Faisal's blog

BRACKLEY – 2021 has been another rollercoaster season for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, as the Silver Arrows won their eight consecutive world titles, however, their main driver Sir Lewis Hamilton failed to clinch his eighth world title after being defeated by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the season finale's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.  Prior to the start of the season, team principal Toto Wolff stated that the main goals for 2021 season is to achieve what they achieve in last four seasons: winning both drivers and constructors titles in hands of Hamilton himself. For 2021, Mercedes shared most engine allocations with Red Bull and Ferrari. Mercedes started strong in the first half of the season with four wins by Hamilton and 10 other podiums from the British driver and his Finn teammate Valtteri Bottas. However, Verstappen's dominance at the early stages of the second half of the season forced Mercedes to change into more powerful and com...

TORONTO – On December 21, Nicholas Latifi wrote a statement on his official website regarding himself being abused after his crash in the late Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drama which caused Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) clinched his maiden FIA Formula 1 world title at Yas Marina Circuit. The Williams driver's statement is as follows: Hi everyone, I’ve purposely been staying away from social media to kind of let things settle down from the events of the last race. A lot has been made of the situation that came about after my retirement in Abu Dhabi. I’ve received thousands of messages to my social media accounts – publicly and via DMs. Most have been supportive, but there’s been a lot of hate and abuse, too. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to go about handling this. Do I ignore it and carry on? Or do I address it and tackle the bigger issue that is sadly a reality when you use social media? This isn’t some scripted statement, but rather me speaking my mind in the hope that t...

ABU DHABI – Max Verstappen has achieved his childhood dream: becoming an Formula 1 world champion before turning 25. And that dream became reality, after the 24-year-old Dutchman overtook rival Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on the final lap of the race after a safety car restart. The Red Bull Racing driver became the third youngest world champion in F1 history, only behind Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who won the title at age of 23. Verstappen is also become the 2nd driver onboard with Red Bull Racing to win the title since Vettel. For the 2nd time since 2016, Lewis Hamilton (pictured in 2017) has lost the world title to a non-Mercedes rival . "It’s just insane. I mean, my goal when I was little was of course to become a Formula 1 driver and you hope for wins, to be on the podium, when they play the national anthem you one day hope they play yours and then when you stand here and they tell you [that] you are world champion it is something incredible and specia...

A. Nationality 1. HAM: England 2. VER: Netherlands B. Age (years old) 1. HAM: 36 2. VER: 24 C. Race starts (career) 1. HAM: 288 2. VER: 141 D. Race wins (career) 1. HAM: 103 2. VER: 19 E. Podiums (career) 1. HAM: 181 2. VER: 59 F. World titles (career) 1. HAM: 7 2. VER: 0 G. Poles (career) 1. HAM: 103 2. VER: 13 H. Fastest laps (career) 1. HAM: 59 2. VER: 15 I. Points (career) 1. HAM: 4147.5 2. VER: 1531.5 J. First race wins (career) 1. HAM: 2007 Canadian GP 2. VER: 2016 Spanish GP K. Recent wins (career) 1. HAM: 2021 Saudi Arabian GP 2. VER: 2021 Mexico City GP L. Cars/engines (2021 season) 1. HAM: Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance Plus (Mercedes-AMG HPP M12 E Performance Plus) 2. VER: Red Bull Racing RB16B (Honda RA621H) Sources: -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_career_of_Lewis_Hamilton -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Verstappen

ABU DHABI – Yas Marina Circuit will get its first major track modification ahead of this week's F1 season finale. The track modification will guaranteed F1 fans to bring more excitement on world title deciders between drivers (Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen) and constructors (Mercedes and Red Bull), as well as Kimi Raikkonen's final race in F1 career. The modifications took place at turns 5 and 6 in the first sector, and turns 11-14 at the final sector. Heading into the final race of 2021, Hamilton and Verstappen both tied at 369.5 points in drivers' standings, while Mercedes led Red Bull by 28 points in constructors table. Sources: -  https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-the-track-changes-aimed-at-improving-overtaking-at-abu-dhabis-yas.rejS8Xxbgoom5yPUInsek.html -  https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.the-championship-decider-and-a-farewell-to-a-legend-5-storylines-were.5I8X4NpEXOb3AHg1MRoIh7.html

