Hamilton's solo show in the desert – Alonso sensational

The seven-time world champion achieved an unchallenged start-to-finish victory in his Mercedes on Sunday in front of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, exactly one year before the start of the World Cup. At the Losail International Circuit, Hamilton relegated Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, who had received a penalty before the start, to second place with a lead of over eight seconds. “Fantastic job, guys, fantastic,” praised Hamilton over the radio. "We can do it."

Thanks to an ultimately strong race performance and the fastest lap, Verstappen at least defended his championship lead. Before the next much-discussed race in Saudi Arabia in two weeks and the finale on December 12th in Abu Dhabi, the lead shrank to just eight points. The sensational third place in the 102nd Grand Prix victory after the 102nd Grand Prix pole in Hamilton was the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso at the age of 40 in the Alpine. It is his first podium finish since 2013 (!).

Verstappen did maximum damage limitation against Hamilton, who had regained his strength in time for the decisive World Cup phase, after the former industry leader's mood had already plummeted. First, Sergio Perez missed the top ten in qualifying in the second car and was missing as a tactical assistant in the fight against the Silver Arrows, ultimately finishing fourth.

Lewis Hamilton with his specially created rainbow helmet. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

And then Verstappen got just under two hours before the start of the race a penalty of five positions for disregarding - albeit incorrectly - double-waved yellow flags in the knockout elimination. Starting position seventh instead of second, right next to pole-Hamilton. Verstappen catching up “It couldn't have been worse,” raged Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. "It's incredible. We have a billion-dollar sport” and the International Automobile Association does not have the stewards under control. One of the marshals had independently waved twice. Verstappen just had to see and pay attention to it anyway. But noise and rumbling have been part of the poisoned title fight between challenger Red Bull and defending champion Mercedes for weeks. Silver Arrows team boss Toto Wolff had already announced the end of diplomacy a week earlier, when an extremely debatable Verstappen maneuver against Hamilton in Brazil was not even looked at.

So it wasn't Verstappen, but Pierre Gasly who stood next to Hamilton in the Red Bull sister team (Alpha Tauri). Behind them Alonso and Lando Norris in the McLaren, because Bottas also had to go back, but only three places because of ignoring simply waved yellow flags. And all three behind Hamilton had the faster, softer tires. Maximum danger of overtaking at the start.

But Hamilton confidently maintained his pole, while Alonso pushed past Gasly and held on tough against rocket starter Verstappen. The Dutchman, among others, rushed past Bottas, who initially fell back to eleventh place, and continued to put pressure on him, grabbing Gasly and then Alonso. Damage limitation optimized after less than a tenth of the race, the gap to Hamilton: four seconds. He should keep it, the Brit was told by the Mercedes command post.

And so little happened at first. The time table showed how striking Hamilton's dominance was a week after his splendid victory in Sao Paulo: Before the first pit stop, Alonso was over half a minute behind in third place. And so the superstar, who wants to support the LGBTQIA+ community on the Arabian Peninsula with his new helmet design, was able to react to Verstappen's tire change in a relaxed manner. He didn't want to do it himself and argued, but the box got him in. It didn't change the order. Ferrari missed the podium again The risks of a one-stop strategy were shown by Bottas, who bobbed back across the track towards the pits with a flat left front wheel through the gravel and sparks and ultimately retired. When changing tires for the second time, Verstappen came in first, Hamilton was able to react. Now it only became exciting to see who would secure the one point for the fastest race lap. This ultimately went to Verstappen.

The Ferraris couldn't really put themselves in the spotlight and also missed out on the podium in Qatar. Carlos Sainz took seventh place, Charles Leclerc immediately behind him in eighth place. The Formula 1 entourage is now moving to Saudi Arabia, where the penultimate World Cup round will take place in two weeks. The result at a glance:

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Hamilton's solo show in the desert – Alonso sensational

With his new demonstrative rainbow helmet, Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 premiere in the controversial emirate of Qatar and, thanks to a renewed demonstration of power, continued his race to catch up in the bitter world championship battle.

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