The Qatar Grand Prix was a minefield of hazards, from a shattered mirror to dramatic crashes and unusually harsh penalties.
Yet, Max Verstappen expertly shrugged them off, securing his ninth win of the season on Sunday, following his Formula One drivers’ title.
Lando Norris, Verstappen’s closest title contender earlier than the Dutch driver clinched the championship in Las Vegas final week, was battling to overhaul Verstappen for the lead. However, a penalty for failing to decelerate for yellow warning flags dropped him to the again of the pack.
Verstappen, who claimed his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas, has received two of the final three races however hadn’t triumphed in dry circumstances since June.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” Verstappen mentioned. “Very happy. It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive. Very proud of everyone within the team.”
Verstappen disposed of one other rival off the road, beating George Russell into the primary nook. The Mercedes driver had been elevated to pole place in Verstappen’s place after a contentious dispute in qualifying that resulted in a one-place penalty for Verstappen for driving too slowly.
Charles Leclerc completed second for Ferrari, and Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was third.
In a season of controversy over the principles and upheaval on the governing physique, the stewards once more performed an important position. Norris had been chasing down Verstappen for the lead earlier than his penalty. McLaren staff principal Andrea Stella mentioned Norris hadn’t slowed down however argued the penalty was disproportionately harsh.
“It’s definitely material that the FIA should consider very seriously if we want fairness to be part of going racing in Formula One,” Stella mentioned. “To me, it looks like somewhere there must be a book with a lot of dust on the cover that was taken out. ‘Let me see what it says, I apply this.’ Seems a little too simplistic.”
The stewards had been busy, issuing a variety of penalties for offenses like inflicting collisions. Additionally, Lewis Hamilton acquired two penalties: one for a false begin and one other for pit-lane dashing, whereas Russell was penalized for dropping too far again throughout a security automotive interval. Russell mentioned later he didn’t know “when or how or why” he had been penalized.
The security automotive got here out thrice: first for crashes behind the pack on the opening lap, then for particles from a smashed mirror, and once more when Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas ended up within the gravel.
At one stage, it seemed like McLaren might seal its first constructors’ title since 1998 in Qatar as Norris and Piastri each eyed podium locations.
After Norris’ penalty, Ferrari reduce McLaren’s lead from 30 factors to 21 with Leclerc’s second place and a strong sixth for Carlos Sainz Jr. after a puncture appeared to have wrecked his race. The constructors’ title will now be determined on the remaining race of the season in Abu Dhabi subsequent week.
That’s a lift to Ferrari’s morale.
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult weekend compared to McLaren, but we even managed to take some points away from them so that the fight will be all the way to the last race in Abu Dhabi next week,” Leclerc mentioned.
“It’s going to be an exciting end to the year. Hopefully, we can be strong, but it’s going to take everything we’ve got to seal the deal,” Piastri mentioned.
Russell completed fourth, forward of Pierre Gasly, who continued Alpine’s latest good kind. Sainz completed sixth, adopted by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in seventh.
Zhou Guanyu picked up his and Sauber’s first factors in eighth, forward of Kevin Magnussen for Haas in ninth, and Norris, who had been dropped to fifteenth by the penalty, completed tenth.
Hamilton and Sainz each picked up punctures shortly after a discarded wing mirror on the monitor was shattered by Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber. Carbon fiber and glass had been unfold throughout the circuit, bringing out the security automotive once more, although it wasn’t instantly clear if the particles or tire failure precipitated the punctures. It was a protracted, onerous race for seven-time champion Hamilton, who completed twelfth.
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