JEDDAH – The 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship title will be decided at Yas Marina Circuit in season-end's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after Lewis Hamilton defeated title rival Max Verstappen in a epic but controversial battle at Jeddah Street Circuit in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Started on pole, Hamilton being pressured by Verstappen throughout the entire race, however in the midway stage of the race, Verstappen illegally overtook Hamilton over the chicane. When Hamilton's attempting to retake the lead, Verstappen blockaded the Mercedes driver out of his way. "He (Verstappen) brake-tested me!", said Hamilton furiously on the team radio. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is even looked more furious seeing the collision. The Mercedes driver escaped from the Red Bull Racing driver's pursuit until the checkered flag. Verstappen must beat Hamilton in order to win the title at Abu Dhabi . - The final showdown For the first time since 2016, the FI...

OXFORDSHIRE – Formula One's most flamboyant racing legend and team owner Sir Frank Williams has been decorated as one of the most influential person in F1's history. The British legend died at age of 79 on November 28, 2021, after spent over 30 years as Williams F1 team manager on the wheelchair following his 1986 car incident which forced him walking disabilities.  Born in 1942, Williams began his career as both racer and team manager. In 1977, Williams co-founded Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Frank managed to carry both drivers and constructors championships from early 1980s to mid 1990s despite battling with top rivals at the time like McLaren and Ferrari. Frank also run his team for Formula 3000 (now Formula 2) under the name of Frank Williams Racing Cars. Williams also worked with Mercedes-Benz for designing the brand's first hypercar. Source: -  https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-legendary-f1-team-boss-sir-frank-williams-dies-aged-79.mC...

DOHA – The inaugural Qatar Grand Prix sees Lewis Hamilton shining under the lights of Losail International Circuit in Doha, as the Mercedes driver won the race from title rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) who once again finished 2nd to Hamilton. Hamilton's victory over Verstappen means that the title fight is still "game on", with eight points seperate the top-two contenders with two races remaining in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. With two races remaining, championship leader Verstappen needs to be aware from Hamilton's late attack . - Alonso returns to the podium But the main spotlight of the race is Fernando Alonso, who benefitted by Valtteri Bottas' puncture and Sergio Perez' slow pit-stop. The former two-time F1 world champion and endurance world champion finished third in the race, his first podium since 2014 Hungarian GP when he was drove for Ferrari, and first with Renault/Alpine since 2008. 2021 Qatar F1 GP race ...

SAO PAULO – Lewis Hamilton shows his incredible fight to keep his title battle against Max Verstappen continued until Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And at the Brazilian GP held at Interlagos circuit, the Mercedes driver who started from 10th on the grid (based from sprint race results) battles not only Verstappen, but also his teammate Valtteri Bottas as well as Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez. Hamilton's journey to win his 101st career race at Interlagos is tough, as he faced grid penalty for Saturday's sprint race due to rear wing infringement. After finished fifth in the sprint race, Hamilton changed another engine unit, which forced the British driver to start the main race from 10th on the grid. Incredibly, Hamilton battled title rival Verstappen and overtook the Red Bull Racing driver on lap 48. Championship leader Verstappen still leads the championship after Brazil, as the Dutchman awares the late attack from his title rival Hamilton in the final ...

