Alonso wanted to overtake Hamilton: 'Thought I was going to be in the lead'.

e72e8e744399e8ecb9e1fd2efbc85ed735a60aca

16:46, 21 Nov 2021

Fernando Alonso finished third at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Alpine driver took a risk with the one-stop, but eventually managed to keep Sergio Perez behind him.

It is the first podium for Alonso since 2014. "Unbelievable! Seven years. But finally, we got it. We were close a couple of races but not enough. Sochi was the last possibility," Alonso said after the race.

Alonso hoped to overtake Hamilton

Alonso started the race from P3 due to some grid penalties and actually expected more. "I thought I would lead into turn 1 with the soft tyres against Lewis and also at the end very close with Checo.

"We planned one stop from the beginning but we didn't know the wear and deg. Quite well executed. The reliability of the car is superb and they deserve it. F***... I was waiting so long for this," he concluded.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Alonso wanted to overtake Hamilton: 'Thought I was going to be in the lead'.

Alonso hoped to overtake Hamilton

Don’t miss GPblog in Google

Verstappen confident about 2021: "I feel good"

Full results Qatar GP | Verstappen can't keep up with Hamilton

F1 Today | 'Red Bull wants to buy out Verstappen's contract clause', Mercedes withdraws Right of Review

'Mercedes power unit issues are a real concern after Antonelli's DNF'

Fittipaldi delivers verdict: 'Verstappen would beat Norris if they were on the same team'

Schedule | This is when Formula 1 returns to action with the Austrian Grand Prix

Australian stars hit back after Sky Sports pundits' heavy criticism of Piastri

From Raikkonen to Hamilton’s side: The rise of Ferrari’s ‘Italian Bono’

MotoGP Friday Practice Results: Ogura goes top as Marquez crashes again

Marc Marquez crashes twice during Friday practice in Brno

F1 Today | 'Red Bull wants to buy out Verstappen's contract clause', Mercedes withdraws Right of Review

'Mercedes power unit issues are a real concern after Antonelli's DNF'

Fittipaldi delivers verdict: 'Verstappen would beat Norris if they were on the same team'

Schedule | This is when Formula 1 returns to action with the Austrian Grand Prix

Popular on GPBlog

'Red Bull wants to buy out Verstappen's contract clause for millions'

Sky reporter recalls wave of massive online abuse sparked by Verstappen interview

F1 Today | 'Red Bull wants to buy out Verstappen's contract clause', Mercedes withdraws Right of Review

F1 LIVE | Hamilton backed for eighth title, Wolff accused of lowballing Verstappen

Season

Verstappen confident about 2021: "I feel good"

Full results Qatar GP | Verstappen can't keep up with Hamilton