F1 – Verstappen takes controlled Qatar Grand Prix after Norris drops back due to penalty

Max Verstappen took a controlled Qatar Grand Prix after chief race rival Lando Norris dropped to last place and recovered to 10th following a penalty for failing to heed yellow flags. Second place for Charles Leclerc ahead of Oscar Piastri means that Ferrari clawed points back against McLaren to take the fight for the Constructors’ Championship to the final round in Abu Dhabi next week.

Follow Our Whatsapp Channel

When the lights went out, Mercedes’ polesitter George Russell made a good start from pole, but Verstappen swiftly drew alongside and then outdragged the Mercedes driver into Turn 1. As the battling pair edged towards the outside of the corner,  Norris, starting from third, tried to sneak through on the inside. The McLaren driver was briefly ahead as he and Verstappen went towards Turn 2 but the Red Bull driver resisted to held the lead.

However, at the rear of the field, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg lost control in Turn 1 and hit the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the Williams of Franco Colaptino. The latter two ended up beached and the Safety Car was deployed.

Verstappen controlled the lap 4 restart perfectly to hold the lead ahead of Norris and Russell and Piastri, who made his way back past Leclerc after losing the position at the start. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was in sixth place ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez.

Verstappen then settled into his first stint, though the champion was never truly comfortable as Norris repeatedly nibbled away at a gap that hovered around 1.6 seconds for the first 20 laps.

Russell was the first of the front runners to make a pit stop, on lap 24, but a stuck right rear wheel mean that after spending seven seconds in his pit box, the Mercedes driver dropped down to 11th place.

Tyre changes for the other front runners should have followed, but before any other pit stops could take place there was drama. On lap 32 Alex Albon’s Williams shed a mirror on the pit straight and while there were yellow flags in place Verstappen noted that Norris had closed the gap. He asked his team to check whether the McLaren driver had reduced speed for the flags.

Two laps later, though, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror, and debris was strewn across the track. Both Sainz and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton picked up punctures and the Safety car was deployed.

Verstappen pitted for Hard tyres and emerged in the lead behind the SC. His rivals also made their pit stops and Norris slotted back into second. Leclerc, however, managed to jump in front of Piastri, while Pérez also profited from the timing of the SC and he made his way to P5 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Russell and Sainz.

The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 39 and Verstappen was almost caught out by Norris. The McLaren driver stuck with the leader and aided by a slipstream on the straight he attacked around the outside. Verstappen defended hard and he was able to hold the lead as they went through the opening corners. Behind them Leclerc fought off the hard-charging Piastri but Gasly was passed by Russell.

There was disaster for Pérez though. Just ahead of the SC leaving the track the Mexican seemed to lose power and then suddenly spun in the final corner. He was forced to retire from the race.

At the back of the field, Hülkenberg spun off and the SC was released yet again. This time Verstappen’s getaway was flawless and he his lead comfortably as Norris was forced to resist pressure from Leclerc.

Norris’ challenge then evaporated. The Briton was hit with a 10 second stop/go penalty for failing to slow for the yellow flags ahead of the first SC period and after pitting on lap 45 he dropped to last place. He would recover to 10th place at the flag.

At the front, Verstappen was comfortable and with no further incidents he was able to cruise home six seconds ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, who were separated by less than a tenth of a second.

Fourth place went to Russell, while Gasly took a well worked fifth place. Sainz crossed the line in sixth ahead of Alonso, Guanyu Zhou took Sauber’s first points of the season with eighth place and Kevin Magnussen finished in ninth place ahead of Norris.

Follow Us