Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen leaves no doubt in Doha, the McLarens back on the podium

Formula 1 was back at the Qatar Grand Prix this Sunday after the Qatari race was absent from the calendar last year. The die have already been cast for the championship race, since Max Verstappen won his third crown on Saturday during the Sprint race. But the premier class of motor sport may still have a bit of spectacle in store for us. Hope keeps us alive…

The lights go out and Max Verstappen makes a good exit, followed by the two Mercedes… Which touch each other, an incident that ejects Lewis Hamilton into the gravel right from the start. It seems that the seven-time world champion cut off his teammate while trying to take second place from him. The incident will be under investigation after the race. George Russell’s single-seater suffers damage and must return to the pits, before reemerging in last position. Meanwhile, the safety car is out on the track. Many drivers therefore take the opportunity to already change tires. Almost all the single-seaters fit the mediums, with the exception of Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson, on hard tires. Let’s remember that drivers cannot complete more than 18 laps before changing tires, a new rule aimed at preventing a blowout.

Penalties for track limits

The race is relaunched on the fourth lap, led by Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso. The show is at the back, with George Russell having the rage to overtake the whole pack. He makes a nice pass on Sergio Perez, the Mexican being powerless. At the front, Fernando Alonso has a small scare by going too wide at turn 4, but maintains his position ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard then quickly goes through the pits to change tires, at the end of lap 11. Meanwhile, his teammate Lance Stroll, at the back of the grid, is struggling with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Piastri and Leclerc pass through the pits at lap 13 and put on the mediums, unsurprisingly. Max Verstappen waits for the limit, the end of lap 17, to change tires. He comes out behind… Alex Albon, new race leader. But the Thai quickly succumbs to the assault of the Dutchman.

In the middle of the pack, Alonso overtakes his teammate Stroll on the orders of Aston Martin and Lando Norris makes a nice overtaking on Charles Leclerc.

As during the Sprint Shootout on Saturday, some drivers are struggling with track limits. Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez have been issued a black and white flag. They will receive a penalty if they exceed the track limits again. On his part, Alonso signals to his team that his seat is getting hot and suggests they… throw water at him to cool him down during the next pit stop.

Up front, Max Verstappen leads by nearly 23 seconds (!) over George Russell, who himself is 6.7 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez on lap 30. Despite his considerable lead over the Briton, Red Bull asks the triple world champion to pick up the pace.

Fernando Alonso goes into the gravel

As the race takes on a somewhat monotonous rhythm, Fernando Alonso wakes us from our sleep with a track exit in the gravel of the 2nd turn on lap 33. He fortunately manages to get back on track, not without losing precious seconds and giving up his spot to Russell. Leclerc will take advantage of it in his turn. But the Spaniard is under investigation for dangerously rejoining the track after his exit.

At the same time, Logan Sargeant tells his team he doesn’t feel well. While Williams suggests him to give up the race, the American indicates that he would rather keep pushing. He will eventually drop out on lap 42.

In lap 40, Sergio Perez receives a 5 second penalty for infringing the track limits. It will later be Lance Stroll’s turn, then Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon’s (twice for the Thai). The Mexican has fallen to 9th position. His teammate is still in first place, but his lead has been reduced to 8 seconds over Oscar Piastri, who is himself 3.5 seconds ahead of Norris. In lap 45, the McLaren British driver goes through the pits and comes out just behind his teammate.

While the team orders Norris to maintain his position behind Piastri, the one who carries the number 4 retorts that he is clearly faster. His engineer responds saying that he understands his point of view, but they are worried that George Russell will attack them after his next pit stop. It must be said that the Mercedes is proving highly efficient on this track. It equips new tyres on lap 51 and comes out between Norris (3rd) and Leclerc, who hasn’t been seen much in this race. It is felt that the heat of Qatar is difficult for the drivers to endure, as Russell and Norris both raise their visors for some air.

With 3 laps left, Gasly overtakes Stroll but has left the track limits to make this move. He is therefore obliged to give the position back to the Canadian and is under investigation. Sergio Perez takes advantage of it to insert himself between the Aston Martin and the Alpine, in 10th place.

Regarding the stop of George Russell, it seems that the choice for soft tires was the worst. He is far behind Norris and could even find himself in danger from Leclerc in the last lap of the race. Especially since he received a black and white flag. That’s where we will ultimately leave it, with a new victory for Max Verstappen who achieves a grand slam after having achieved pole position and the fastest lap. He is followed by the two McLarens, with Oscar Piastri in the lead. A very beautiful weekend for the Australian after his victory at the Sprint on Saturday.

The ranking of the Qatar Grand Prix