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

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

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

🏁

Champion Hamilton chases down Schumacher record

F1 2020 TEAM LINE-UP		www.formula1.com	Age	GPs	Pole	Wins	Titles
Alfa Romeo Racing- Ferrari	(7) (99)	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA)	40 26	312 23	18 -	21 -	1 -
AlphaTauri-Honda	(10) (26)	Pierre Gasly (FRA) Daniil Kvyat (RUS)	24 26	47 93	- -	- -	- -
Ferrari	(5) (16)	Sebastian Vettel (GER) Charles Leclerc (MON)	33 22	240 42	57 7	53 2	4 -
Haas-Ferrari	(8) (20)	Romain Grosjean (FRA) Kevin Magnussen (DEN)	34 27	164 102	- -	- -	- -
McLaren-Renault	(4) (55)	Lando Norris (GBR) Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP)	20 25	21 102	- -	- -	- -
Mercedes	(44) (77)	Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	35 30	250 139	88 11	84 7	6 -
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	(11) (18)	Sergio Pérez (MEX) Lance Stroll (CAN)	30 21	176 62	- -	- -	- -
Red Bull Racing-Honda	(23) (33)	Alexander Albon (THA) Max Verstappen (NED)	24 22	21 102	- 2	- 8	- -
Renault	(3) (31)	Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Esteban Ocon (FRA)	31 23	171 50	3 -	7 -	- -
Williams-Mercedes	(6) (63)	Nicholas Latifi (CAN) George Russell (GBR)	25 22	0 21	- -	- -	- -

SIX-TIME champion Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second place in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix as the 2020 Formula One season finally got under way.

Hamilton was surprisingly beaten by Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas - but will nevertheless be pleased by his team's dominance over closest rivals Red Bull this afternoon.

Max Verstappen has won the Austrian Grand Prix in both of the last two years - so was no doubt hopeful of a quick start to the Championship with both of the opening races being held in Spielberg. 

However, Dutchman Verstappen could only qualify third - and was split from his team-mate Alexander Albon, though they at least start on the clean start of the track. 

Instead, McLaren youngster Lando Norris took a career-best fourth place on the grid with a phenomenal lap in a session which will have provided much hope to the Woking-based outfit.

By contrast, Ferrari suffered from a tiresomely familiar early-season story of failure. 

It is now 12 years since the proud Prancing Horse team were Constructors champions and 13 years since the Drivers' title made its way to Maranello.

And things do not look like improving any time soon.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel struggled badly with his set-up and could not even make it into the final round of qualifying. 

Meanwhile, Vettel's young Monégasque team-mate Charles Leclerc recovered from scraping 10th place in the second session to a grid placing of seventh.

That outcome carried on a trend from last season when, despite starting the year as Ferrari's designated number one, Vettel was beaten on every measure by the 22-year-old.

It would be fair to say that Vettel's well-publicised difficulties at Ferrari have already been badly exposed on this opening weekend.

Indeed, at this stage, it is difficult to envisage the 33-year-old German staying until the end of the season with a non-competitive Ferrari team, having been told his services will not be required for 2021.

The shake-up in next year's driver line-up sees Carlos Sainz Jr move to Ferrari with Australian Daniel Ricciardo heading from Renault to the vacant McLaren seat.

Mercedes have Hamilton of course, while Red Bull have retained Verstappen - and surely neither team would take on the troublesome Vettel as a second driver.

The German, therefore, appears to have nowhere to go in 2021 - and the early signs from this season are that he will depart F1 with a whimper rather than a bang.

Instead, it is Hamilton who - having won the Drivers' Championship for five of the last six years - remains the undisputed king of the race-track.

Indeed, there is an air of inevitability that the 35-year-old from Stevenage will win a record-equalling seventh Drivers' title this year and climb to the summit alongside Michael Schumacher. 

But, even if Hamilton blows all of his rivals out of the water as usual, there is still plenty for F1 fans to get their teeth into. 

The midfield battle - behind the big three of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari - has been given an extra element of intrigue by the so-called Pink Mercedes of Racing Point.

Having based the design of the RP20 around that of last year’s title winner, strong pre-season testing and practice runs have raised hopes of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll challenging for podium finishes.

But, while Perez and Stroll qualified in highly respectable positions of sixth and ninth, it was undoubtedly Norris who deserved the early plaudits for steering his McLaren onto the second row.

Elsewhere, the back-markers look set to be Haas, Alfa Romeo and - somewhat depressingly - Williams, with the cars from those three teams filling each of the bottom six places in qualifying in Austria.

Certainly, it seems a long time ago since Williams' halcyon days of the 1980s and 1990s when they dominated the sport with seven Drivers' championships and nine Constructors' championships in an 18-year period. 

By contrast, recent times have been pretty grim for the Grove-based team, with last-placed finishes in both of the last two years matched by off-track financial worries. 

In May, Williams announced they were seeking buyers for a portion of the team and that they had terminated the contract of title sponsor ROKiT.

But the coronavirus pandemic makes this an even more difficult time than usual to look for investment - and so a future for Williams beyond 2020 remains troublingly uncertain.

