Just the two of them. From the very beginning, this was the Lewis World Championship Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Hero and antagonist, depending on who you support, if you support someone. The eight-point lead of MadMax on Sir Lewis against 148.5 on Valtteri Bottas – third in the standings – they say a lot about the duopoly that is characterizing the 2021 season.
Qatar was no exception, with Hamilton and Verstappen lapping two seconds per lap faster than third-placed Fernando Alonso. Another two-time world champion like Mika Hakkinen commented the Grand Prix raced on the Losail circuit: “After the controversy in Brazil, it was Max’s turn to take a penalty on the grid in Qatar. The double yellow flag is one of the most important safety rules in Formula 1, requiring drivers to slow down and be ready to stop. Just like Lewis did in Brazil, Max recovered quickly in the race, moving up to fourth on lap one. The rivals of the World Cup were on another level, the competition far behind“, Wrote the Finnish about Unibet.
“If Formula 1 were tennis I would say we are in a ‘Hamilton Advantage’ situation after the domination in Brazil and Qatar. Although Verstappen leads the standings by eight points, Mercedes responded by giving Hamilton a car he can really fight for the title with. Lewis was totally in control on Sunday: his Mercedes didn’t have the same straight-line speed advantage he enjoyed in Brazil, but was still more competitive than Red Bull.“, Added Hakkinen. Who concluded on the team games between AlphaTauri and Red Bull: “It was interesting to see Pierre Gasly helping Max to gain another position: sometimes it’s easy to forget that Red Bull owns two Formula 1 teams and, with the championship at stake, we shouldn’t be surprised that Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri work together if necessary“.
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