REMAINING CALENDAR

(11)	01-August	2pm	HUNGARY	Hungaroring, Mogyoród
(12)	29-August	2pm	BELGIUM	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
(13)	05-September	2pm	NETHERLANDS	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
(14)	12-September	2pm	ITALY	Monza Circuit, Monza
(15)	26-September	1pm	RUSSIA	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
(16)	03-October	1pm	TURKEY	Istanbul Park, Tuzla
(17)	10-October	6am	JAPAN	Suzuka International Course, Suzuka
(18)	24-October	8pm	UNITED STATES	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX
(19)	31-October	7pm	MEXICO	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
(20)	07-November	5pm	BRAZIL	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
(21)	21-November	-	TBC	-
(22)	05-December	4pm	SAUDI ARABIA	Jeddah Street Circuit, Saudi Arabia
(23)	12-December	1pm	ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull-Honda	185	(5 wins)
2	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	177	(4 wins)
3	Lando Norris (GBR)	McLaren-Mercedes	113
4	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	108
5	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Red Bull-Honda	104	(1 win)
6	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Ferrari	80
7	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Ferrari	68
8	Daniel Ricciardo  (AUS)	McLaren-Mercedes	50
9	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	39
10	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	30
11	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Alpine-Renault	26
12	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	18
13	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Alpine-Renault	14
14	Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	10
15	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
16	Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
17	George Russell (GBR)	Williams-Mercedes	0
18	Mick Schumacher (GER)	Haas-Ferrari	0
19	Nicholas Latifi (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	0
20	Nikita Mazepin (RUS)	Haas-Ferrari	0

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Red Bull-Honda (AUT)	Max Verstappen - Sergio Pérez	289	(6 wins)
2	Mercedes (GER)	Lewis Hamilton - Valtteri Bottas	285	(4 wins)
3	McLaren-Mercedes (GBR)	Lando Norris - Daniel Ricciardo	163
4	Ferrari (ITA)	Charles Leclerc - Carlos Sainz Jr	148
5	Alpha Tauri-Honda	Pierre Gasly - Yuki Tsunoda	49
6	Aston Martin-Mercedes (GBR)	Lance Stroll - Sebastian Vettel	48
7	Alpine-Renault (FRA)	Fernando Alonso - Esteban Ocon	40
8	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari (SUI)	Kimi Räikkönen - Antonio Giovinazzi	2
9	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	George Russell - Nicholas Latifi	0
10	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Mick Schumacher - Nikita Mazepin	0

Verstappen closes in on record-chasing Hamilton

 
• ALFA ROMEO-FERRARI
• [7] Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) | Entries 332 (329 starts) Poles 18 Wins 21 🏆
• [99] Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) | Entries 40 (40 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0

◾️ Continuity is the word at ALFA ROMEO where the 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi have retained their places for a third season in a row in a team which has finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship for the last two years (or three years, if you count the final iteration of its predecessor Sauber with a different driver line-up). To be honest, Alfa Romeo could perhaps have done with a bit of a shake-up and it is difficult to see any better offering from the Swiss-based operation this time around, especially if Raikkonen winds down slowly towards his retirement. After all, Giovinazzi has only had a handful of points finishes from his 40 starts, although he did at least evenly split the eight points which the team earned last year.

• ALPHA TAURI-HONDA
• [10] Pierre Gasly (FRA) | Entries 64 (64 starts) Poles 0 Wins 1
• [22] Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) | Rookie

◾️ ALPHA TAURI provides one of the most fascinating line-ups of the season as rookie Yuki Tsunoda takes a seat alongside race winner Pierre Gasly who delighted his Italian team with a completely unexpected home victory at Monza after a crazy Italian Grand Prix in September. Gasly may have been the beneficiary of a well-timed pit-stop on that day - but the 25-year-old from Rouen in France also appears to have natural talent in abundance. Meanwhile, Tsunoda is a complete enigma for now - although it was plain to see that the first Japanese driver in a Formula One car since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014 was lightning quick in testing. Just how much raw pace Tsunoda has when the real stuff begins will determine the long-term prospects of the Honda-backed man.