CALENDAR
July
 5 Austrian GP ▪️ Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
12 Styrian GP ▪️ Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
19 Hungarian GP ▪️ Hungaroring, Mogyoród
August
2 British GP ▪️ Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
9 70th Anniversary GP ▪️ Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
16 Spanish GP ▪️ Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
30 Belgian GP ▪️ Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
September 
6 Italian GP ▪️ Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

F1 2018: Fiesta time for five-star Hamilton

FORMULA ONE: THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS

7	Michael Schumacher	(GER)	1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
5	Juan Manuel Fangio	(ARG)	1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
	Lewis Hamilton	(GBR)	2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
4	Alain Prost	(FRA)	1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
	Sebastian Vettel	(GER)	2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
3	Jack Brabham	(AUS)	1959, 1960, 1966
	Jackie Stewart	(GBR)	1969, 1971, 1973
	Niki Lauda	(AUT)	1975, 1977, 1984
	Nelson Piquet	(BRA)	1981, 1983, 1987
	Ayrton Senna	(BRA)	1988, 1990, 1991

LEWIS HAMILTON produced an almost faultless season to win a fifth World Drivers' Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Hamilton coasted to fourth place in Mexico City for yet another title, one which is enough to draw him level in second on the all-time list alongside Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.

Only Michael Schumacher, with seven titles, now stands ahead of Hamilton - but, already at this stage, it feels as if that record is destined to face a serious challenge in the next few years.

After all, Hamilton in 2018 has taken his own personal performance to another level, eventually beating Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in utterly convincing fashion.

In the first part of the season, though, that did not look as if it was going to be the case at all.

Vettel swooped to early wins in Australia and Bahrain, and still led the Championship by the narrowest of margins when the F1 big top rocked up at Silverstone in July.

Hamilton took pole in his home Grand Prix but then suffered an absolute nightmare on raceday. 

First, the Stevenage-born racer was jumped off the start line by Vettel and his own team-mate Valtteri Bottas - and then he was sent spinning off the track at turn three by Vettel's team mate Kimi Räikkönen.

For a brief period, Hamilton was pootling about back in 18th - and, although he eventually scythed his way through the field to finish second, Bottas vitally had earlier lost the lead to Vettel.

The German duly took his fourth win of the campaign and an eight-point lead into the last two races before the four-week summer recess.

A fortnight later, it looked even better for Vettel in his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim when Hamilton's Mercedes broke down in qualifying and was left stranded in 14th on the grid. By contrast, Vettel was seemingly sitting pretty on pole.

However, in a complete reversal of fortunes on raceday, Hamilton battled his way through the field on soft and ultrasoft tyres in the rain, and watched on as - critically - Vettel crashed out from the lead.

Hamilton followed up victory at Hockenheim with another from pole at the Hungaroring to extend his advantage to 24 points heading into the summer break.

But, at the resumption, Vettel responded well in the Belgian Grand Prix to beat pole-sitter Hamilton off the start line in Spa-Francorchamps.

That should really have marked the start of a Vettel comeback as Ferrari arrived at their home circuit in Monza - but the reality could not have been more different to the expectations of the Tifosi.

First, Ferrari chose not to reverse the order of Vettel and Räikkönen in qualifying, despite the former being their only title contender.

The Finn - who had, by then, been told by Ferrari that he would not be retained for 2019 - took pole and, racing on his own merits, it was no surprise at all to see him defend his lead from Vettel.

At the second chicane, a watchful Hamilton took advantage and passed Vettel on the outside.

Crucially, in attempting to defend his position, the battling German crashed into Hamilton and spun to the back. Then, to make matters even worse for him, the Mercedes driver subsequently overtook Räikkönen to win.

By this point, an in-form Hamilton was buzzing - and next came one of the moments of the season as the 33-year-old produced one of the best flying laps of his whole career to secure a race-winning pole in the night race at Singapore.

Two weeks later at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, the British driver benefited from a rare imposition of team orders as Mercedes told Bottas to let him past at halfway stage.

Then, at Suzuka in Japan, Hamilton made it four wins in a row with a lights-to-flag victory which left Vettel trailing in his wake.

Rapidly through the autumn, Hamilton's lead had grown to 67 points - a gigantic advantage which meant the Mercedes man could mathematically seal the title at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

Indeed, it looked, at one stage, as if he would take the title in Texas as he made a wheel-to-wheel challenge to Red Bull's Max Verstappen for a few corners while Vettel trailed again in fifth.

Ultimately, Hamilton was forced to pull out of his move on the young Dutchman - and, even if he had taken second place, he would have been denied the big prize by Vettel's successful late pass on an ailing Bottas.

Nevertheless, Hamilton's pragmatic approach to his attack on Verstappen contrasted sharply with Vettel's earlier haphazard attempt to pass Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull.

Once again, Vettel made contact and was sent spinning to the back of the field - and, although the German recovered to take fourth, the result in the United States merely delayed the inevitable.

Requiring any finish in the top seven in Mexico, regardless of Vettel's result, Hamilton qualified behind the dominant Red Bulls in third and never dropped below sixth even after his pit-stops. His triumph had become a mathematical certainty.

