May 2021

Christian Horner has a radical way of taking sprint qualifying even further – floating the notion of unpopular ‘reverse grids’ and more points. Sprint qualifying is set to make its Formula 1 debut at the British Grand Prix in July via the format of a shorter race on Saturday, the result of which will set the grid for the main event on Sunday July 18. A small amount of World Championship points are due to be awarded for the top three finishers in sprint qualifying, which is expected to undergo further trials at the Italian Grand Prix and one more 2021 weekend – potentially Sao Paulo if it goes ahead. Horner, the Red Bull team principal, has been an advocate of “experimenting” with F1 formats, more so than his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff, who has expressed firm opposition to, for example, reverse grids – something which several drivers are also against. However, Horner dropped that proposal into a discussion with Sky F1 about sprint qualifying, for which he has also suggested beefing up the points quota in order to give the format more credibility. “We campaigned very heavily for the point for fastest lap [in a grand prix] and I think that’s a positive,” said Horner. “I think I’d go with a point for pole position even because that has a value. “Maybe more can be done with sprint qualifying in the future because the points are a critical element as well. Maybe put more emphasis on the points for that race and then reverse that grid.” Some people, such as French Grand Prix promoter and former McLaren, Renault and Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, think new formats should be tested at every race of a season or not at all, in the interests of fairness to all competitors. But Horner does not concur and instead sees the appeal of trying out sprint qualifying at selected events. “I’m happy to support the promoters to give it a go because I think if we don’t try something different, how do you know if it’s any better or not?,” he said. “Part of me thinks a grand prix has a classic qualifying and a race element to it, but then this could bring something extra. And I think if it’s not on every single race, it could be something quite interesting.”

FIA race director Michael Masi has explained the reasoning for Nikita Mazepin’s penalty during the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Haas driver was handed a five-second time penalty for impeding then-race leader Sergio Perez at turn three by swinging across the apex and almost causing a collision. Mazepin’s team principal Guenther Steiner offered his own explanation for the mix-up and Masi confirmed the penalty was not given for the accumulation of blue flags bypassed. “With Nikita’s penalty, it was not so much the number of blue flags that were ignored, it was more so the incident that was shown on the broadcast with Sergio at turn three and the near-collision that was caused under blue flags,” said Masi. “So it wasn’t actually for the number of panels, it was more for not getting out of the way at the earliest opportunity and nearly causing an incident as a result.” It was not the first time over the weekend at Portimão the Russian had been accused of impeding another driver after a run-in with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi in qualifying which led to the Canadian calling his rival a “dumbass”. On that occasion, however, no action was taken, with Masi pointing to a lack of a complaint from Williams. “The team didn’t actually bring it to my attention,” added Masi. “Normally if there is someone that is impeded – and there were a couple of requests to review matters during qualifying – we need to remember there is impeding and there is unnecessarily impeding which is what is highlighted in the sporting regulations. ‘ “Regarding this incident, Williams did not bring this to race control’s attention at all.”