• ALPINE-RENAULT
• [14] Fernando Alonso (ESP) | Entries 314 (311 starts) Poles 22 Wins 32 🏆🏆
• [31] Esteban Ocon (FRA) | Entries 67 (67 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0

◾️ Renault has rebranded its Formula One team as ALPINE to promote its sports car brand - but, while the name on the grid is new, it is an old flame in Fernando Alonso which the French outfit welcomes back. The veteran Spaniard won back-to-back titles with the team in 2005 and 2006, and after more recently winning consecutive Le Mans 24 races in 2018 and 2019 - and racing in the Indy500 three times - he returns to the format which first put him in the spotlight. Alongside Alonso, Frenchman Esteban Ocon retains his seat hoping to build on his second place at the crazy 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in what will be his fourth Formula One campaign. But any hopes are tempered by the feeling that the whole set-up of Alpine continues to give off the appearance of an archetypal mid-table team. 

• ASTON MARTIN-MERCEDES
• [5] Sebastian Vettel (GER) | Entries 258 (257 starts) Poles 57 Wins 53 🏆🏆🏆🏆
• [18] Lance Stroll (CAN) | Entries 79 (78 starts) Poles 1 Wins 0

◾️ ASTON MARTIN makes a long-awaited return to Formula One in 2021 with the marque appearing for the first time as a works team since 1960. The Silverstone-based outfit will retain its British Racing Green livery from 61 years ago and, like its immediate predecessor Racing Point, will be powered by a Mercedes engine. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel arrives following a difficult time at Ferrari - but, now seven years on from his last title, it remains to be seen if this will be anything more than a three-year farewell tour for the German. Lance Stroll retains the other seat to the surprise of nobody at all, considering his own father is a part-owner of the team - and, amid infuriating inconsistency, the Canadian has struggled to shrug off the daddy's boy reputation. Simply put, Stroll needs to produce more regularly the performance-level which has brought him some occasional bright moments, most notably when he stepped on the podium in Monza and at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

• FERRARI
• [16] Charles Leclerc (MON) | Entries 59 (59 starts) Poles 7 Wins 2
• [55] Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) | Entries 119 (118 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0

◾️ FERRARI begins the 2021 campaign with the simple aim of restoring respectability to its name after a horrendous and, at times, utterly humiliating 2020 season. The Prancing Horse looked more like a donkey, ambling around tracks all over the world without a threat and eventually finishing sixth in the Constructors' Championship for its worst result in 40 years. Nevertheless, a new year brings fresh hope with Monégasque youngster Charles Leclerc looking to reproduce the consistently excellent drives which brought him back-to-back Grand Prix wins in Spa and Monza in 2019 and several other podium visits. Although without a race win yet, team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr is certainly no stranger to the post-race ceremonials, only just missing out on the top step of the podium in Monza last year. Sainz also finished last season with McLaren on a strong run of seven successive points finishes - and so taking Ferrari back towards the big time looks well within the capabilities of this pair of Charlies.

• HAAS-FERRARI
• [9] Nikita Mazepin (RUS) | Rookie
• [47] Mick Schumacher (GER) | Rookie

◾️ All change at HAAS where a pair of rookies - Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher - replace the departing Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. Schumacher - the son of seven-time champion Michael - views this opportunity as the first step towards him emulating his legendary father. But, if anything, the announcement of Mazepin has caused more of a stir. The Russian, who is racing under a neutral flag in line with conditions set by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was previously revealed to have uploaded a video to social media in which he filmed himself awkwardly groping a female passenger’s breast in a car. The hashtag #WeSayNoToMazepin has trended on several occasions in the close season - and it is fortunate for him that he seems to have joined a team with low expectations on and off the track.

• MCLAREN-MERCEDES
• [44] Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) | Entries 188 (188 starts) Poles 3 Wins 7
• [77] Lando Norris (GBR) | Entries 38 (38 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0

◾️ MCLAREN heads into 2021 at its most positive in years following its rather surprising third place in the Constructors' Championship last season. Although the impressive Carlos Sainz Jr has now moved to Ferrari, much of the positivity has stayed in the team and is down to prodigious British talent Lando Norris. The 21-year-old Bristolian marked his second season last year with two fastest laps, consistent points finishes, and a podium at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix - but the likeable lad is far from the finished article. McLaren has therefore made an eminently sensible move to bring in Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull - the Aussie already has three pole positions and seven Grand Prix wins to his name so will keep Norris honest. As such, despite the loss of Sainz, McLaren remains in decent shape to take the fight to the current top two.

