LOSAIL, Qatar — Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, taking advantage of a McLaren strategy error and keeping the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship undecided until the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The Red Bull driver pitted immediately during an early safety car period while McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stayed out. Verstappen’s timely stop allowed him to regain the lead and finish 7.995 seconds ahead of Piastri, with Carlos Sainz of Williams third. Norris finished fourth.
Verstappen’s victory lifted him to second place in the championship with 396 points, 12 behind Norris, who remains the points leader. Piastri dropped to third but reduced his deficit to 16 points. The season concludes next Sunday in Abu Dhabi, where Verstappen has won four times in the last five years.
“This was an incredible race for us,” Verstappen said. “We made the right call as a team to box under the safety car, and we got there in the end.” The win marked his seventh of the season, third consecutive in Qatar, and 70th of his career.
Piastri, who started on pole and led early, said McLaren “didn’t get it right tonight” and called the result “tough to swallow.” Both he and Norris required two additional tire stops under race regulations, allowing Verstappen to move into and maintain the lead.
At the start, Piastri surged ahead, while Verstappen passed Norris on the first turn. On lap seven, Nico Hulkenberg spun off after contact with Pierre Gasly, prompting a safety car. Verstappen’s early pit under the safety car gave him a strategic advantage over the McLaren drivers, who faced two mandatory stops later.
Norris said on team radio, “We should have followed him in, no? If we knew the car in front was staying out?” The error prevented him from securing his first F1 championship.
The outcome guarantees a tense title showdown in Abu Dhabi, with Norris needing only a podium finish to clinch the championship, regardless of his rivals’ results.
