Lewis Hamilton won a controversial debut 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas amid two red-flag stoppages. The result means the two championship protagonists go to the Abu Dhabi finale level on points.
Hamilton led Bottas and Verstappen – who shrugged off his qualifying crash – at the start but on Lap 10, Mick Schumacher spun and hit the Turn 23 barriers. The Safety Car soon turned into a red flag, crucially giving Verstappen a free stop in the pits, while the Mercedes had stopped under yellows.
The Lap 15 standing start saw Hamilton lead, but Verstappen went wide and off-track at the first chicane, cutting back across Hamilton, who dropped to P3 behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (who also enjoyed a red flag tyre change and the subsequent advantage). However, there were two separate incidents behind which Sergio Perez was collected by Charles Leclerc and Nikita Mazepin collided with George Russell – so another red flag was called.
A cacophony of bargaining calls by the Red Bull and Mercedes pit walls followed but the Lap 17 restart would see Ocon start ahead of Hamilton then Verstappen in P3. In that restart, the Dutchman made a terrific move using his brand-new medium compounds down the inside of the opening chicane for the lead while Hamilton found himself impeded by Ocon, who like Verstappen missed the Turn 2 apex, passing the Alpine a lap later.
Three Virtual Safety Car periods followed from Lap 28 to Lap 36 after which Hamilton was in the DRS range of Verstappen. The Mercedes driver attempted a move on Lap 36 on the main straight but the Dutchman braked too late for comfort, running wide at Turn 2 and retaining the lead. He was instructed to give P1 back and on Lap 37 the Red Bull driver slowed – only for Hamilton to get caught off guard and clip the rear of his rival, taking front-right wing damage.
Cue more calls to race control from Red Bull and Mercedes. Meanwhile, Hamilton closed in and looked to get past the Red Bull on Lap 42 but Verstappen pushed him wide and continued on. This time, the stewards stepped in and put a five-second time penalty on the championship leader.
Hamilton came across Verstappen at the final corner on Lap 43 and pushed him wide at Turn 27, taking the lead and putting in the fastest laps to boot for an eventual winning margin of 10s over his rival – equalling the championship points tally.
Ocon, who had benefitted from a stop during the first red flag, missed out on a podium by just a tenth of a second having lost P3 right on the line at the chequered flag. That put the Alpine driver fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren, who started 11th but enjoyed a rapid start and a red-flag pit stop for P5.
In sixth was Pierre Gasly, who lost places at the start but made them back in the second race restart for AlphaTauri – keeping the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in P7 and P8 respectively.
Antonio Giovinazzi started 10th but ended up ninth ahead of Lando Norris, who started on softs but pitted during the first Safety Car to end the race on hard tyres.
Abu Dhabi hosts the season finale, and with Hamilton having taken 26 points to Verstappen’s 18 here, the championship protagonists are now equal on 369.5 points. But the fallout from Jeddah may well continue through the night, with the stewards set to investigate Hamilton and Verstappen’s Turn 27 tussle after the race.
Mario Isola – Head of F1 and car racing at Pirelli commented:
We witnessed an action-packed race that was filled with drama, incidents and safety cars. Under those circumstances, strategy becomes a question of reacting to rapidly changing events as quickly as possible and making the right calls under pressure, also considering the individual allocation available. With such an unpredictable situation, there were a number of unknown factors, and the track was also extremely dirty with a lot of debris from all the incidents. In the end, we saw a spectacular duel with no holds barred between the two championship protagonists, on different tyres. The hard tyre was one of the keys to the race win thanks to its low degradation level and consistent performance until the very end. Now we look forward to a thrilling championship finale at the last race for our 13-inch tyres in Abu Dhabi.
