Month: March 2021

F1 2020 Retrospective: Sergio Perez wins the Sakhir Grand Prix

The short outer loop configuration of the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain provided drama and fireworks on the penultimate race of the 2020 season. Culminating an eventful week in Formula 1, Sergio Perez, one of the most consistent drivers of the past decade, emerged victorious for the first time in his long career. He turned in a drive for the ages.

The big story on the week leading up to the grand prix was that Lewis Hamilton was out due to COVID. Mercedes called up junior driver George Russell from Williams as the champion-elect’s replacement. Russell drove admirably all weekend, qualifying in second-place. At the start of the race on Sunday, he took the lead on the first corner.

Just behind him, Sergio Perez snuck up to third-place after a good start, but Charles Leclerc spun him around, relegating him to last place. Perez then put together a dynamic recovery drive, surging back up the field in the first half of the race.

Russell was cruising in the lead for a long time until a late safety car period. Mercedes called him in for a pit stop, but bottled the service for both him and Valtteri Bottas. Notwithstanding the disappointing result, Russell drove like a future star.

The late scramble for pit stops put Perez ahead of the field at the restart. The veteran held on to the lead to achieve his maiden Formula 1 victory. His late-season form and career-long consistency paid off when Red Bull signed him up to their 2021 driver lineup shortly after the season ended.

F1 2020 Retrospective: Lewis Hamilton’s supreme drive at the Turkish Grand Prix

The Istanbul Park circuit welcomed Formula 1’s return to Turkey with a slippery track and rainy weather. Lance Stroll qualified on pole, but Lewis Hamilton won the race in treacherous conditions to become a 7-time World Champion.

This Turkish Grand Prix was a long, slow race where tiptoeing around corners was the safest way to navigate the track. Several drivers were caught out by the conditions, spinning and running off the track. Maximum concentration for drivers, nervous tension for spectators.

Stroll started well and consolidated his lead for most of the race, but as the track started to dry, he struggled to manage his tires. Overcoming an early mistake, Hamilton kept a steady pace, eventually moving himself up to the lead late in the race with a pass on Sergio Perez.

Races in wet/mixed conditions tend to draw a lucky winner, but Hamilton relied only on skill. It was a racing masterclass, one of the greatest of his 95 career wins.

Perez finished a second-place, while Sebastian Vettel salvaged a third-place finish after a late error by teammate Charles Leclerc.