Episode #333: El Plan (2021 F1 Qatar Grand Prix)

What is it with F1 and heading to deserts for GP’s? In this episode, we break down what happened when the sport took a page out of MotoGP’s book and headed to the Losail International Circuit for the first ever Qatar Grand Prix.

We talk about the controversy over Mercedes' right to appeal the Brazil clash being rejected and why Dre always thought it was going to go down that way, even if the sides of the divide saw it differently. We also talk about the stewarding itself being quite time consuming to the point of “Hollywood” as that appeal announcement landed right in the middle of a Toto Wolff/Christian Horner joint press conference. With Netflix breaking COVID protocol to be in the room to film it.

We also talk the race itself, as Verstappen and Bottas took grid penalties for ignoring yellow flags, Lewis Hamilton took off for an easy win for #102, and Fernando Alonso activated “El Plan”, singing to his 1-stopping tyres en route to his first podium since Hungary 2014. So of course, we had some fun and talked about some of the fun (and not so) things that have happened to the world since that 2014 podium. Remember the Ebola Virus? Or a time before Verstappen debuted? Yeesh.

We also talk about Losail itself and how… it actually wasn’t anywhere near as bad as we thought it was going to be. Gotta take these wins where you can get them you know? All that and more on Episode 333 of Motorsport101!