Qatar GP
An extraordinary Qatar GP had the perfect outcome for fans and F1 owner Liberty Media alike as it ended with all three World Championship contenders still in the fight, ensuring that we will have a spectacular finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
The race saw a massive strategy own goal by McLaren, just a week after the disqualification of both cars in Las Vegas for a floor infringement, which handed Max Verstappen the race win.
Lando Norris now leads on 408 points, with Verstappen on 396 and Oscar Piastri in third on 392.
McLaren’s weekend started well when Piastri found his mojo again by taking pole for and winning the sprint, in which Norris finished third. With Verstappen only fourth crucially both men extended their advantage over the Dutchman.
Piastri was also on pole for the main event with Norris alongside and Verstappen behind. The Red Bull driver had an early boost when he got into second place at the star, knowing that as long as he stayed ahead of the Englishman he could keep the fight alive for one more weekend.
Then just seven laps into the race came the safety car that would turn the race on its head. In order to avoid tyre issues the FIA and Pirelli had mandated that no set of tyres could run more than 25 laps of the 57-lap race. By remarkable coincidence the early safety car was perfectly timed, and opened up the possibility for a 7 + 25 + 25 strategy for everyone.
Running first and third, McLaren chose not to take the opportunity to pit, while everyone else did. Thus when racing resumed the orange cars were left at the front of the queue but with a stop to make by lap 25.
Piastri and Norris were able to use their pace to fight back to second and fourth respectively, but with Verstappen logging a comfortable win both lost vital points. Boss Andrea Stella reluctantly admitted afterwards the team simply made a mistake, not thinking quickly enough.
There was also the question of its reluctance to split Piastri and Norris and potentially advantage one and disadvantage the other – had Norris followed Verstappen in under the safety car, he would have beaten his team mate, while also probably passing the Red Bull to win the race and the title.
For Verstappen and Red Bull this was another example of perfect execution and brilliant opportunism. Verstappen has momentum and confidence on his side, and he has nothing to lose heading into Abu Dhabi. He knows he just has to finish ahead of Norris and win the race – the rest is out of his control.
Meanwhile Verstappen’s team mate Yuki Tsunoda had another low-key weekend, finishing in P10. On Tuesday Red Bull is set to announce that the Japanese driver will be replaced by Isack Hadjar in 2026.
The World Championship battle overshadowed everything else in Qatar, but there was plenty to watch. The third spot on the podium was filled unexpectedly by Carlos Sainz, who repeated his Azerbaijan feat for Williams. The team made some “experimental” setup changes in an attempt to find performance, and they worked at a track that shouldn’t have suited the car.
Having taken a point for P8 in the sprint Sainz was quickly up to fifth at the start of the main event, before gaining a place in the pitlane at the safety car stops and then another when Norris finally pitted. Meanwhile team mate Alex Albon’s difficult recent run continued with a humble 11th place.
Another solid weekend for Mercedes all but secured runner-up spot in the constructors’ battle. A strong second in the sprint, George Russell was sixth in the main race after losing out with a bad start. Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of him in fifth amid groundless accusations from the Red Bull camp that he had let Norris past so that the McLaren driver could score extra points, when in fact TV didn’t show him making a mistake and going off the road.
Ferrari endured one of its worst weekends of the season, with both drivers complaining about a car that was visibly difficult to drive. The only reward for Charles Leclerc was a distant eighth in the main event, while a frustrated Lewis Hamilton could manage only 12th. The team’s lack of development, in the light of its early focus on 2026, has been costly.
The big news at Aston Martin prior to Qatar was the announcement of technical guru Adrian Newey as team principal, with previous incumbent Andy Cowell moved sideways to focus on dealings with future engine partner Honda.
Once again Fernando Alonso flattered the uncompetitive AMR25 with P7 in both the sprint and the main race, with the Spaniard securing eight vital points that moved the team ahead of Haas into P7 in the constructors’ championship. His team mate Lance Stroll was nowhere all weekend.
At Racing Bulls Hadjar continued to shine, boosted by the knowledge that he will be promoted next season. Alas he lost a solid P6 in the main race when a bodywork issue led to a puncture and led to retirement, while his team mate Liam Lawson scored a couple of points with P9. The consensus is that on Tuesday it will be confirmed that Kiwi has retained his seat for 2026, alongside incoming rookie Arvin Lindblad.
However it remains to be seen whether that decision is influenced at the last minute by departing partner Honda using a supply of power units for testing with older cars for both Red Bull teams as leverage to help Tsunoda’s cause.
Once again Pierre Gasly outperformed his tricky Alpine, qualifying an impressive P9 for the main race only to tangle with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in the early laps. The German was out on the spot, while Gasly finished a distant 16th.
Qatar was a frustrating weekend for Haas and Ollie Bearman, with the British driver running in the points when he suffered a botched pitstop that triggered a penalty for releasing the car in an unsafe condition, and ultimately his retirement.
In other news Italian youngster Leo Fornaroli clinched the FIA F2 title, and he is set to graduate to an F1 test and reserve role in 2026, potentially with McLaren.
