2021 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix highlights

Lewis claims victory at the 2021 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix after a dominant performance under the lights at the Losail International Circuit.

It was a commanding win for Lewis in Qatar, taking the 102nd victory of his F1 career and 81st for the Mercedes F1 Team. This is also the 30th different track he has won at.

Lewis Hamilton

It’s been a hell of a year so to be at this point of the season and have back-to-back wins is a great feeling. It was a pretty straightforward race for me, a little bit lonely but of course, we needed those points, so a really solid job by the team. A big thank you to everyone trackside and back at the factories for all their hard work. I’m really grateful for these points and it’s amazing to be able to close the gap so much in the last two weeks.

We’ve still got our work cut out, but we’re loving such a close battle and the challenge that it brings. It was a real shame for Valtteri today, having to retire, but the pace was good this weekend and that puts us in good stead for the next two races. We’ll be bringing our triple a-game for those.

Valtteri Bottas

Obviously, that was a very disappointing day for me and a tough way to end the weekend, after it started so promisingly on Friday. I struggled on the formation lap to get temperature into the tyres and then being on the dirty side of the grid, I had no grip for the start, so I was just wheel spinning, and was skating around on the first lap. Then I got into a bit of a DRS train but once the gaps opened up, I could make progress, the pace was good, and I could go long on the stint. But then, all of a sudden, I had the puncture without any vibration or warning.

We knew we were pushing the limit of the tyre, but I was still getting a good grip, we still felt comfortable and staying out was our best shot at a podium. It failed just after the pit entry as well, so the most unlucky part of the track, and the car got so damaged on the lap back to the pits we felt it was safer to retire and save the mileage.

Toto Wolff

That was a commanding win for Lewis. He controlled the pace from the front and did everything he needed to do, completely in the zone. The lion got woken up in Interlagos and we saw that today at the 2021 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix! For Valtteri, it was a difficult day, the puncture came out of nowhere, with literally no indication, and unfortunately, he was the first one to pick up the puncture. But while we come away from the race result with mixed emotions, the pace of the car this weekend has been encouraging for the last two races. We know there are still many challenges to come but we’re enjoying the ride, when it is so tough, this is exactly why we are in this sport. It’s maximum attack for the last two rounds, we’ve got some points to make up, so this is what we’re aiming to do and we’re enjoying every minute of it.

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