2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Country | Team | Time | Points | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 2:06:15.118 | 26 | 379.5 |
| 2. | 33 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Red Bull Racing | +21.825s | 18 | 379.5 |
| 3. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +27.531s | 15 | 218 |
| 4. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Team | +27.633s | 12 | 72 |
| 5. | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Australia | McLaren Racing | +40.121s | 10 | 115 |
| 6. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Scuderia AlphaTauri | +41.613s | 8 | 100 |
| 7. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | +44.475s | 6 | 158 |
| 8. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | +46.606s | 4 | 149.5 |
| 9. | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Italy | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +58.505s | 2 | 3 |
| 10. | 4 | Lando Norris | Great Britain | Mclaren Racing | +61.358s | 1 | 154 |
| 11. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Team | +77.212s | 0 | 34 |
| 12. | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Canada | Williams Racing | +83.249s | 0 | 7 |
| 13. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Alpine F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 77 |
| 14. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Scuderia AlphaTauri | +1 lap | 0 | 20 |
| 15. | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Finland | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 10 |
| 4. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Red Bull Racing Honda | DNF | 0 | 190 |
| 18. | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Russia | Haas F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 0 |
| 10. | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Germany | Aston Martin F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 43 |
| 17. | 63 | George Russell | Great Britain | Williams Racing | DNF | 0 | 16 |
| 16. | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Germany | Haas F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 0 |
2021 Constructor Standings
| Picture | Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. | Mercedes-AMG F1 Team | 613.5 |
 | 2. | Red Bull Racing | 585.5 |
 | 3. | Scuderia Ferrari | 323.5 |
 | 4. | McLaren Racing | 275 |
 | 5. | Alpine F1 Team | 155 |
 | 6. | Scuderia AlphaTauri | 142 |
 | 7. | Aston Martin F1 Team | 77 |
 | 8. | Williams Racing | 23 |
 | 9. | Alfa Romeo Racing | 13 |
 | 10. | Haas F1 Team | 0 |
Here are the team-by-team highlights:
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Lewis secures a dramatic victory for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in the inaugural 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with Valtteri clinching a sensational P3 on the line.
Lewis took victory in Jeddah, and put in the fastest lap of the race, to move level on points at the top of the Drivers’ Championship heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi next week. On his 100th race for the Mercedes F1 Team, Valtteri finished in P3 after a hard-fought battle with OCO culminated in a dash for the finish line which the Finn won by 30m.
A series of safety cars, red flags and restarts dominated the race with a number of incidents being referred to the Race Director and Stewards.
Lewis is level with Max Verstappen (369.5 points) in the Drivers’ Championship, with Valtteri claiming a definitive P3 for the season (218 points) here in Jeddah.
Lewis Hamilton
I’ve been racing a long time but that was incredibly tough – I tried to be as sensible and as tough as I could be out there but also sensible with all my race experience over the years, just keeping the car on track and staying clean. It was difficult but we persevered as a Team. We’ve had all sorts of things thrown at us in the second half of this season so I’m just really proud of everyone. I’m really grateful for the crowd we’ve had this weekend – it’s nice to be here.
We’ve done an amazing job with what we have this weekend, Valtteri did a great job today to get big points for the Team – this is for all the guys and girls back at the factory. It’s been an amazing event! I felt very welcome here, the people have been lovely and the track is phenomenal to drive, very difficult physically and mentally, but you wouldn’t want it any other way. So, on to the next one!
Valtteri Bottas
It wasn’t an easy day, there were so many obstacles with the red flags and all the incidents, it made it a bit tricky. I just kept pushing, it was tough to overtake today but I finally got to P3 on the final straight – it was such a nice feeling to get the podium that way. Esteban drove great today, he was difficult to pass but I hung in there for an exciting finish. Good for team points today, and great that Lewis and Max are levels on points, we have an incredible weekend ahead in Abu Dhabi!
Toto Wolff
Winning the race today, in such a dramatic way, I think Lewis deserved it. We could have been out a few times with a broken front wing – it was a spectacular race, if not necessarily a good one. We obviously had frustration at the beginning with the red flag but today was a difficult race to manage for Race Control – when is a virtual safety car is called, when is a safety car called, when is a red flag? It’s so tough, and I’ll reserve judgement until I watch the race back tomorrow.
Both our drivers kept their cool heads and kept pushing and pushing. Lewis drove so intelligently and with patience. Valtteri made a great comeback and to take P3 on his 100th race for Mercedes is just brilliant, a big haul of points for the team. At the end it’s all going down to the wire, that’s how the sport should be and we love it!
Mercedes-AMG Petronas best pictures:
Max Verstappen will go to the final race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship level on points with title rival Lewis Hamilton after finishing second behind the Mercedes driver in a hugely dramatic 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen
There was definitely a lot of action today, a lot of things happened. I was told to give the position back, so I moved off the racing line and slowed down, Lewis just stayed behind me, I don’t understand why he didn’t pass. I don’t agree with the five-second penalty, but it is what it is and we’ll just move on. We didn’t have a perfect pace in the race today, so that’s something to work on looking ahead to Abu Dhabi. We’re on equal points now heading into the final race, it’s going to be an exciting end to the season.