Max Verstappen lost the fastest lap point for the Portuguese GP because he gained an advantage – a point – by running wide at Turn 14. Running five seconds behind race leader Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps at the Algarve circuit, Verstappen and Red Bull conceded defeat and, with the bigger picture in mind, went for the fastest lap point. Verstappen went purple, putting in a 1:19.849. He crossed the line in second place, runner-up to Hamilton with Valtteri Bottas finishing third. Moments later, though, Verstappen was informed that his lap time had been deleted for exceeding the track limits at Turn 14. The point went to Bottas. Verstappen was baffled, saying: That’s a bit odd because they were not checking track limits in 14, but whatever.” Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was clear in his criticism of the call. “Now we’ve lost the victory, fastest lap and pole position,” he told Sky Germany. “I hope that’s the end of it. Something has to change. Either you make a boundary with kerbs or you make gravel or something. If you go out, there’s an automatic penalty. “Norris overtook Perez, went over with all four wheels and there were no consequences. So it’s not consistent, and that’s not racing when you juggle the rules like that.” Masi, though, says it was the right decision to delete Verstappen’s time as that point would have been an “advantage”. “As per the event notes and following a review of what happened in Friday in particular, Turn 14 was being used far more – it wasn’t an issue in 2020 but became one in 2021,” Masi explained. “So as a result I gave all the drivers the latitude to use the red and white kerb in a manner similar to Turn 5. “They were told if they gained a lasting advantage out of reach of those [kerbs], being overtaking a car, faster in a mini-sector, whatever it may have been, that it will be looked at. “And having looked at it post-race it was very clear Max was off-track and faster in that mini-sector than anyone and set the fastest lap of the race which is a World Championship point.” The notes Masi refers to were updated on Saturday to include that the “track limits at the exit of Turn 14 are defined as when no part of the car remains in contact with the red and white kerb.” It added that “drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason.” Verstappen left Portugal trailing Hamilton by eight points in the championship fight.

Red Bull driver programme chief Helmut Marko wants track limits addressed after both of his drivers were impacted at Portimao. Max Verstappen set the fastest time during the shootout for pole at the Portuguese Grand Prix but due to breaching track limits, that time was wiped which meant he instead lined up P3 behind both Mercedes. Then come race day, Verstappen set the fastest lap on his final tour of the circuit, only to lose that and the bonus point that comes with it for again exceeding track limits, this time at Turn 14. Sergio Perez was also affected in the other Red Bull as McLaren’s Lando Norris appeared to leave the track to pass the Mexican during the race, but there was no action from the stewards. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called the situation in Portimao “frustrating” due to the inconsistency in how track limits were policed, and Marko has now joined the argument in wanting to see changes made, branding the decision to deny Verstappen the fastest lap as “annoying”. Marko also pointed out that along with the stewards’ call in Bahrain, that being the order for Verstappen to yield the lead to Lewis Hamilton, as he left the track to make the pass at Turn 4, Red Bull have now been denied every major honour in 2021 due to track limits. “Now we’ve lost the victory, fastest lap and pole position,” Marko said in conversation with Sky Germany. “All good things come in threes. I hope that’s the end of it. Something has to change. Either you make a boundary with kerbs or you make gravel or something. If you go out, there’s an automatic penalty. “[Lando] Norris overtook [Sergio] Perez, went over with all four wheels and there were no consequences. So it’s not consistent, and that’s not racing when you juggle the rules like that.” Perez explained that he did not defend his position with much force against Norris in Portimao because the McLaren driver had clearly gone off the track, and so he thought the call would come for the position to be returned. “I looked at my mirrors and I thought Lando was totally off the track limits,” he said. “Therefore, I didn’t fight the position hard enough, thinking he would give me back the place, but I probably misjudged that one. “It took me a couple of laps to get past Lando and that created the gap to the leaders. I was basically out of the race by then.”

Max Verstappen was bewildered by the steward’s decision to delete his fastest lap of the race which cost him one point in the championship. Verstappen pitted with two laps for the soft tyres before setting the quickest lap of the Grand Prix on the last lap but he went wide at Turn 14 which is one of the corners the stewards have been monitoring all weekend. This gifted Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas the extra point in Portimao. “That’s a bit odd but whatever,” said Verstappen after the race when told he had his laptime deleted. Verstappen reckons Red Bull lacked the outright speed against Mercedes in Portugal and was pleased to beat one of the Silver Arrows. “It was pretty decent,” added Verstappen. “I had a good restart and then I tried to put the pressure on Valtteri but in the end We just lacked a little bit of pace overall. “Lewis got by again and after the pitstop once we settled in second you could clearly see we lacked a bit of pace. In general it was a bit of an odd weekend.”