• MERCEDES
• [44] Sir Lewis Hamilton (GBR) | Entries 266 (266 starts) Poles 98 Wins 95 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
• [77] Valtteri Bottas (FIN) | Entries 157 (156 starts) Poles 16 Wins 9

◾️ Dominant MERCEDES racked up a seventh consecutive Constructors' Championship in 2020 as Lewis Hamilton exhausted all of the superlatives by drawing level on seven World Drivers' Championships with Michael Schumacher. It was a truly special year for Hamilton as he went beyond the iconic German in regard to number of Grand Prix victories - chalking up a record 92nd race win at the Portuguese Grand Prix in October. In all, Hamilton won 11 of the 17 races contested in 2020, even taking the chequered flag with bald tyres at the Turkish Grand Prix. At times, Hamilton was simply untouchable with even team-mate Valtteri Bottas regularly blitzed by the Stevenage-born racer. The Finn did have his moments with victories in Austria and Russia - but generally he was just as caught up in Hamilton's tidal wave of success as anyone else. More record-breaking looked set to follow this year with the announcement that major regulation changes had been delayed until 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic - but, in something of a twist to the expected narrative, Red Bull has looked strong enough in the run-up to the new campaign for Mercedes to wheel out the mind-games ahead of lights out.

• RED BULL-HONDA
• [11] Sergio Pérez (MEX) | Entries 195 (191 starts) Poles 0 Wins 1
• [33] Max Verstappen (NED) | Entries 119 (119 starts) Poles 3 Wins 10

◾️ RED BULL finished its 2020 campaign on a high as Max Verstappen's victory in the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ensured the team maintained its record of achieving at least one race win in every season since 2016. That single, almost apologetically belated, success will have buoyed the Red Bull garage after a year in which the team will have yet again felt distinctly second-best behind Mercedes. Nevertheless, 2021 surely will be closer - race-winner Sergio Perez moves in to take a well-deserved seat alongside Verstappen having finally broken his duck at the Sakhir Grand Prix on his 190th start. Certainly, the Mexican should be of more assistance to Verstappen at the front of the grid than the underperforming Alex Albon - but, with Checo now on the wrong side of 30, Red Bull will be pinning its main hopes on its fiercely-determined young Dutchman.

• WILLIAMS-MERCEDES
• [6] Nicholas Latifi (CAN) | Entries 17 (17 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0
• [63] George Russell (GBR) | Entries 38 (38 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0

◾️ George Russell got a taste of the high life when, as a Mercedes test driver, he stood in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix, led most of the race, set a fastest lap, and won his first points in Formula One. In fairness to Russell, he should have scored those maiden points earlier in the season for WILLIAMS at the Imola Grand Prix. However, the promising Norfolk-born driver made a critical error when warming his tyres behind the safety car while sitting in 10th - and so Williams was condemned to a first pointless season in its history. A blue-and-white livery for 2021 harks back to the team's halcyon days in the 1980s and 1990s - but even just a single point this year from Russell or his Canadian companion Nicholas Latifi will be considered progress and a cause for celebration at the team's base in Grove.

🏁

◾️ 2021 GRAND PRIX RACE CALENDAR ◾️

(1)	28-March	4pm	BAHRAIN	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
(2)	18-April	2pm	EMILIA ROMAGNA	Imola Circuit, Imola
(3)	02-May	3pm	PORTUGAL	Algarve International Circuit, Portimão
(4)	09-May	2pm	SPAIN	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló
(5)	23-May	2pm	MONACO	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
(6)	06-June	1pm	AZERBAIJAN	Baku City Circuit, Baku
(7)	13-June	7pm	CANADA	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal
(8)	27-June	2pm	FRANCE	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet
(9)	04-July	2pm	AUSTRIA	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
(10)	18-July	3pm	GREAT BRITAIN	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
(11)	01-August	2pm	HUNGARY	Hungaroring, Mogyoród
(12)	29-August	2pm	BELGIUM	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
(13)	05-September	2pm	NETHERLANDS	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
(14)	12-September	2pm	ITALY	Monza Circuit, Monza
(15)	26-September	1pm	RUSSIA	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
(16)	03-October	1pm	SINGAPORE	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
(17)	10-October	6am	JAPAN	Suzuka International Course, Suzuka
(18)	24-October	8pm	UNITED STATES	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX
(19)	31-October	7pm	MEXICO	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
(20)	07-November	5pm	BRAZIL	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
(21)	21-November	6am	AUSTRALIA	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne
(22)	05-December	4pm	SAUDI ARABIA	Jeddah Street Circuit, Saudi Arabia
(23)	12-December	1pm	ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

🏁