Sergio Pérez
It wasn’t the best weekend for the Team, we lost crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship, so we are going to Abu Dhabi now to try and turn things around. We were slightly unlucky with the first red flag but we got away well after the second restart. We got past Gasly and Charles and as I was coming out of turn three there just wasn’t enough room for everyone, given how the corner was. I ended up tangling with Charles, he clipped my rear tyre with his front right tyre. It was a bad moment for everyone but just a very unlucky one. It is just a big shame because we needed those points today. I stayed with the car out on track because we were trying to turn the engine back on, we thought we could restart it but it was a bit on the hot side so we had to retire. It was a very important race for the Team today so this one hurts a lot but there is hope for Abu Dhabi. There is still optimism and something to fight for and we will give the final race of the season everything so let’s look forward.
Christian Horner – Team Principal
There was obviously an awful lot of damage and debris for Race Control to deal with because of all the incidents, so it was a frustrating race in that respect and we were probably lucky to come away with second, especially given the amount of damage we had to the back of our car. I don’t know what Lewis was doing because Max was trying to give the place up as instructed by Race Control, he lifted and you can hear that it was clear we were trying to give the place up and we’d informed Race Control. I don’t know if Lewis didn’t want to pass before the DRS zone, but it was very strange to have him drive straight up the back of Max. We got a five-second time penalty, I thought it was on the harsh side, they both went wide and were racing. Max has fought like a gladiator this weekend and given it everything. It was frustrating to drop points in the constructors’ championship with Checo being taken out at the restart, so we now have one chance. We have a week to regroup and now it goes down to the wire at Abu Dhabi. It’s a straight-out fight as it has been for the entire year. For the fans it is fantastic, it keeps the championship dream alive and we have one shot and it’s time to take it.
Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:
The outcome of the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was bittersweet for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, with a seventh place for Charles Leclerc and an eighth for Carlos Sainz. On the plus side was the overall result in light of the battle for third in the Constructors’ championship with McLaren, as the team goes into the final race with a reassuring cushion of 38.5 points over its opponents. Charles has moved up to fifth in the Drivers’ classification, now 4 points ahead of Lando Norris, while Carlos has reduced the gap to the English driver to 4.5.
Could have been better. There’s a sense of disappointment because the performance level in the race and also yesterday in qualifying is not reflected in the result, which could have been better, because the SF21 clearly had the pace to be the quickest car, apart from the two teams fighting for the titles, on both the Medium and Hard tyres, as was clear to see in the first stint.
An attacking race. Charles and Carlos were always on the attack, even fighting each other on a couple of occasions. However, the first red flag and the two restarts were the key moments. This was especially so for the Monegasque as it kept him away from the top five for a long time, while in general, his team-mate can be pleased with a drive that took him from 15th to 8th at the flag.
The next stop is Abu Dhabi. Now the team face a long night, packing everything away to be sent off to Abu Dhabi for next weekend’s final round of this very long season. So it all kicks off on 10 December at the Yas Marina Circuit with the first two free practice sessions.
Charles Leclerc
We’re happy with the way we recovered after Friday’s crash, so it is a shame to only finish seventh because we had the potential to do better.
The first part of the race was really good and our pace was strong. When the Safety Car came out after the start, we thought some luck had come our way and we would benefit from stopping when we did. Three laps later came the red flag and it cost us three positions.
We avoided taking too many risks at the restart, but then came the contact with Checo and we lost more positions. What compromised our race the most was the flat spot that I picked up at that point. This made it really tough to get the Hards to work after the next restart and it also caused some front locking. The pace came back towards the end, but today was one of the days when various factors prevented us from getting a better result.
Carlos Sainz
This was a fun race to drive and we cannot be too disappointed starting from the fifteenth and finishing in eighth place. I had a good start and I was able to attack, immediately making up some places on the Hard tyre, which was working really well. Unfortunately, the first Safety Car and red flag came out too early for my interest. We had no choice but to fit the Mediums, even though we knew we had to make them last 36 laps.
We had a very strong pace at the beginning of the second stint, making it up to seventh and catching Gasly ahead, but towards the end, my tyres were completely finished and in the final laps, we couldn’t do anything to defend from Charles, who was on the Hard compound.
