Max Verstappen has booked a convincing victory in the Qatar Grand Prix. The Dutchman led from start to finish, but had Lando Norris in his wake for a large part of the race. However, the McLaren driver was severely punished by the stewards in the final phase. As a result, Charles Leclerc came in second. Oscar Piastri completes the podium.
Barely a corner had been driven during the Qatar Grand Prix when the safety car had to come out. In the meantime, Max Verstappen managed to regain his confiscated pole position right at the start with an overtaking manoeuvre on George Russell.
Verstappen immediately takes back the lead, safety car out after the start
Verstappen got off to a better start than Russell and immediately took back the lead. The Briton dropped back to P3, after Lando Norris was also able to overtake the Mercedes driver and immediately attempted to overtake Verstappen. However, the Dutchman defended excellently and did not let Norris pass.
At the back, Nico Hulkenberg made a mistake and collided with Esteban Ocon, who then made contact with Franco Colapinto. The latter two could not continue, while the German suffered a puncture. Lance Stroll attacked Alexander Albon, causing the two to also make contact. At that point, they were both able to continue. Stroll was given a ten-second penalty, but received even worse news from Aston Martin when he was told that he had to park his car in the garage.
Several incidents in early stages of Qatar GP, Hamilton punished for false start
Meanwhile, things also went wrong for Liam Lawson. The VCARB driver made contact with Valtteri Bottas in the first corner, causing him to go off the track himself. The New Zealander was given a ten-second time penalty. The stewards were busy with it, because an incident between Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda was also being investigated and Lewis Hamilton was also under scrutiny.
In the early stages of the Formula 1 race at the Losail International Circuit it became known that Hamilton was under scrutiny for a possible false start. Onboard images of the Mercedes driver it became clear that he had indeed left his line too early. Shortly afterwards, the FIA confirmed that Hamilton had indeed made a false start. The seven-time world champion was given a five-second time penalty for this.
Hamilton was not really enjoying himself anyway: he complained about his car several times and at one point even asked if his car was broken. That was not the case, but Mercedes did admit that the balance was not optimal. Things didn’t go much better for Hamilton’s teammate Russell a little later. The polesitter was the first F1 driver to make a pit stop, but had a slow stop of seven seconds.
Hamilton and Sainz drive over mirror in Qatar GP
A bizarre moment occurred when a mirror, from Alexander Albon’s Williams, ended up on the straight. However, a safety car was not deployed, after which drivers inevitably drove over the part.
Albon, who was hit by Hulkenberg shortly after the start of the F1 race in Qatar, lost his mirror later in the race. The part then lay on the straight for a long time, but the new race director Rui Marques decided not to send out a safety car to have the mirror removed. It was expected that someone would drive over it and that is what happened shortly afterwards.
Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz drove over the mirror, which then shattered. Both drivers suffered a puncture as a result. After this, the safety car did come out, while the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers made a pit stop for new tires. Sainz’s stop was dramatic: Ferrari needed just under ten seconds.
Norris and Hamilton severely punished by stewards in Qatar
Norris was given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty in the closing stages of the race for failing to slow down during the yellow flag that was waved for Albon’s loose mirror. An unprecedentedly severe penalty for such an offence: only a black flag or disqualification is more severe. Norris dropped to last place as a result, but was able to make up a few places and take the final point, plus the point for the fastest lap.
Hamilton also did not fare well. He did not have his speed limiter on in the pit lane, something that was immediately noticed and reported on the radio by Norris, who was driving behind him. The Mercedes driver then braked hard, locking both of his front tyres. Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane – an offence that normally carries a five-second time penalty.
Verstappen takes convincing victory in eventful race
Meanwhile, Verstappen calmly but determinedly drove to victory, in a weekend that initially seemed to go anything but his way. Instead of Norris, he was joined on the podium by Charles Leclerc. Due to the penalty for Norris, the constructors’ championship also remains undecided. Only in Abu Dhabi will it be decided whether McLaren or Ferrari will become constructors’ champion.
