Max Verstappen may have lost pole position on Saturday, but he certainly didn’t lose the victory. The four-time world champion from Red Bull decisively claimed the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after a strong start, followed by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris, due to a stop-and-go penalty in the final stages, only managed to finish tenth! This leads to a thrilling climax in the battle for the constructors’ title, next week at the season’s final race in Abu Dhabi. McLaren still leads the championship, but Ferrari is within striking distance, just 21 points behind.
Here is a bird’s-eye view of the Qatar Grand Prix:
ROUND 1/57: Max Verstappen gets off to a good start from P2 and outperforms polesitter George Russell on the run-up to the first corner. Lando Norris also benefits and moves up to second place in Verstappen’s wake. In the rear, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto fall victim to Nico Hülkenberg’s ambition. Both drop out, while Hülkenberg, as the instigator, continues his race and reaches the pits with damage to his Haas car. Meanwhile, the safety car is on the track.
ROUND 5/57: Verstappen is alert at the restart of the race. So is Oscar Piastri. The Australian from McLaren outmaneuvers Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc in the battle for P4. At the back, Liam Lawson spins, lightly hitting Stake driver Guanyu Zhou. No further consequences.
Slew of Penalties
ROUND 10/57: Lande Stroll receives a ten-second time penalty for a collision in turn 1 with Alexander Albon. He serves the penalty, allowing him to compete in Abu Dhabi next week without any carryover, and drops out shortly after. Liam Lawson also gets ten seconds for an incident in lap 5.
ROUND 14/57: Lewis Hamilton also receives a penalty for a false start. The Mercedes driver jumped the gun. So far, he’s not making much headway (P8).
ROUND 20/57: Verstappen still leads, with a small two-second lead over Lando Norris. Both are managing their tires. Behind them are Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Pérez, and Hamilton.
ROUND 24/57: Russell comes in for his first stop from P3. The right rear wheel is uncooperative, and the pit stop takes 7.0 seconds. The Brit returns to the track in eleventh place, behind Alonso. A costly mistake by Mercedes.
Loose Mirror Incident
ROUND 30/57: Max Verstappen suspects that Norris did not slow down during a yellow flag situation in sector 1 and reports it over the radio. His engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, confirms Verstappen’s suspicion. What will the stewards do? A time penalty for the Brit?
ROUND 35/57: Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz suffer punctured tires after Valtteri Bottas accidentally shatters a loose mirror from Albon’s car on the track. A safety car is deployed! Verstappen and Norris immediately pit, and the field bunches up again.
ROUND 39/57: At the restart, Verstappen accelerates on the straight. Norris sees an opportunity, but Verstappen closes the door at the last moment. Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez spins out and his engine fails (VSC), and subsequently, Hulkenberg ends up in the gravel. Another safety car is deployed!
ROUND 42/57: And we’re off again! This time, Verstappen easily retains the lead. Leclerc attempts to overtake Norris for P2, but to no avail. Now, only 15 drivers remain in the race.
Norris’ Stop-and-Go Penalty
ROUND 44/57: Norris receives a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for not slowing down under yellow, as Verstappen had earlier noted. This costs him the chance of victory. Norris drops back to P15. Verstappen benefits, but so does Ferrari in the battle for the constructors’ title.
ROUND 57/57: Max Verstappen is flagged as the winner of the Qatar GP. This marks his ninth victory of the season. Behind him, Leclerc and Piastri are flagged in second and third place respectively. Norris finishes only tenth but sets the fastest lap of the race.
Top-10: Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Sainz, Alonso, Zhou, Magnussen, Norris.