It’s a shame about yesterday’s qualifying, as I’m convinced we could have finished higher up, but I’m happy to have been able to score points again. Now we look forward to Abu Dhabi to end the season on a high!
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal
Today, the potential was there to bring home more points than we did. The many incidents in this Grand Prix did not play out in our favour, but the performance level of the team and the car was clear to see.
Now we head to Abu Dhabi with a comfortable lead over McLaren in the fight for third place in the Constructors’ championship, while Charles has moved up to fifth in the Drivers’ standings. We must continue to concentrate and prepare well for one final effort, before putting this season behind us and focussing solely on 2022.
Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team best pictures:
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and Team Principal Andreas Seidl after the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris
A very unlucky day. I think we deserved much more today. The team did a good job and I thought I drove a good race, but the red flag changed everything and ruined any chance of a stronger result, just by being unlucky. It was a long race after that. So, I’m disappointed. On the positive side, we scored one point again – but I feel we deserved a lot more.
Daniel Ricciardo
That felt like the longest race ever. The race start was so late, so it already felt like a long day, and then with all the restarts, it felt even longer. The starts were good, I always made up positions until the last one where I stayed fourth.
I used the Hard tyre for the race start, so we couldn’t really use it for the restart and were forced to go on the Medium, and I think the Hard was the better tyre. So, I couldn’t quite get Esteban [Ocon], and I tried to hold off Valtteri [Bottas] as long as I could. I was surprised how long I held him off, but I think once he let his tyres reset, it was quite hard to keep him behind. I defended him one lap, re-passed him and then he got me. I struggled a bit at the end with the tyres, so I’m happy to have held on to a top five. It certainly makes up for yesterday.
Andreas Seidl
Mixed feelings this evening. However, I’m very happy that, after three very challenging weekends during the triple-header, we’ve responded with a strong performance here in Jeddah. After starting P11 due to his damaged floor yesterday in qualifying, Daniel had a very competitive race to finish P5. Lando made a strong start and unfortunately was very unlucky with the red flag that cost him a lot of positions – but he fought back well for a point.
“A big thank you to everybody: the team here at the track working in very hot conditions, everybody back at the factory and our colleagues from Mercedes HPP. Operationally, we executed a clean race despite challenging circumstances with the red flags, which was vital in order to get the good result we had with chaos all around us. Finally, congratulations on a successful first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, here at this new and exciting venue in Jeddah. One more to go in 2021: let’s go for it.
McLaren Racing best pictures:
Alpine F1 Team departs from the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with 12 points after Esteban Ocon came within touching distance of his second podium of the season. The Frenchman finished fourth at the finish line of the 50-lap race after losing out in the last straight to the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Fernando Alonso finished in thirteenth after a tough race for the Spaniard.
Alpine F1 Team now heads into the finale of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in a stronger fifth position in the standings, 29 points ahead of Alpha Tauri.
Esteban and Fernando started their races strongly and both climbed two places into seventh and eleventh respectively during the opening lap. Fernando soon joined Esteban in the top ten after he charged past Antonio Giovinazzi into Turn 1.
Fernando was unable to hold position and dropped down to the thirteenth after he fell victim to the power advantage of DRS. Just as the race was settling into a rhythm, a Safety Car was called out for Mick Schumacher, who ended his race after hitting the barrier, and Fernando took this opportunity to box for fresh Hards.
A red flag was waved shortly after which negated Fernando’s earlier stop, while Esteban moved into fourth with others also pitting for fresh tyres.
The race restarted after a short delay and Esteban managed to cut his way up to second after the two title protagonists were busy battling it out into Turns 1 and 2. Chaos then ensued behind the top three, as several cars tangled and immediately brought another red flag out to clear the resulting debris.
Ahead of the restart, it was announced that Esteban would start in first place after a dispute between Mercedes and Red Bull for the previous incident. At the restart, Esteban fought three abreast with Hamilton and Verstappen and battled toe to toe with the championship contenders, but eventually dropped to third.
Fernando spent the remainder of his race in the thirteenth and couldn’t make much progression as he boxed for fresh Softs.
Esteban was looking good in the third position and was showing strong pace to keep the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo comfortably behind. Valtteri Bottas then got past Ricciardo and spent the final stages of the race chasing down Esteban ahead. Despite his best efforts and some solid defensive driving, Bottas made his move on Esteban at the finishing line. It’s the Frenchman’s best result since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and adds valuable points to the standings.