MEXICO CITY – With four races remaining in the calendar, the main focus for the rest of the season is the fight for 2021 FIA Formula 1 world title at stake between Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) after the 24-year-old Dutchman beats the seven-time world champion for the second successive race in a row in a chaotic Mexican Grand Prix. As the top-two title contenders had changed their final engine unit at Russian and Turkish GP respectively, either Verstappen or Hamilton will go all or nothing for the title. However for Hamilton, the Briton needs to wait for Verstappen making mistake somewhere at Brazilian, Qatar, Saudi Arabian or Abu Dhabi GP. Having finished 2nd to Verstappen in U.S. and Mexican GPs, Hamilton needs patience if he's looking for Verstappen's mistake in the final four races of the season to win his eighth world title . 2021 Mexican GP race results

AUSTIN – Max Verstappen is in total control on his way to win the U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) at Austin, Texas on Sunday (10/24), the race where the Red Bull Racing-Honda driver maintained pressures from his title rival Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) who pressured the 24-year-old Dutchman all-season long for his (Hamilton's) eighth world title. The COTA is not only dominated by Honda in F1 this year, but also in MotoGP courtesy of Marc Marquez who won in this circuit seven times. Verstappen's victory at COTA means that he increased his lead in the world championship by 12 points over Hamilton with five races remaining in the calendar. 2021 U.S. Grand Prix full results

ISTANBUL – Valtteri Bottas promised that he will at least win two races before leaving Mercedes to Alfa Romeo next seaaon. It all proved in the rain-soaked race at Turkish Grand Prix (10/10). The 32 year-old Finn holds his nerves from the pressure by Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen who finished 2nd to retake championship lead. Verstappen is happy to leave Turkey as a championship leader . Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was handed a ten-grid penalty after switching to new engine power unit. Hamilton went on to relinquish his championship lead to Verstappen who 2nd in the race as Hamilton finished 5th. - The title fight continues until the end? With six races to go, Verstappen currently leads Hamilton by six points. The final six races will take place in the Americas (Brazil, Mexico and United States) and in Middle East (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi) F1 Turkish GP 2021 full results

ISTANBUL – Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s cars will race with special liveries at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, on what was originally slated to be power unit supplier Honda’s final home race at Suzuka. The Red Bull RB16Bs of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will run in a predominantly white livery, inspired by the paint scheme of the Honda RA272 that Richie Ginther raced to victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauris, meanwhile, will feature the word arigato – the Japanese word for thank you – on the rear wings of their AT02s. Honda announced towards the  end of 2020  that the 2021 season would be their last in Formula 1, having returned to the sport to power McLaren back in 2015. They first supplied AlphaTauri – back in their Toro Rosso days – in 2018, before supplying both Red Bull teams from 2019 onwards. The partnership has netted 14 victories in total to date, including Pierre Gasly’s memorable triumph at the 2020 Italia...

DOHA – On September 30 2021, FIA announced that the Qatar Grand Prix will be added into Formula 1 calendar starting 2021. The 2021 event is due to replace canceled Japanese Grand Prix. In addition, the Qatar Grand Prix will be part of Middle East triple-header alongside the newly added Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The upcoming Qatar GP will take place at Losail International Circuit, which currently held FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing events including MotoGP and World Superbike Championships. FIA had also held their events at Losail, including GP2 Asia series where Sergio Perez (Red Bull) won the race 2 when he was raced for Barwa Campos team back in 2009. According to the F1's official site, the Qatar GP will be take place in a 57-lap sunset-to-night race, which is a similar racing schedule to Abu Dhabi GP. Source: -  https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-qatar-to-join-f1-calendar-in-2021-as-country-signs-additional-10.50lbiJcZfoo...

SOCHI – 14 years since debuting in the FIA Formula 1 world championship, Lewis Hamilton has achieved one of the most incredible milestones in his career; winning his 100th career Grand Prix race in a dramatic final lap thriller at Russian Grand Prix. It became the most crucial win for the Mercedes driver to retake the championship lead by two points over title rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull) who finished 2nd after starting from the back of the grid. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) completed the podium in 3rd place after the 27 year-old Spaniard took the lead in the early stage of the race. - Heartbreak for Norris Pole sitter Lando Norris is early favorite to win his maiden race at Russia, however suddenly heavy rain dropped in the final five laps of the race. As other drivers pitted for changing into wet tires, the McLaren driver refused to enter the pits and still overjoyed while leading the race, however as the heavy rain dropped around track, it became despair for Norris. Nor...