Despite starting second on the grid and being passed by Max Verstappen in the early stages of the race, Lewis Hamilton delivered a stern message to his title rival to claim the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Brit drove relatively undisturbed after getting past his Red Bull rival and teammate Valtteri Bottas, with his biggest troubles coming from a lack of grip from the Pirelli tyres. Although Hamilton made it clear more than once on the radio that he wasn’t all that happy with his tyres, the Mercedes star extended his lead at the front by recording fast lap after fast lap. In the end Verstappen will be happy to have finished second, as he never really put his title rival under threat in the closing stages of the race. While it means Hamilton extends his lead in the standings the Dutchman limited the damage as best he could by finishing ahead of Bottas, who took third. Sergio Perez and Lando Norris rounded out the top five. Mercedes surged off the grid to keep their position over Verstappen, while Perez was passed by Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari for fourth as the Mexican struggled for grip. The relative calm ended after just one lap as Kimi Raikkonen clipped teammate Antonio Giovinazzi’s left rear tyre down the front straight, causing the loss of his front wing and forcing the Finn to retire. As a result the safety car was brought out to clean up the debris on track. The action resumed on Lap 7 with Verstappen getting the best of Hamilton around the outside of Turn 1, snatching second place from his championship rival. While it looked as though the Dutchman would then go and challenge Bottas for the lead, a mistake in the final corner a few laps later opened the door for Hamilton to retake second place heading into the first corner. Elsewhere Norris and Perez made their way past Sainz to take fourth and fifth, with Charles Leclerc getting past Esteban Ocon for seventh. Daniel Ricciardo, who started 16th, quickly made his way up to 11th just behind Sebastian Vettel. Perez eventually found his way past Norris for fourth as the leading trio of Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen started to break away from the rest of the pack, with the Finn controlling the pace. That all changed on Lap 20 as Hamilton played his angles right and surged past a defending Bottas around the outside of Turn 1. It was all the more impressive considering the Brit told Mercedes on the radio that his tyres were shot, before clocking a 1:21.995 on Lap 28 – the fastest lap up to that point. Further down the grid Leclerc began to show good pace after switching to hard tyres, closing up on teammate Sainz for ninth as several drivers in the middle of the pack, including the front three, continued to put off their pit stops. Verstappen was the first to blink at the end of Lap 35, switching to hard tyres with Bottas coming in the following lap. The Finn initially came out in front, but on cold tyres he was no match for the charging Dutchman who moved past the Mercedes driver. Hamilton eventually pitted as well, maintaining his gap over Verstappen with Perez in P1 having not pitted yet. Perez stayed out longer than the top three, eventually giving way to Hamilton before pitting and rejoining in fourth as the closing stages of the race played out with the top three miles ahead of the Mexican. Further down the grid Norris stayed in front of Leclerc to take fifth, while Ocon – who finished seventh – was joined in the points by teammate Fernando Alonso, who worked his way through the field to finish eighth after a late pass on the fading Sainz, who finished outside the points after being passed by Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly in the closing stages. In the end there was no denying Hamilton from his 97th career victory to sit eight points clear of Verstappen in the drivers’ standings. Position No. Driver Car 1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 3 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull-Honda 5 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 6 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 7 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 8 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 9 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 10 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 11 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari 12 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 13 5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 14 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 15 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 16 63 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 17 47 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 18 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 19 9 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 20 7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen’s Portuguese Grand Prix lasted just one lap after he collided with his team mate on the main straight at Portimao. The Finn, who had started the race 15th on the grid, was running behind Antonio Giovinazzi when he appeared to misjudge the effect of the tow from his team mate’s Alfa Romeo car, and hit the Italian’s back left tyre with his front wing. The impact caused debris to be showered across the track as the remains of the wing became lodged underneath Raikkonen’s car and he was unable to stop himself from running off the track, into the gravel trap, and out of the race. Giovinazzi was unaffected and was able to continue. The Safety Car was deployed to allow the marshals to recover the car and debris on the main straight, before the racing resumed, with Valtteri Bottas leading for Mercedes.