Alpine F1 Team’s podium joy following sensational teamwork in Qatar

QATAR GRAND PRIX
Losail International Circuit
Sunday, November 21st 2021

Alpine F1 Team today secured an outstanding podium in the inaugural Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix thanks to a stand-out performance from Fernando Alonso. The double World Champion finished third, his first podium since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, to cap a very strong weekend for the team. Esteban Ocon brought further joy and points for Alpine following a fighting fifth position.

Fernando started from third on the grid following pre-race penalties for Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, but a superb start and overtake on Pierre Gasly catapulted him into second. The Spaniard held onto second until a hard-charging Verstappen ultimately came through to take the position.

Fernando relinquished third to Sergio Perez before a second-stop for the Mexican propelled Fernando back into podium contention. A late Virtual Safety Car gave just the margin he needed to secure his maiden podium for Alpine F1 Team, the second for the Anglo-French team this season, and the 98th of his career.

Esteban moved up four places on his grid slot to finish fifth overall after a battling display. Like Fernando, the Frenchman had a good start, moving into sixth. He had to concede to a charging Perez but moved back up to fifth after his stop and woes for other drivers. He then played the ultimate team game, defending from charging competitors to protect Fernando.

The impressive double-points finish puts Alpine F1 Team 25 points clear in fifth position in the Constructors’ Championship with just two races remaining.

Esteban Ocon, started P9, finished P5:

“Today was a great race on our side and I am very pleased to have finished fifth after starting ninth. I managed to pass Carlos [Sainz] and Yuki [Tsunoda] after a good start. I tried to return the favour to Fernando from Budapest; I asked the team if they needed me to defend from Perez.

He was on fresh tyres and it was not easy, but I did the maximum I could. Today’s result is almost like a win for us. Everyone in the team deserves credit for this fantastic effort. Twenty-five points’ gain over Alpha Tauri sets us up very well for the final two races of the year!”

Fernando Alonso, started P3, finished P3:

“It felt fantastic today and to be back on the podium was so good. We deserved this result as a team and I’ve had to wait seven years since my last one. Hopefully we don’t need to wait this long again! We took some risks with the one-stop strategy but it worked out well.

We had some strong pace and despite Perez catching us at the end we did enough to hang on. Esteban did a great job in assisting the result and our pitstops were brilliant, so well done to the whole team. I love this track and the car felt amazing all weekend, so I can’t wait to come back here.

There was also quite a lot of action and overtakes, which is something we weren’t sure of at the start of the weekend. In the end, it was a perfect weekend for us and we scored lots of points in the Constructors’ Championship, so now we have a good advantage over Alpha Tauri heading into the final two races.”

Laurent Rossi, Chief Executive, Alpine: “What a fantastic team result. Firstly, a huge congratulations to Fernando on his podium. It marks his first since returning to the team and, I must say, after the season he has had, he truly deserves it. We knew a big opportunity would arise today with the pre-race grid penalties for some cars around us, which propelled us into a great starting position.

From there, it was down to him at the wheel to navigate himself into contention, for the team to execute the right strategy by making the calls at the right time and the crew to deliver the perfect pit-stop. All of those elements fell into place and the end result is a deserved one: our second visit to the podium of the season. We must not forget Esteban’s equally brilliant drive to finish fifth today.

He also enjoyed a superb start, which put him in a great position to score points. He benefitted from other cars two-stopping but still remained calm with others closing in late on to take a very valuable ten points. With today’s points haul we extend our lead on Alpha Tauri in fifth to 25 points with two rounds remaining. While this is a healthy advantage, we’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves.

We have two races to go and, as we have seen, anything can happen in Formula 1. We aim to build on our consistent performances so far this season – by scoring in 18 of 20 races – in order to cement fifth position by the end of the year.”

– Alpine also photos

 
Verstappen got a great launch from the clean side of the grid, picking up a plac more >> Penalties for Verstappen and Bottas ahead of Qatar Grand Prix – updated start grid

21.11.2021 But some three hours after qualifying, Verstappen was issued a summons from the stewards for allegedly “not respecting double waved yellow flags”, and he went to see them at 1pm local time in Qatar on Sunday.And with just hours to go before the start of th more >> Jeddah Corniche Circuit Nears Completion Ahead of the Inaugural FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2021

21.11.2021 World’s fastest and longest circuit due for completion in days, with construction of F1®’s newest track set to be finalised in record time. With just two weeks to go until the inaugural FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2021 makes its long-awaited more >> Lewis takes a spectacular pole position for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team under the lights in Qatar

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021•    Lewis will start the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position after a stunning final lap in Q3, taking pole by four and more >> Scuderia Ferrari F1 Qatar GP qualifying – Sainz seventh, Leclerc 13th

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021Weather: air 26°, track 27°.Q1. Carlos and Charles go out on Soft tyres setting times of 1’23”323 and 1’23”347 respectively, be more >> Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Qatar GP qualifying – Objective: points

