MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS QATAR GP AND DELAYS TITLE DECISION TO ABU DHABI
Max Verstappen took an important win at the Qatar Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Oscar Piastri. The fight for the championship will now be decided in the final race, because leader Lando Norris could only manage fourth place.
Verstappen’s victory came partly because McLaren chose a different strategy. An early Safety Car and a rule limiting each tyre set to a maximum of 25 laps pushed teams into unusual decisions.
At the start, Norris had a slower launch than Verstappen, who moved into second behind Piastri. The Australian pulled away quickly, breaking DRS distance after the first lap. Russell lost three places early, and Gasly damaged his car after running wide. Hulkenberg tried to pass him but ended up clashing, causing the Safety Car.
Because of the tyre-stint limit, teams needed two pit stops. The McLarens stayed out during the Safety Car, which meant Verstappen had one fewer stop to make compared with them. When racing restarted, the McLarens were fast, but they still had to pit earlier.
Piastri stopped on lap 24 and came back out in clean air. Norris followed a lap later, but his stop was slower, which hurt his race. Verstappen moved into the lead once everyone had done their stops.
After the final round of pit stops, Piastri and Norris tried to recover. Piastri passed Antonelli quickly. Norris struggled more and made a mistake at high speed, almost spinning. He later dropped behind Sainz and Antonelli again after their pit stops.
Verstappen pitted later for hard tyres and rejoined ahead. Piastri pitted and fell 17 seconds behind him. Norris stopped as well and rejoined behind Sainz and Antonelli. He passed Antonelli only after the young driver made a mistake.
Verstappen won by eight seconds. The title fight is now very close: Norris leads by 12 points over Verstappen, with Piastri four more points behind.
Sainz was third. Antonelli took fifth. Russell gained places after Hadjar’s puncture. Alonso recovered from a full spin to finish eighth, with Leclerc and Lawson also in the points.
Next, Formula 1 heads to Abu Dhabi from December 5–7 for the final race, where the 2025 Drivers’ Championship will be decided.
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