Daniel Ricciardo ends his three-year long wait since his last win at 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, by winning the incident-packed Italian Grand Prix race. This became the Australian-Italian driver's first win under McLaren livery, since his departure from Red Bull to Renault in 2019, before being sacked from Renault in 2020. The majority of Ricciardo's race wins came when he was raced for Red Bull from 2014 until 2018. Ricciardo suddenly found himself leading the race after both of the top-2 title protagonists Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) collided out of the race. Since then until the checkered flag waved, Ricciardo never looked back. He won the race by 1.7 seconds ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris who took his career best race finish. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) completed the podium in third place after Sergio Perez (Red Bull) handed a five-second time penalty. - What went wrong between Verstappen and Hamilton? For the first...

For the first time ever, FIA introduced the sprint race which added to some Grands Prix starting 2021 Formula 1 season onwards. A sprint race will take place on Saturday to determine grid positions for Sunday's main race. For 2021 season, sprint races took place at British (July 16-18), Italian (September 10-12) and Sao Paolo (TBA) Grands Prix. Sprint races also used in other FIA events like Formula 2, Formula 3 and A1 Series also to determine grid for the next day's feature race. - How does a sprint race work in Formula 1? Qualifying for these sprint races would take place on Friday afternoon in place of the normal second practice session and the races will be run over the least number of laps to exceed 100 km (62 mi), approximately one third of a normal race distance. The result of the sprint race will determine the starting grid for the main race. Three points will be awarded to the winner of the sprint race, two points to the runner-up and one point to the third...

Max Verstappen reclaims his championship lead by three points over his title rival Lewis Hamilton, after the 23 year-old Dutchman dominated the entire race flawlessly from start to finish. Starting on pole, Verstappen instantly gets away from Hamilton who started 2nd on the grid. Racing with his Red Bull Honda RB16B in front of his "largely wild" home fans, Verstappen gets uncatchable to win his home race (Dutch Grand Prix) at Zandvoort and earns 25 championship points. Despite being distracted by lapped cars, Hamilton keeps struggle to fight for win at Dutch GP, ended up himself finishing 2nd . Hamilton meanwhile finished 2nd scoring 19 points after setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. Throughout the race, Hamilton was struggled while racing with his Mercedes W12 E-Performance, making him and his teammate Valtteri Bottas (who finished 3rd) pitted three times in that race. The next race (Italian Grand Prix) will take place at Monza, wh...

Kimi Raikkonen has announced by Alfa Romeo Racing that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday (September 4), forcing the 41 year-old Finnish driver to miss the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.  The FIA and F1 said in a statement as follows:  “The FIA, Formula 1 and Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN can today confirm that during onsite PCR testing for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen has tested positive for COVID-19. “In accordance with COVID-19 protocols he will take no further part in this Event. All contacts have been declared. The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on the Dutch Grand Prix.” Following the withdrawal of Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo announced that reserve driver Robert Kubica will replace Raikkonen for this week's Dutch GP. Raikkonen will need a negative test before being allowed to return to the paddock and therefore it remains unclear whether he will be available for next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix a...

Heavy rain and bad weather surrounding the Spa Francorchamps circuit throughout the Belgian Grand Prix race weekend have made the FIA race direction holding their nerves to make decision for canceling the race, or keep the race going with half points being awarded to top-ten finishers. The race initially went on to start at 15:00 local time, but the start was delayed in too many occassions after heavy rain started showering the track. It took more than two hours for the drivers to wait for the decision from race direction neither to cancel the race, nor the race to be resumed with half points scoring classification. And by 18:05, FIA race dircetion decided to continue the race after the countdown clock for race restart being stopped at 17:15. The drivers must at least to complete two laps to get classified for half points scoring as the race stopped by lap 3. As a result, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) secured victory from George Russell (Williams) in 2nd and championship leader...