Max Verstappen, fresh from securing his fourth world championship, won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri joined the Dutchman on the podium, bringing the battle for the constructors’ championship between McLaren and Ferrari closer ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
McLaren, which was 30 points ahead of Ferrari in second place, foresaw the possibility of winning its first Constructors’ Championship since 1998. On Sunday it had to beat Ferrari by 15 points before it could be completed in Qatar.
But with Lando Norris finishing the day tenth after a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, the gap between McLaren and Ferrari is now 21 points, with one race remaining on December 8. Ferrari must beat McLaren by 22 points. points at the Yas Marina Circuit to win his 17th Constructors’ Championship, the most ever in F1.
“Just beautiful, guys,” Verstappen said over the radio when he crossed the line. “What an incredible race again, that was really enjoyable!”
The Qatar GP got off to a chaotic start, with a safety car coming out early after several collisions. Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg were involved in an incident in Turn 1, while Alex Albon and Lance Stroll had a special moment. Stroll was given a 10-second penalty, which he served, but the Aston Martin driver later withdrew from the race.
At the restart, Piastri got the jump on Leclerc, an important moment for the constructors’ championship. By lap 19, Norris and Piastri were second and fourth, while Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth. That would mean McLaren would be just twelve points ahead of Ferrari, assuming none of the four drivers achieved the fastest lap.
Mercedes’ George Russell was the first front runner to pit, and it was a very slow pit stop of seven seconds. McLaren opted to keep Piastri out, and clean air helped improve his pace.
But around lap 34 the race changed completely. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz suffered punctures, which caused a new safety car. Piastri had pitted just before the safety car, meaning he lost to Leclerc, who (along with the rest of the leaders) pitted during the safety car period. During this section, debris also had to be cleared, such as the broken mirror on the start/finish straight.
Verstappen was still in the lead when the safety car ended, with Norris second, Leclerc third, Piastri fourth and Sainz seventh. Norris and Verstappen had an argument at the restart, but the race did not remain at full speed. Hülkenberg ended up in the gravel and Pérez reported before the restart that he had lost the drive. A third safety car was called. At the restart the same sequence continued, but Piastri reported seeing sparks coming from one of his tires and feeling a vibration.
What changed the Constructors’ Championship was Norris’s penalty. The stewards gave him a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for ‘failing to slow down under yellow flags’.
This initially knocked him out of the points, ruining the Brit’s race and throwing a spanner in the works for the constructors’ battle. Norris recovered for a points finish and secured the fastest lap, although not as big an achievement as it once seemed for his team.
Meanwhile, Hamilton rushed into the pit lane and was given a drive-through penalty. All the chaos allowed teams to score crucial points in midfield. Pierre Gasly helped Alpine battle for P6 in the team standings with fifth place, while Kevin Magnussen finished his day in ninth. Zhou Guanyu secured Sauber’s first points finish of the year, finishing eighth.
Here’s how the top 10 finished.
- Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc
- Oscar Piastri
- George Russell
- Pierre Gasly
- Carlos Sainz
- Fernando Alonso
- Zhou Guanyu
- Kevin Magnussen
- Lando Norris
Top photo: Giuseppe CACACE / AFP