Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix to set up a three-way showdown with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
McLaren’s decision not to pit its drivers during an early safety car period proved pivotal, with Piastri eventually finishing second and Norris fourth, leaving the latter just 12 points clear if Verstappen heading into next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi..
Piastri initially converted pole into the lead, while Norris lost second to Verstappen, but racing was neutralised on lap five when Nico Hulkenberg retired with suspension damage following a collision with Pierre Gasly
While Piastri and Norris stayed out, the rest of the field took the opportunity to pit. Verstappen was one of many to switch to a second set of medium tyres and took the restart in third.
The two McLaren’s pushed hard to build a gap to Verstappen once green flag running resumed, as their strategy options were limited by Pirelli’s mandated maximum stint length of 25 laps for the race.
Piastri came in at the end of lap 24 to fit another set of mediums, Norris did the same one lap later. Norris just emerged in front of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to ensure could keep Piastri in his sights.
Verstappen joined many others by taking his second set of tyres to lap 32, and there he switched to hards.
Piastri and Norris were promoted back to first and second, but the latter was eventually caught by Verstappen.
Heading the the closing stages, Piastri made his second stop to take hards and emerged in second. Norris pitted two laps later to do the same, but rejoined in fifth behind Williams’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Piastri was unable to use his fresh tyres to catch Verstappen and had to settle for second. Norris became stuck in the dirty air of Antonelli and looked set to finish fifth, but gained one place when the Italian made a mistake on the final lap.
Sainz, meanwhile, held on to third for his second podium of the season.
Featured image credit: F1 on X