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021 In NumbersSebastian VettelFP3    P12    1.23.884    17 more >> Alpine Racing F1 Qatar GP – Alonso shines in Qatar qualifying

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021Alpine F1 Team will line up with Fernando Alonso fifth and Esteban Ocon ninth for tomorrow’s maiden Qatar Grand Prix after Alpine’s strongest qualifying sessio more >> Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Qatar GP qualifying – A step forward

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021 Pierre Gasly (AT02-05, Car 10)Third Practice Session – Best lap: 1:22.835, pos. 4th, 17 lapsQualifying – Best lap: (Q1) 1:22.535, (Q2) 1:21.728, (Q more >> Red Bull Racing Honda F1 Qatar GP qualifying – Light and shadow

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021MAX VERSTAPPEN, Position: 2nd, 1:21.282 (Practice 3 – 1:22.651)“It’s been a bit of an up and down weekend so far, I was happy in quali but just more >> Pirelli F1 Qatar GP qualifying -Possible race strategies

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021POSSIBLE RACE STRATEGIES The optimal strategy for the 57-lap Qatar Grand Prix should be a two-stopper. The best tactic on more >> Williams Racing F1 Qatar GP qualifying – Looking forward to tight battle

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021•    George Russell qualified 15th and Nicholas Latifi 17th for the Qatar Grand Prix•    George continued to more >> Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Qatar GP qualifying – Just not making the Qat-ar

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN endured a challenging Saturday in Losail as Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi classified 16th and 18th in qualifying for tom more >> Uralkali Haas F1 Qatar GP qualifying – Very good effort from whole team

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021    Location: Losail International Circuit, DohaLayout: 5.380-kilometer (3.343-mile), 16-turn circuitWeather: Clear more >> Qatar GP qualifying classification – Hamilton takes pole from Verstappen and Bottas

20.11.2021

QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021Live here    Round 20 of 22 comes from the Lo more >> Pirelli awarded FIA’s three-star environmental accreditation

20.11.2021 Pirelli’s motorsport division has been awarded three stars by the governing body of world motorsport, the FIA, as part of its Environmental Accreditation Programme. This is the highest score possible within the programme, which has been design more >> Qatar GP Free Practice 3 classification – Bottas ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen

20.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitSaturday, November 20th 2021Live here        Round 20 of 22 comes from the Losail International circuit more >> Pirelli F1 Qatar GP – Tyre performance during Friday practices

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021TYRE GAPFRIDAY TYRE SUMMARY •    The Formula 1 drivers and teams got their first taste of Losail t more >> McLaren F1 Qatar GP practices – First impressions

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021″It’s fast, it’s high-speed and it’s a good challenge”

 
LANDO NORRIS, #4FP1     1m25.215s (+1.492s)   &nb more >> Honda F1 Qatar GP practices – New circuit, new challenge

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021 A new circuit brings a new challenge and it was an encouraging start to the weekend in Qatar as both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri had drivers in the top three throughout Fri more >> Scuderia Ferrari F1 Qatar GP practices – Learning the track

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021The main aim of Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow on the first day of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend was to do as many laps as possible to get to grips more >> Williams Racing F1 Qatar GP practices – Will be hot!

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021 Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Learning another new track was an enjoyable experience and the Losail International Circuit lived more >> Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Qatar GP practices- What we want further

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021In NumbersLance StrollFP1    P19    1.26.712    11 LapsFP2    P06&nb more >> Alpine Racing F1 Qatar GP practices – Enjoyable debut for Esteban and Fernando

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021Alpine F1 Team had its first experience of the Losail International Circuit today, as preparations got underway for this weekend’s first-ever Formula 1 Grand Pri more >> Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Qatar practices – Interesting challenge in the desert

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021 A busy first day at the Losail International Circuit for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, building up experience on more >> Red Bull Racing Honda F1 Qatar GP practices – Cool track

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021     MAX VERSTAPPENFirst Practice Session: 1:23.723, Position: 1, Laps: 22Second Practice Session: 1:23.498, Position: 3, Laps: 20 more >> Uralkali Haas F1 Qatar GP practices – Gaining experience on a fast track

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021    Location: Losail International Circuit, DohaLayout: 5.380-kilometer (3.343-mile), 16-turn circuitFP1 & FP2 Weather: Sunny / WarmDrivers: Nikita Mazep more >> Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Qatar GP practices – Exploration time

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN had a productive Friday of practice at the Qatar Grand Prix, with both sessions devoted to discovering the Losail International Circuit and doing set-up g more >> Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Qatar GP practices – Goal: to be as far up the grid

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021
 

 Pierre Gasly (AT02-05, Car 10)First Practice Session – Best lap: 1:24.160, pos. 2nd, 28 lapsSecond Practice Session – Best lap: 1:23.357, more >> Qatar GP Free Practice 2 classification – Bottas leads Gasly and Verstappen

19.11.2021 QATAR GRAND PRIXLosail International CircuitFriday, November 19th, 2021Live here  & more >> The post Alpine F1 Team’s podium joy following sensational teamwork in Qatar first appeared on monter-une-startup.