Fernando Alonso
It was a crazy race tonight. I think when the first red flag was waved the race was over for us. We opted to stop and were in a very good position, and realistically we could have been fifth or sixth had it all fallen into place. They stopped the race and we were very unlucky there. Every time there seems to be a red flag or a situation like that we are on the wrong side of things. I think it was a bit dangerous racing amongst all the debris today and not having a full Safety Car. Nothing happened in the end which was good. We scored good points with Esteban today, but we need to make sure our pace is back for Abu Dhabi and we end the season on a positive.
Esteban Ocon
I gave it all today. The competitor inside of me is disappointed to miss out on the podium by such a short distance, but I’m very proud of the whole team today. What we achieved is outstanding and to take fourth place and add 12 more points in the bag in the championship is what counts. We took the right decisions in the race; we did everything we could on track and on strategy at the right moments, which put us in the best possible position to take big points. It was quite fun to start on pole position too – I’ve not done that since 2015 in GP3 – but I knew my race was not with Lewis and Max in front. That said, the opportunity was there today and we can leave here with our heads high and feeling very proud. We move onto Abu Dhabi ready to finish the season on a high and take any opportunity that might come up.
Marcin Budkowski, Executive Director:
Some good points today to consolidate fifth in the championship… but that result does hurt! What a race from Esteban – he drove exceptionally well and only just got beaten by a much quicker car on the line. He had a very good start and gained two positions in the first lap, then kept the pace up until the first race interruption. We elected to stop Fernando during the Safety Car because we didn’t think it would turn into a red flag, and this compromised his race as he wasn’t in a position to get back into the points. We didn’t stop Esteban to preserve his good track position, which even turned into pole position at the second restart. He managed his race perfectly and really deserved a podium today. Losing it for a few metres is a bitter feeling, especially since after the race we discovered he had picked up some damage to his floor on lap 48, which cost him lap time but to be disappointed with fourth shows how strong a race is we had. After two very good races for the Team, we aim to finish on a high in Abu Dhabi.
Alpine F1 Team best pictures:
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver Pierre Gasly, of France, finished in sixth place at the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. There was disappointment for Gasly’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, who finished 14th; the Japanese driver earned a five-second penalty for causing a collision with German driver Sebastian Vettel.
Pierre Gasly
I’m very pleased with today, finishing in the top six in front of Ferrari. I’m really happy with that result and we’re taking home a lot of points again. We knew it was going to be tricky coming to a new track, but we’ve performed well throughout the weekend and had a strong starting position today. It was a difficult race, with lots of things happening and it was very long, which meant it required a lot of focus. We know how complicated it is into the first corner here, so having three starts was intense, but we tried to take every opportunity we could and in the end, I think we did a good job.
Yuki Tsunoda
It’s been a tough afternoon. I struggled at the beginning of the race, but I think the final restart went well and I managed to gain back some places. Unfortunately, I pushed a bit too hard and I had the collision with Vettel. The pace in the car was looking quite good at that point in the race, so I should’ve held off and waited for another opportunity to overtake, it was my mistake and I’ve apologised to him. It’s frustrating as I feel like points were on offer today.
Franz Tost (Team Principal)
Firstly, congratulations to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for this fantastic event here in Jeddah. They’ve built a really great track, although if I had to suggest an improvement that could be made for next year I would say to bring in some more cranes, so that any car involved in accidents can be cleared away quicker, avoiding long red flag periods.
“From our side today, Pierre started from P6, but his first start was not so good, and he finished the first lap in the eighth position. Yuki started in P8 and also lost some positions on the first lap, but both drivers were able to regain some of them thanks to the red flags. Pierre especially did a really good job coming back after the second red flag and regained P6, which he was able to defend until the chequered flag. He drove another fantastic race today and showed a very strong performance yet again, so well done to him. Yuki also improved a lot in the final stint of the race and was able to overtake a few cars to make his way up to P9. Unfortunately, he then had the collision with Vettel in corner one. I think he did the right thing to try and overtake but, unfortunately, they touched and he sustained damage to the front wing. He had to come in to change it, we put him on the hard tyres and, from then on, he drove a good race with strong lap times. Overall, it was a good first experience in Saudi Arabia for us, with the sixth position from Pierre and with Yuki also showing a really great performance throughout the weekend. We’re now looking forward to the final race in Abu Dhabi, where we hope to have another good last event of this season.
Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team’s Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were both unlucky not to score points in the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a chaotic race. Sebastian looked set to score points in 10th until rival drivers ruined his race with contact, while Lance completed the race in 11th.
Lance Stroll
It was a shame not to get points, especially because we came so close in the end in P11. The first red flag went against us because we had pitted earlier, but we were able to make a couple of very good restarts following the stoppages to climb to P10. We initially pulled a good gap to [Lando] Norris behind, but overtaking proved easier than expected and we just lacked a little bit of pace on the straights, so we could not hold onto P10. I was optimistic because the balance of the car felt good, but P11 was probably the maximum in the end.
Sebastian Vettel
A tough way to end the race [with significant floor damage] and a shame we lost the chance to fight for points properly. Things were going our way in the early part of the race. Having started in P17, we were up inside the points after the restarts. I was running ahead of the Ferraris, but we did not have the strongest pace today and we were under pressure. Yuki [Tsunoda] hit me in the first chicane, which dropped me down the pack. Then there was the incident with Kimi [Räikkönen], which completely destroyed my race [with the damage caused]. I had the track position and there is not enough room for two cars in that corner so I think Kimi needed to back out
Otmar Szafnauer
After an incident-packed evening, Sebastian eventually had to retire a few laps from the end, his car too damaged as a result of contact with other cars, particularly Kimi’s [Räikkönen] Alfa Romeo. Lance might well have scored points but, unfortunately, he was disadvantaged when we tyre-stopped him during a Safety Car deployment triggered by Mick’s [Schumacher] accident, a logical strategy that was stymied by the red flag that followed soon after. In the end, he finished a plucky 11th. From here we go straight to Abu Dhabi, where we hope to finish the season in better style, ideally with a double points finish.
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team best pictures:
Nicholas Latifi finished 12th in a chaotic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, whilst George Russell was forced to retire following a collision with Haas’ Nikita Mazepin on lap 15. Both drivers started the race on the medium Pirelli compound tyre, with George lining up 14th and Nicholas 16th.
Both drivers switched to the white-walled hard tyre under an early Safety Car Period, George on lap nine and Nicholas on lap 10 respectively before the race was red-flagged. On the restart, George suffered terminal damage in an accident with Mazepin and the race was subsequently stopped once again. Nicholas started the second restart In P15 and kept a cool head to come home in 12th.
George Russell
I came through the small kink of turn three and there were cars everywhere. I hit the brakes to slow down and unfortunately, I got hit from behind, was up in the air and that was our day over. It’s a shame but with such a narrow track that is so fast, and with the size of these cars, an accident is almost inevitable.
Heading to Abu Dhabi, we need to find a bit more speed from the car so we can be battling a little higher up the field. It’s my last race with Williams next week and I want to finish on a high.
Nicholas Latifi
Today was a very tough race, both physically and mentally. Trying to keep the rhythm and the tyre temperature through the many restarts and safety cars is always challenging, but I gave it everything I had and I was fortunate not to get caught in the collision ahead of me during the second start. It was a good race to learn from as we head into our final event of the season in Abu Dhabi next week.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance:
The race today was even busier than we had anticipated with the track proving difficult to clear once debris had been deposited. We were unfortunate when the early safety car became a red flag, but we had little to gain from staying out and potentially a lot to gain by pitting. The restarts were difficult with the tyres not quite at peak grip after a single lap to the grid behind the safety car.
George was very unfortunate to have his race ended when the Haas hit him; he could see a collision ahead and so didn’t approach the corner flat out, but the Haas behind was unsighted, and the collision was terminal. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the car doesn’t seem too badly damaged.
Nicholas drove a very strong race, stayed out of trouble and showed a good pace, matching Giovinazzi. Knowing that it would likely be a battle of attrition, he handled the race very well, benefited from incidents ahead of and took excellent care of the car and tyres during the numerous VSC periods. Unfortunately, today, it wasn’t enough to score any points. However, Alfa Romeo was only able to score two points and so we head to Abu Dhabi with a ten-point lead to defend.
Next week is set to be a spectacular end to the season with an incredible battle at the front. The recent changes to the Yas Marina circuit will add to the challenge for all the teams and we are looking forward to testing the car and drivers on this faster, more flowing version of this well-known track.
