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Lewis Hamilton claimed an important victory at the Losail International Circuit as tyre failures were a huge talking point with several one stoppers experiencing punctures.
The Brit finished miles ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen as Fernando Alonso crossed the line third to secure his first podium since Budapest in 2014.
Starting Grid
Lewis Hamilton set a blistering 1:20.827 lap time to claim pole position. The Brit was joined by Pierre Gasly on the front row of the grid as Max Verstappen endured a five-place grid drop for failing to slow down under double-waved yellows.
Fernando Alonso inherited third after Valtteri Bottas’ three-place grid penalty with Lando Norris up to fourth on the grid. Carlos Sainz fronted the third row as the Spaniard started from fifth with Bottas in sixth, Verstappen in seventh, Yuki Tsunoda in eighth, Esteban Ocon in ninth and Sebastian Vettel in 10th.
After a disappointing qualifying, Sergio Perez started outside the top 10 in 11th, Lance Stroll in 12th, Charles Leclerc in 13th, Daniel Ricciardo in 14th, George Russell in 15th, Kimi Raikkonen in 16th, Nicholas Latifi in 17th, Antonio Giovinazzi in 18th, Mick Schumacher in 19th and Nikita Mazepin in 20th.
As It Happened
Hamilton got a fantastic getaway as he held his lead into turn one. Behind him, Alonso, Gasly and the charging Verstappen battled for second place with the former claiming the position later on in the lap.
A poor qualifying saw Perez start from 11th, but in the space of two laps, the Mexican was up to ninth as he overtook Stroll.
Gasly made it easy for Verstappen to move into the podium places after the Frenchman went wide into turn 16 and allowed the Red Bull man to breeze past him with DRS assistance.
The Dutchman turned his grid penalty around as he overtook Alonso to move up to second place. After five laps of racing, Hamilton held a healthy lead over Verstappen with Alpine’s Alonso in third. Gasly followed in fourth, Norris in fifth, Ocon in sixth, Sainz in seventh, Perez in eighth, Tsunoda in ninth and Stroll in 10th.
Following his poor performance in qualifying, Leclerc was able to close up on the points after his overtake on Raikkonen moved him up to 12th.
Perez thought he had made another position but Sainz held onto seventh place for dear life. However a lap later, the Spaniard had to concede the place as the Red Bull driver made the move stick.
It didn’t take long for the Mexican to claim sixth as he overtook Ocon with Stroll and Bottas making their way past Tsunoda for ninth and 10th respectively.
Bottas then dispatched Stroll for ninth as he looked to manoeuvre his way up to a podium place as his Mercedes teammate continued to control the race.
Within the space of two laps, Gasly started to struggle with Norris and Perez making up places before the Frenchman made a pit stop.
Bottas and Perez needed to move up the order quickly as the former moved up to sixth with the latter blasting past Norris for fourth.
Verstappen and Hamilton switched onto the hard tyres on laps 18 and 19 as most of the drivers started making their first stops of the race.
Bottas, who was yet to make a stop, moved up to fourth after overtaking the soft tyre running Norris. Perez was also able to make up places as he claimed 11th after his pit stop.
Third-placed Alonso fitted the hard tyres and came back onto the circuit in eighth place ahead of Ricciardo and Perez.
However, Perez wasn’t behind Ricciardo for long as the Mexican breezed past the McLaren man and set his sights on the Alpine of Alonso.
A huge lockup from Leclerc saw Alonso overtake him into turn one. Perez was unable to follow the Spaniard but was able to make the move done moments later.
The Mexican was up to fourth two laps later after his fantastic battle with Alonso through the first few turns. At the halfway point of the race, Hamilton lead with Verstappen in second and Bottas in third. Perez was fourth, Alosnos in fifth, Gasly in sixth, Norris in seventh, Ocon in eighth, Stroll in ninth and Sainz in 10th.
Mercedes looked to employ a one-stop strategy with Bottas but they extended his first stint far too much as he endured a puncture and had to limp into the pits for a tyre and front wing change.
The leading trio of Hamilton, Verstappen and Perez were serviced for a second time as they looked to stay away from any potential tyre trouble.
Perez quickly dispatched Stroll and Ocon as he moved up to fifth and started to close up on a potential podium place.
After his puncture, Bottas was eventually forced to retire from the race. Russell and Latifi were also victims of tyre problems in the closing stages as the latter also had to jump out of his car as his evening was cut short.
Norris moved ahead of Vettel as the McLaren man claimed ninth before the Virtual Safety Car was released due to Latifi’s stricken car.
That didn’t matter much as Hamilton crossed the line to record his second successive victory ahead of Verstappen in second and the cruising Alonso in third. Perez finished fourth with Ocon in fifth, Stroll in sixth, Sainz in seventh, Leclerc in eighth, Norris in ninth and Vettel in 10th.
What’s Next?
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at Losail saw him close down the championship gap to eight points after Max Verstappen recorded the fastest lap.
With two races to go, the rounds in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi will be extremely important for the two championship protagonists as a slip up could see the title sealed for either driver.
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