Lewis Hamilton wins at 2021 Formula One Season Opener in Bahrain

Lewis Hamilton managed to claim the win in Bahrain after a intense battle with Max Verstappen which ended in Max having to give the position to Hamilton.

The season opening race began with Perez stopping his car on track during the formation lap which resulted in him staring in the pit-lane and added an extra formation lap.

Max Verstappen got an excellent start from the line with Hamilton tucking in behind in second with Bottas and Leclerc battling behind for third. Mazepin’s F1 debut ended quickly with him spinning off track and colliding with the barrier during lap 1, which resulted in a safety car.

Norris managed to overtake Gasly during lap 4 up into fifth. Mick Schumacher also took a spin during lap 4. Gasly collided with the back of Daniel Ricciardo which resulted in a loss of his front wing.

Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were wheel to wheel battling for fourth during lap 8 with Norris successfully managing to seize fourth during lap 9.

Hamilton pitted for hard tyres during lap 14 due to the team not having enough sets of mediums. However Verstappen also pitted during lap 18 which allowed Hamilton to take the lead of the race.

Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel all battled for 8th with Sainz coming out on top. Yuki Tsunoda also managed to demonstrate an impressive overtake against Fernando Alonso during his F1 debut in lap 21.

Hamilton pitted once again during lap 29, allowing Verstappen to regain the lead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen went side by side with George Russell during lap 36 as Kimi managed to pass the Williams going into turn 4.

Verstappen exits the pit-lane during lap 40 after a 1.9s stop, just as Hamilton crosses the line and continues to lead the race.

Esteban Ocon was ahead in the braking zone with Sebastian Vettel behind him during lap 44, as Vettel locks up and clips the back of the Alpine sending it spinning.

The countdown battle began during lap 51, when Hamilton locks up at turn 10 and goes wide; closing the gap between himself and Verstappen even closer!

Verstappen managed to pass Hamilton during lap 53 by the time they reach the corner, Verstappen is about a third of a car in front. By the exit of the corner, Verstappen managed to pass Hamilton. However, Verstappen had to give the position back because it was claimed that the position was taken off the racetrack.

With +0.745 seconds between them, Hamilton claimed victory at Bahrain with Verstappen taking second and Bottas claiming third.

My F1 2021 predictions

These are my own personal views and opinions of how the the F1 2021 season will go! please enjoy and remember that these are my own personal views and that everyone is entitled to their own opinions

Mercedes

Mercedes will be the overall dominant team again in 2021
Hamilton will win his 8^th world drivers championship
Bottas will gather more wins and podiums and it would be great to see him compete for the title against Lewis

Redbull

Redbull will be the championship contenders against Mercedes again this season
I personally think that Max and Perez will collide (not literally, but personality wise) because they are both really competitive and have competitive personalities which could come between the pair
Verstappen will have a strong season competing for the championship alongside Lewis
Perez will also have a good strong first season with the team and will gather a few podiums along the way
Redbull could also have a possible constructors championship win; and maybe even have a world drivers championship win with one of the drivers?

McLaren

McLaren will also have a strong season, possibly running up front and will do well in the constructors championship and even contend for a World Drivers Championship?!
Norris and Ricciardo will have a fun first season together
Ricciardo will have a good strong season with McLaren and gather lots of podiums and may even have a shot at a World Drivers Championship?
Norris will have another strong season with McLaren and will gather more podiums and wins with the team

Alpine

Alpine will work on being strong this season and may have a few podiums this season too
Ocon has the potential to fight in the top 10 and challenge the other drivers
Alonso will settle back into F1 and the new team and will work on helping the team become stronger

Aston Martin

Aston will have a really strong season and even fight towards the front of the grid, gathering a few podiums along the way too
Vettel will have a strong season (justice from Ferrari last year) and even have a shot at some podiums
Stroll will also have a strong season and gather points for himself and the team and will also fight for more podiums this year

Alphatauri

Alpha will have a strong season fighting mid-field and may even pick up a couple of podiums
Gasly will have another strong season and will focus on gathering a few more podiums and points for the team
Tsunoda will have an excellent debut season and will settle into the team well picking up lots of points

