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Good night
Well that Qatar Grand Prix gave us a whole lot more than we bargained for. So much for a straight-forward snoozefest in Doha.
The best part? In a few days we get to do it all again in Abu Dhabi. After 23 grand prix weekends, three drivers are still in mathematical contention for the 2025 Formula 1 world championship. Bring it on!
See you then, and thanks for following along with us.
Race report
And our race report courtesy of double-barreled F1 reporter Jake Boxall-Legge.
F1 Qatar GP: Verstappen wins from Piastri with Norris fourth to force title decider
Max Verstappen’s Qatar GP win creates an F1 world title decider for the Abu Dhabi finale, with Oscar Piastri second and Lando Norris fourth after McLaren strategy blunder
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images
Here are five quick takeaways from today's race courtesy of our team. And it's not exactly making for pretty reading for McLaren.
F1 Qatar GP: Five quick takeaways
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images
In the constructors' table Mercedes now leads Red Bull by 34 points, which should be enough to hold onto second. Ferrari is going to finish fourth, while Williams is now guaranteed to finish fifth.
The championship table ahead of Abu Dhabi
1 Norris 408
2 Verstappen 396
3 Piastri 392
Game on.
Does Max believe he can win the title? "It's all possible now. We'll see, I don't worry about it too much..."
Sainz: "I cannot be more proud"
"I cannot be more proud," says Carlos Sainz. "We got everything right today. We improved in so many areas and today there were a few opportunities and we grabbed all of them by executing a perfect race. I'm over the moon with the podium because it was unexpected."
Piastri: "It's tough to swallow"
Oscar Piastri "Clearly we didn't get it right tonight, I drove the best race I could and there was nothing left out there. In hindsight it's pretty obvious what we should have done, but we'll discuss it as a team. It's not all bad [in the championship] but obviously tough to swallow at the moment."
Verstappen: "McLaren's decision interesting"
Verstappen is first up with Martin Brundle. "This was an incredible race for us. We made the right call as a team to box under the safety car."
Asked about McLaren's decision not to box under the safety car: "That's an interesting move..."
Race strategist Hannah Schmitz gets the honours to go up on the podium to collect the constructors' trophy.
It's a huge celebration in parc ferme between Verstappen and his engineers. He's somehow still alive in the title fight.
Sainz has also leapt over the barriers into his crew. Piastri's reaction is...more reserved.
It looks like Isack Hadjar suffered a retirement with two laps to go, dropping him out of sixth. That's horrific luck.
Ironically it elevates Yuki Tsunoda, the man he is set to replace at Red Bull next year, into a point.
Top 10
1 Verstappen
2 Piastri
3 Sainz
4 Norris
5 Antonelli
6 Russell
7 Alonso
8 Leclerc
9 Lawson
10 Tsunoda
Piastri "speechless"
Oscar Piastri is absolutely gobsmacked. "Speechless, I have no words".
How has McLaren managed to lose him this race? It will be a long debrief over at McLaren.
Verstappen - Piastri - Sainz on podium
Behind Piastri, it's another brilliant podium for Carlos Sainz and Williams, as Norris pays a big price for McLaren's fumble by stranding in fourth.
Max Verstappen wins the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has done it! Another flawless performance from the four-time world champion, and with it a fighting chance to secure a fifth next week!
Lap 57/57
It was Turn 10 where Antonelli drifted off in Sainz's dirty air. Norris swooped past and is now trailing Sainz, but with no more straights to pass.
Norris passes Antonelli for fourth
But Antonelli goes wide!! Norris takes fourth and with it two extra points.
Can't really see it happening. Norris hasn't got the overspeed on Antonelli that the McLarens had earlier in the race.
Antonelli needs two more good exits out of the final corner to keep fourth. He has also picked up Sainz's DRS.
1 Verstappen
2 Piastri 10
3 Sainz 23
4 Antonelli 24
5 Norris 25
6 Hadjar 49
7 Russell 50
8 Alonso 53
9 Leclerc 56
10 Lawson 61
Piastri is still gaining but nowhere near enough, he is still 10 seconds behind.
Sainz is reporting understeer and is starting to fall into the clutches of Antonelli and Norris.
Lap 53/57
Five to go. Verstappen is cruising to win number 70. And a lifeline to take a fifth consecutive title.
Not close enough starting lap 52. Norris has four more attempts down to Turn 1.
Norris can make his life a whole lot easier by clearing Antonelli. The McLaren is within DRS range.
And to think McLaren is easily quickest today and could have scored a 1-2 to punt the Dutchman out of the fight altogether. Good grief.
If it stays like this Verstappen will be 10 points behind Norris...
So if Verstappen wins and Norris finishes third in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen takes a fifth title on countback.
Lap 48/57
That's 10 laps to go in this intriguing Qatar Grand Prix. Hulkenberg and Gasly really made this into a gripping strategy battle with their collision.
Piastri still trails Verstappen by 14 seconds, who has been given the go-ahead to push.
Another tank slapper for Norris, but he is closing the gap to Antonelli.
"Norris will struggle to pass Antonelli"
Sainz agrees with us: "I think Norris will struggle to pass Antonelli with the pace we're doing."
Lap 46/57
1 Verstappen
2 Piastri 15
3 Sainz 21
4 Antonelli 23
5 Norris 27
6 Hadjar 44
7 Russell 45
8 Alonso 48
9 Leclerc 49
10 Stroll 54
Alonso spins
It's a 360-degree spin for Fernando Alonso, who loses sixth and seventh to Hadjar and Russell.
A 2.7s stop for Norris as he rejoins in fifth behind Sainz and Antonelli. If his car really is damaged, he'll be in trouble for that podium.
Lap 45/57 - Pitstop Norris
Piastri fires in a massive 1m22.9s while Norris pits from the lead and drops to third.
1 Norris
2 Verstappen +0.8
3 Piastri +17
Can Piastri close a 16-second gap to Verstappen, and then overtake him, over the next 14 laps? Surely not.
Lap 43/57 - Piastri pits from the lead
His team agrees to bring Piastri in, but they're putting the Australian on.... hard tyres?
It's an unbelievable 1.8s stop from McLaren by the way. They have made some pitstop errors this year, but this is not one of them. Blimey.
Funnily enough Norris is now helping Piastri by holding up Verstappen in second...
Piastri still wants to come in for softs ASAP.
Piastri dips two wheels onto the gravel and nearly bins it! He is doing everything he can to win this race. But it's not going to be enough.
"Maybe we need to box now and chase him down."
Stop/go penalty for Bearman
Ollie Bearman gets an old-fashioned 10-second stop-and-go penalty for an unsafe release. That's a big penalty as it involves a safety issue.
Norris has gone off and is asking his team to check for damage. It tallies with why he is losing four tenths per lap to Piastri and three to Verstappen behind him.
Lap 39/57
Norris is losing ground, he is not going to beat Verstappen today.
1 Piastri
2 Norris 6.8
3 Verstappen 9.0
What does McLaren do now?
Some lucid thinking from Piastri: "We need to weigh up what the best idea is. Trying to get a safety car or just beating him on pace?"
To get a safety car, Piastri should stay out on his mediums for the full 25-lap stint, then a short blast on softs.
The more optimal stint for pace is to push harder now and come in sooner.
By: Filip Cleeren
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