Lando Norris' Title Wait Goes On as Verstappen Wins in Qatar GP
McLaren's Norris, Max Verstappen and McLaren's Piastri will battle for a decisive championship clash in Abu Dhabi after the Dutch driver won a thrilling Qatar Grand Prix
The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car period
It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight cost the victory for the Australian driver
Grand Prix Outcome and Title Consequences
The race winner won to take his seventh win of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver
Norris won himself an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap
Norris has been maintained a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7
To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day
Key Moments of the Dramatic Race
- McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
- A decision led by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
- A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's strategy call
How The British Team Missed Out in Qatar
The fateful moment for the team was when the two drivers came together as the German tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on the seventh lap
Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car
The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the grand prix
With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap
Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements
Speechless
The McLaren driver added in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done
The race winner said: This was an amazing performance for us Our team executed the right call to box It was intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, incredible
Final Race Positions
- 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing)
- 3. Sainz (Williams)
- 4. Lando Norris (McLaren Racing)
- 5. Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 6. Russell (Mercedes-AMG)
- 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
- 8. Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
- 9. Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team)
- 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)
Looking Ahead
The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one