LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lando Norris has a big enough lead not to panic heading into the penultimate race of the Formula 1 season in Qatar on Sunday.
The McLaren driver is close to sealing the first F1 title of his career. The 26-year-old Briton is 24 points ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose brilliant comeback in recent weeks has given him a glimpse of a fifth straight crown.
Verstappen’s 69 race wins put him third all-time behind Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (105). The dynamic Dutchman is already considered one of the best F1 drivers ever and his late charge this season was aided by the disqualification of both McLaren drivers following the Las Vegas GP last Sunday, a race he won.
Norris lost the 18 points he had earned from crossing the line in second place, and Piastri the 12 from initially placing fourth.
“Of course it hurts. But actually I found it quite easy just to move on,” said Norris, who earlier this season found himself lagging behind a dominant Piastri. “I feel as relaxed as I was before, when I was 35 points behind (Piastri), and I feel the same when I’m 24 points ahead. That’s my strength for now.”
There are 33 points on offer this weekend, with an additional eight from Saturday’s sprint race. Put more simply: Norris will clinch the Formula 1 title if he scores at least two more points than Verstappen and Piastri across the weekend.
Race strategy will be harder to impose given that teams have two mandatory pit stops in Qatar, a measure imposed on safety grounds due to high risk of tire degradation at the 5.4-kilometer (3.35-mile) Lusail International Circuit. Pirelli tires are restricted to a maximum 25 laps in the 57-lap race.
McLaren’s penalty in Vegas hurt Norris, who had won the two previous races, more than Piastri. He inadvertently closed the gap on Norris, having finished six points behind him in that race before the DQ.
But Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch Grand Prix and has no podiums in the past six races.
“There’s still a chance,” the Australian driver said. “I also know that it’s a bit of an outside shot.”
Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the last five in Abu Dhabi, where the season will end the following Sunday.
His chances are boosted by a sprint race in Qatar, even if it’s a mini-format he generally does not like.
“Ready. See what happens,” he said. “Yes, it is closer (than expected). Ideally I would have loved to have had it even more close. All in, and hopefully we can make it exciting to the end.”
McLarens lead first practice
Piastri topped Friday’s practice session ahead of Norris, with Verstappen sixth.
Verstappen complained over the team radio that his car bounced a bit and that it lacked pace coming out of Turn 6.
There was a sprint qualifying session later Friday under floodlights. Saturday’s 19-lap sprint race is followed by night-time qualifying for the main race.
Late-night drama in Las Vegas
After the floodlit Las Vegas race, the FIA summoned McLaren to race stewards for failing inspection. They deemed that the measured thickness on the skid wear — the wear on the protective plank on the underside of the cars — failed to meet the minimum requirements on both cars.
Norris went from 30 points up on Piastri and 42 up on Verstappen to 24 up on both rivals (390-366).
Piastri holds the tie-breaker for second in the standings based on his win total compared to Verstappen (7-6).
Flagging Ferrari
Ferrari needs a strong finish to the season after being on the receiving end of criticism from executive chairman John Elkann.
Hamilton has struggled this season and the seven-time F1 champion’s performances have been below expectations.
“I feel terrible. Terrible,” Hamilton said after Las Vegas, where he recorded his worst-ever qualifying performance by finishing 20th.
Aside from clinching a sprint race in China in March, the 40-year-old Briton has not won for Ferrari. Overall, he has won only two F1 races in four seasons including this one.
His frustration has at times been expressed in curt team radio exchanges with Ferrari race engineer Ricciardo Adami, with Hamilton sarcastically telling him to “have a tea break” during the Miami GP in May.
Hamilton was urged by team principal Frédéric Vasseur to “calm down and be focused on the next two races” and the driver has since said that his post-race comments in Vegas were made “in the heat of frustration.”
Charles Leclerc has not won a race this season, either, having won three with Ferrari in 2024.
But the driver from Monaco leads Hamilton 7-0 in podiums and comfortably in the standings. Leclerc is fifth with 226 points, while his teammate is sixth with 152, only 15 points ahead of Kimi Antonelli, his 19-year-old replacement at Mercedes. ___
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The Associated Press