Ferrari

Hopefully Ferrari will have a better season than the last one!
The team will compete midfield and gather points
I think that Charles and Carlos will also collide (again not literally) because they are both really competitive and are both competing to be the best and make the best out of the car
Charles will do the best he can with the car and will gather as many points as possible for the team, he may even fight for a podium depending on the car and how the season/races are
Carlos will get used to the car and will try to benefit as much as it will allow. Again, he will gather as many points as possible with a slight chance of a podium

Alfa Romeo

I believe not much will change with the team, they will gather a few more points and will try and finish in the top 10 more often
Raikkonen and Giovianzzi will both gather points and mainly finish in the top 10/15

Williams

William will improve slightly more than last year and will gather more points
George will have a good season and aim to score more points for himself and the team
Latifi will also aim to try and get more points for the team and try to get the best out of the car

Haas

I personally believe they will overall do worse than last season purely because they have two new drivers getting used to the the car and the new team
Schumacher will have a great season with the team and help gather as many points as possible and will try and get the most out of the car as possible

My Overall Team Prediction

Mercedes
Redbull
McLaren
Aston Martin
Alphatauri
Alpine
Ferrari
Alfa Romeo
Haas
Williams

A tribute to Murray Walker

The legendary English Motorsport commentator, Murray Walker, has sadly passed away aged 97.

After his 23 years of full-time commentating, Murray became particularly famous for the comical errors and mistakes he made whilst doing it.

Walker’s first radio broadcast was with BBC about the 1949 British Grand Prix. He became a full time Formula One commentator for the 1978 season.

Some of Murray Walker’s famous quotes include:

“unless I am very much mistaken…I am very much mistaken!”
“The lead car is unique, except for the one behind it which is identical”
“And now, excuse me while I interrupt myself”
“That’s history. I say that because it happened in the past”
“I don’t make mistakes, I make prophecies which immediately turn out to be wrong”

Rest easy Murray Walker. A legendary voice that will be remembered forever in motorsport!

Lewis Hamilton gains his record-breaking 92nd win at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton achieved his 92nd Formula One race win and is now considered the most successful driver in relation to wins in F1.

After starting from pole, the Mercedes driver’s victory appeared to get off to a rough start after being passed by both his teammate, Valtteri Bottas and Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz! This didn’t last for long as once the Mercedes tyres were warmed up, Hamilton soon claimed the lead again and went on to achieve his 92nd win.

Hamilton commented: “I only ever dreamed of being where I am today.

“I didn’t have a magic ball when I chose to come here – and all we have ever tried to do is make the most of it every single day. We are all rowing in the same direction.”

Speaking over the radio to his team he commented: “such an honour to work with you”.

After the race he added: “I really owe it all to these guys for their teamwork, continually innovating and pushing the barrier even higher every year.”

Carlos Sainz confirmed 2021 F1 Ferrari driver

Carlos Sainz has been confirmed as the new Ferrari driver for the 2021 season, replacing Sebastian Vettel and partnering Charles Leclerc.

Just two days after Sebastian Vettel confirmed his leave from Ferrari, the Spanish driver has secured a 2 year deal to drive with the red team. Sainz recently drove for McLaren F1 team in which his seat has now been occupied by the Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Sebastian Vettel, who joined Ferrari back in 2015, replacing Fernando Alonso, confirmed his leave earlier this week and is yet to decide whether he will remain in F1 with another team or retire early. Leclerc had already seized a deal with Ferrari that will end in 2024. But the big question is whats next for Vettel…?

Daniel Ricciardo confirmed as 2021 McLaren driver

Daniel Ricciardo has been confirmed as the new 2021 McLaren F1 driver, replacing Carlos Sainz who has also recently moved teams to Ferrari. The deal was confirmed this morning (Thursday 14th May 2020) that the Aussie would partner Lando Norris for the F1 2021 season.

Daniel recently took up a 2 year deal with Renault F1 team in 2019 which he partnered Nico Hulkenberg in 2019 and Esteban Ocon in 2020. Riccardo’s departure from Renault leaves a free seat at the French team, with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso being contenders to partner Ocon for the 2021 season. Renault have also been looking at the younger drivers they could consider too; however nothing has been fully confirmed yet.