(Motorsport) On the outskirts of Doha, the Losail International Circuit will be the venue for a Formula 1 weekend for the first time ever as the 2021 season concludes in the Middle East over the next four weeks. The title race became much more interesting at the Sao Paulo GP last week when Lewis Hamilton finished first despite being disqualified in the qualification and incurring a five place grid penalty for an engine change.
The gap between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has been reduced to 14 points but the real gap was there for all to see in Brazil as the seven time World Champion finished over 10 seconds faster than the Dutch racing driver, an indication of what’s to come in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Things are looking even better for Mercedes in the Constructors Championship as the Silver Arrows are 11 points ahead of Red Bull after the events in Brazil and there is definitely tension between the two camps in one of the closest title races in the last few years.
Despite there being no possibility of the championship being won in Qatar, there are many points up for grab, 25 to be exact for a race win and 1 point for the fastest lap which means that if Verstappen wins the Qatar GP, the Dutchman can then afford to finish second in the final two races and still win the World Championship for the first time in his career. However, both Red Bull and Verstappen will undoubtedly be wary of Mercedes’ pace at the 5.4 km Losail International Circuit which is regarded as a fast and flowing track with medium and high-speed corners.
Heading into the weekend, Verstappen said “We still have a good points lead, it was damage limitation on a weekend where it was a bit difficult for us, but I'm confident we will bounce back. It [the title race] has been like this the whole year. It went up, came down, went behind, I'm back in front, so a lot of things can still happen." In other rivalries on the grid, Ferrari are currently in third place at the Constructors Standings with 287.5 points while McLaren have 256 points. The Italian team will hope that both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz outperform Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in Qatar to ensure the most successful team in F1 history finish higher than their British counterparts this season.
