Max Verstappen secured an all-important win in the Qatar Grand Prix as Red Bull’s strategy call paid off over McLaren, with Oscar Piastri taking P2 ahead of an ecstatic Carlos Sainz, while Lando Norris took fourth.
Verstappen started the race as he meant to go on with an overtake on Norris at lights out, promoting him to second place while Piastri held onto the lead. However, an early Safety Car brought out after Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly collided threw a spanner in the works for McLaren.
With the 25-lap tyre limit in everyone’s minds, the majority of teams chose to pit their drivers and lose significantly less time due to the Safety Car conditions – the only ones who didn’t change tyres were Piastri and Norris.
That meant they still had two stops to complete whilst their rivals only had one. As the remaining stops unfolded, Verstappen’s strategy played out perfectly and he built an insurmountable gap over Piastri, who took the chequered flag over seven seconds behind the winner.
Norris lost out even more, spending his last stint trying to find a way past Kimi Antonelli. He eventually overtook the Mercedes on the penultimate lap but Sainz was slightly too far ahead, granting the Williams driver his second podium of the season while the Briton had to settle for P4.
Crucially, Verstappen’s win means that the battle for the title will continue into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he could secure his fifth World Championship by overcoming what is now a 12-point deficit to Norris.
Click go on the video player above to watch the best bits of the Qatar Grand Prix.
