Verstappen takes title in Qatar as Piastri stars again

Max Verstappen celebrated his third Formula 1® world championship in style with a lights-to-flag victory in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, the Dutchman taking his 14th win in 17 Grands Prix as F1® returned to the Lusail International Circuit after a two-year absence.

Needing just three points across the weekend to wrap up a hat-trick of titles, Verstappen earned his crown – unusually – on a Saturday with a second-place finish in the 17-lap Sprint, and was never headed in the 57-lap main race after escaping at the start as Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell clashed at the first corner, Hamilton having to retire from the race.

By winning his third drivers' title in a row, Verstappen became one of just five drivers to go back-to-back-to-back – the others are Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-55-56), Michael Schumacher (2000-01-02), Sebastian Vettel (2010-11-12) and Hamilton (2017-18-19).

Concerns over the structural integrity of Pirelli’s tyres, which were found to be damaged by the Qatar circuit’s raised ‘pyramid’ kerbs during Friday practice, saw the race effectively become a three-stopper for everyone, with a mandatory stint length of no more than 18 laps on one set of tyres imposed on the field.

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Verstappen had plenty in reserve despite the searing temperatures in Doha, and finished 4.833secs ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the same three drivers who finished on the podium in the previous Grand Prix in Japan.

Russell stormed through from last place following a pit stop for repairs after the first lap to finish fourth, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the closing stages.

Just 19 cars took to the start in Qatar, Singapore Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz sitting out Sunday’s race after a fuel system glitch on his Ferrari. Sainz’s absence affected Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), the German inadvertently lining up in Sainz’s vacant grid spot at the start and being hit with a 10-second time penalty.

Aussie watch

Good, better, best – that’s the trajectory of Oscar Piastri’s rookie season, after the McLaren driver backed up his third-place finish at Suzuka last time out with second in Qatar on Sunday, 24 hours after he’d won the Sprint race from pole position.

As McLaren’s MCL60 machine has been transformed by a mid-season upgrade, Piastri has raised his game, the performance of the car in the high-speed corners that make up the majority of the Lusail lap clear to see in Piastri’s hands from Friday, when a track limits violation dropped him to sixth on the grid after he initially qualified third.

Saturday was more polished, a Sprint Shootout pole preceding his cool recovery drive to first in the Sprint after being overtaken by a soft-tyred Russell early on, and the Australian took full advantage of the Hamilton/Russell opening-corner contretemps on Sunday to slither through a gap left by Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who was taking avoiding action as the Mercedes pair spun in front of him.

Piastri spent 49 of the 57 laps running inside the top three, and had enough in reserve to repel a charging Norris at the end of the race, the Briton pushing on despite being told to hold position behind Piastri. At the chequered flag, Piastri finished 1.136secs ahead of Norris, reversing their podium positions from Suzuka.

Liam Lawson again subbed for Daniel Ricciardo at Scuderia AlphaTauri; the Australian will be back in action at the next race in Austin, with Qatar the fifth race the 34-year-old has missed since breaking his left hand at the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Lawson was the final classified finisher in 17th place.

Unsung hero

Qatar was the best weekend of the season for Alfa Romeo, with eighth place for Valtteri Bottas and ninth for Zhou Guanyu seeing the Swiss-run team leapfrog Haas into eighth in the constructors’ championship.

Bottas, whose prowess on slippery tracks was a hallmark of his Mercedes days when paired with Hamilton, slithered around Lusail to qualify ninth on Friday for Sunday’s Grand Prix, his third Q3 appearance of the year and first in six races. The Finn featured in the top 10 for much of the race and equalled his best result of the year; he also finished eighth in Bahrain in round one.

Zhou started at the back of the grid and fought through to 10th at the chequered flag, which became ninth when Sergio Perez (Red Bull) was hit with his third five-second track limits violation penalty of the race.

Zhou’s result meant both Alfa drivers scored in the same race for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix.

Number to know

6: Verstappen becomes the sixth driver on three world championships in F1® history, the Dutchman joining Sir Jack Brabham (1959, 1960, 1966), Sir Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, 1973), Niki Lauda (1975, 1977, 1984), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983, 1987) and Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991).

Qatar Grand Prix: top 10

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 27mins 39.168sec
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +4.833secs
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +5.969secs
4. George Russell (Mercedes) +34.119secs
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +38.976secs
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +49.032secs
7. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +62.390secs
8. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +66.563secs
9. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) +76.127secs
10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +80.181secs
    
    

Standings (top 5)

Drivers' championship

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 433 points
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 224 points
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 194 points
   
4. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 183 points
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 153 points
   

Constructors' championship

1. Red Bull Racing (657 points)
2. Mercedes (326 points)
3. Ferrari (298 points)
4. Aston Martin (230 points)
5. McLaren (219 points)

Next race

Round 18: USA, Circuit of the Americas (October 20-22)