Hamilton and Alonso under pressure but in control'

The seven times world champion was dominant in the race in Qatar. He started the race from pole position and held on to the lead going into the first corner. The Briton quickly created a gap and was the leader of the pack for the rest of the race. Hamilton had everything under control in the race according to Priestley.

"He has a car that performs at the moment, but so does Valtteri Bottas and Lewis is the only one who makes the car work so dominantly. He's in the form of his life and you have to say Lewis is in complete control on Sunday. Hats off to Lewis - he performed under pressure."

Alonso proved he can still do it

The Spaniard managed to finish the race in third place, getting not only his first podium of the season, but also the first in seven years. His race was also impressive, as he had a one-stop strategy. The Alpine car really came alive in Qatar and according to Priestley, they earned this podium mainly because luck didn't play a role.

"That was a podium and fifth place, but on merit. They beat the Ferraris, they beat the McLarens on pure speed. There was no luck involved in that. That was just the pace of their car and that's a positive sign for them."

Best of all, Priestley thought, was the passion Alonso showed. Despite having won world championships in the past, you could see that this podium meant a lot to him and the team. "It's no coincidence that Fernando, with the experience he has in leading Formula One Grands Prix from start to finish, was able to execute a pretty difficult strategy under pressure and keep it going until the end. You could see how much it meant to him."