"I don't allow myself to be too emotional in public, but now I feel humbled by the whole experience [and] it's hard to realise it at the moment," said Hamilton in his post-race interview.

"It's something I dreamed of, but I never in a million years thought I'd be stood here as a five-time champion and I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup.

"It was a goal, when I won the championship last year - I kept thinking how can I be fitter, faster, better - a better all-rounder, a better friend, better son, and I think I've been able to lift them all up this year.

"Maybe it comes with age or experience but I'm very happy with how it's gone."

Undoubtedly, at 33, Hamilton will need to use all his experience to stay at the top of his game in the coming years.

For, certainly, it would be a big surprise if four-time champion Vettel and Ferrari made as many poor mistakes again in 2019. 

Meanwhile, the Prancing Horse from Maranello will also inject younger blood in their line-up following the signing of 21-year-old Charles Leclerc from Sauber.

And then there is Verstappen - also just 21 - who further added to his burgeoning reputation at the weekend with a fifth race win and 20th podium of his relatively short F1 career so far.

But, of course, this Mexican Grand Prix was all about the legendary Hamilton, and his hard work and sacrifices which have allowed him to retain the Drivers' Championship.

A class apart from his contemporaries, it feels only a matter of when - and not if - he will triumph again.

FORMULA ONE 2018
+/- refers to Hamilton lead or deficit in the Drivers' Championship 

Date		Pole	Fast lap	Winner	+/-
25 March	Australian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Vettel	-7
8 April	Bahrain Grand Prix	Vettel	Bottas	Vettel	-17
15 April	Chinese Grand Prix	Vettel	Ricciardo	Ricciardo	-9
29 April	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Vettel	Bottas	Hamilton	+4
13 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Hamilton	+17
27 May	Monaco Grand Prix	Ricciardo	Verstappen	Ricciardo	+14
10 June	Canadian Grand Prix	Vettel	Verstappen	Vettel	-1
24 June	French Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Hamilton	+14
1 July	Austrian Grand Prix	Bottas	Räikkönen	Verstappen	-1
8 July	British Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Vettel	-8
22 July	German Grand Prix	Vettel	Hamilton	Hamilton	+17
29 July	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Hamilton	+24
26 August	Belgian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Vettel	+17
2 September	Italian Grand Prix	Räikkönen	Hamilton	Hamilton	+30
16 September	Singapore Grand Prix	Hamilton	Magnussen	Hamilton	+40
30 September	Russian Grand Prix	Bottas	Bottas	Hamilton	+50
7 October	Japanese Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton	+67
21 October	United States Grand Prix	Hamilton	Hamilton	Räikkönen	+70
28 October	Mexican Grand Prix	Ricciardo	Bottas	Verstappen	+64
11 November	Brazilian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Hamilton	+81
25 November	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton	+88

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

			Points
1	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	408	(11 wins)
2	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Ferrari	320	(5 wins)
3	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Ferrari	251	(1 win)
4	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	249	(2 wins)
5	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	247
6	Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	170	(2 wins)
7	Niko Hülkenberg (GER)	Renault	69
8	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Force India-Mercedes	62
9	Kevin Magnussen (DEN)	Haas-Ferrari	56
10	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Renault	53
11	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	McLaren-Renault	50
12	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Force India-Mercedes	49
13	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Sauber-Ferrari	39
14	Romain Grosjean (FRA)	Haas-Ferrari	37
15	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Toro Rosso-Honda	29
16	Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL)	McLaren-Renault	12
17	Marcus Ericsson (SWE)	Sauber-Ferrari	9
18	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	6
19	Brendon Hartley (NZL)	Toro Rosso-Honda	4
20	Sergey Sirotkin (RUS)	Williams-Mercedes	1

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

			Points
1	Mercedes (GER)	Lewis Hamilton - Valtteri Bottas	655	(11 wins)
2	Ferrari (ITA)	Sebastian Vettel - Kimi Räikkönen	571	(6 wins)
3	Red Bull-TAG Heuer (AUT)	Max Verstappen - Daniel Ricciardo	419	(4 wins)
4	Renault (FRA)	Niko Hülkenberg - Carlos Sainz Jr.	122
5	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Kevin Magnussen - Romain Grosjean	93
6	McLaren-Renault (GBR)	Fernando Alonso - Stoffel Vandoorne	62
7	Force India-Mercedes (GBR)	Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon	52
8	Sauber-Ferrari (SUI)	Charles Leclerc - Marcus Ericsson	48
9	Toro Rosso-Honda (ITA)	Pierre Gasly - Brendon Hartley	33
10	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	Lance Stroll - Sergey Sirotkin	7
NC	Force India-Mercedes (IND)	Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon	(59)

[NC - Not classified. The Force India-Mercedes (IND) points were voided and the team was excluded from the Constructors' Championship during the summer recess. The team's assets were sold and re-entered as a newly-formed team also called Force India-Mercedes (GBR) - this team was treated as a separate entrant in the Constructors' Championship]