Williams F1 Team best pictures:
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN emerged with two points from a spectacular 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Antonio Giovinazzi finished ninth, with team-mate Kimi Räikkönen 15th after a contact excluded him from the fight for points.
On the newest venue in Formula One, the team performed strongly, surviving several restarts and always being in contention for the top ten positions. Following the team’s best collective qualifying performance of the season, yesterday, both drivers gained ground at the start and displayed a good pace. Antonio ran most of the race in seventh place, only ceding places to the two Ferraris in the closing stages but managing to hold off Norris’s McLaren to the chequered flag for his best result of the season.
The two points claimed in Jeddah bring the team’s total to 13: buoyed by tonight’s performance, the team will aim to add to this tally in next week’s final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Yas Marina.
Kimi Räikkönen (car number 7):
It was a hectic race, especially with all the restarts and the first laps. Our pace was not too bad and we could have fought for the points, but once I picked up damage in the contact with Vettel, it was really difficult. There wasn’t much in it, we were going side by side, I tried to make the corner but we touched. That ruined my race completely, there was no way back from there.
Antonio Giovinazzi (car number 99):
I am really happy with tonight’s race – not just the result, but the performance as a whole. We were strong in qualifying yesterday already, and today we managed to keep out of trouble in the chaos: we always made some gain in the starts and we had the pace to keep in the top ten, even though at the end the two Ferraris were just too quick for us. It was a tough race, very physical – it reminded me of Singapore at times, with the heat and humidity – but in the end, we have a good reward to show for it. We finished so many times just outside the points, in P11, so to have a ninth-place feels really deserved. I am looking forward to Abu Dhabi and to fighting for another good result to close the season well.
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN:
First of all, what a great show tonight was, what an ad for our sport. In this incredible new venue, we delivered a strong race to bring home two points thanks to Antonio’s great performance. It’s a good reward after we’ve been on the pace all weekend, straight from FP1: we knew we had the speed but we still had a big job ahead of us to deliver it, keeping clear of the chaos and making sure we extracted everything we could from our package. We had two cars running in the points at one stage and, even though Kimi dropped out of the battle after contact with Vettel, Antonio was able to run as high as seventh for most of the race. To finish right behind two Ferraris and hold a McLaren at bay was the most we could do so we can be pleased with our performance. It’s a confidence boost ahead of the final race, let’s finish the season well now.”
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Team best pictures:
Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin were both unable to finish the 2021 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Round 21 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Schumacher started from 19th place on Pirelli P Zero Yellow mediums and made up one spot at the start to hold 18th position. Unfortunately for Schumacher, his race came to a premature end after 10 laps thanks to an off through the left-hander of Turn 22. Schumacher impacted the barriers, sustaining race-ending damage to his VF-21, but was, fortunately, able to walk away from the scene of the accident.
Mazepin took the start from 20th on the grid, also on medium tires, and held the position before moving up to 16th following the red flag period that was caused by Schumacher’s accident. Mazepin took the restart on hard rubber but was caught up in an accident on the approach to Turn 5 when the pack slowed up due to the spinning Sergio Perez. Mazepin struck the back of George Russell and sustained terminal damage to his VF-21, retiring from the race.
Uralkali Haas F1 Team’s 2021 Formula 1 season will conclude with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit, from December 10 to 12.
Nikita Mazepin, Driver No. 9
It was quite an impact, unfortunately. We benefitted from a position of not stopping and I was fighting with Stroll coming out of T2. The next is always easy flat and it was meant to be for both cars but all of a sudden, the car in front – which was Russell – he braked. I also tried to brake but there was nowhere to stop from 200 to zero, so I collected him and looking at the replay there was a car on the inside that he was trying to avoid himself.
Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47
Unfortunately, it seems like I was pushing a bit too much trying to get back into the DRS window of Russell and lost it going into T23. The pace seemed to be there, we were comfortably keeping up with the Williams and I think that was what we really weren’t anticipating, therefore being highly motivated but maybe a bit too much in that case. That one point is still the target, so hopefully, we’ll manage to get it there.
Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Uralkali Haas F1 Team
A disappointing day today with two crashed cars in the penultimate race of the year. Mick just tried to keep up with the Williams, which didn’t work out, and Nikita got himself into a position where he couldn’t do anything about it – he was a passenger of whatever happened in front of him. Unfortunate but one more to go and then we move on.
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