F1 | Qatar GP | Ross Brawn on the exciting title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen and Alonso's brilliance
Formula One's Managing Director summoned the Qatar weekend on his post-race column, as we head to the final two rounds of the F1 championship with 8 points separating Hamilton and Verstappen.
In his usual post-race column, Ross Brawn left his thoughts on an exciting title battle with protagonists that won’t give in, when the standings were left in 8-points separating Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after a thrilling night race in Qatar.
“What’s great about this championship is we have this ebb and flow. We had a period where you thought Red Bull were going to run away with it and then Mercedes came back. It’s the title race that keeps on giving.”
Lewis Hamilton drove a flawless race since lights out, from the very moment he grabbed Pole Position on Saturday after he hadn’t done it since the Hungarian GP. According to Brawn: “it was a beautiful weekend for Lewis. On race day, he didn’t put a foot wrong and very much deserved that win.”
Even though he left the Losail Circuit with a second-place finish on the bag, an 8-points-lead on the championship, and the possibility of being crowned World Champion in the next event at Jeddah, the standings are tighter than ever and Red Bull has been playing a damage limitation game since the race at Interlagos, or so says Brawn: “Max had a great race as well. Who knows? With the start Max made, had that come from the front row of the grid rather than further back, we could have seen a closer contest. It was damage limitation for Max and he did the best job he could have imagined from seventh on the grid.”
👀 Max Verstappen will be crowned world champion in Saudi Arabia if... #F1 pic.twitter.com/YjvggDMMpZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 22, 2021
One of the highlights of the weekend was Fernando Alonso completing the podium sitting on the third step. The Spaniard scored the 98th podium of his career the Sunday in Qatar after seven years of his last one, when he finished second on the 2014 Hungarian GP, as he still drove for Ferrari. Brawn pointed Alonso was his choice of the best driver through the weekend.
“Fernando is my driver of the weekend. Like Lewis, he dialed into the track very quickly and got the car working well.”
Fernando Alonso back on the podium 😃
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 22, 2021
It's just wonderful to see the great man up there again 🙌#QatarGP 🇶🇦 @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/JC9tUgAYYh
“I’m a big fan of Fernando and I’ve always felt frustrated he only won two world championships for someone of his talent.”
“He’s hugely talented. Maybe the perspective he’s got now, after some time away from the sport, might be helping. He’s driving very well. He deserves to be there, there’s no question about that. It’s great for the sport, great for the fans, great for everyone.”
