See you next Sunday. The Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship will be played on December 7 in Abu Dhabi, during the final race of the season. This Sunday, it was the Dutchman Max Verstappen who won the Qatar Grand Prix, 23e round of the season, ahead of Australian Oscar Piastri and Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Williams). The Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), championship leader, finished fourth.
Norris, Verstappen and Piastri can mathematically all believe in the world title in a week at Yas Marina. Lando Norris will, however, have a clear advantage. In the drivers’ standings, the Englishman is in the lead (408 points), respectively 12 and 16 points ahead of Verstappen and Piastri. Concretely, Norris will have to win 3e place in Abu Dhabi if the Dutchman wins on December 7. If Piastri wins, Norris could be satisfied with a 5e place at the final Grand Prix of the season to be crowned. The native of Bristol will obviously be titled – for the first time in his career – if he beats his two opponents.
This Sunday the Qatar Grand Prix was decided in a fraction of a second, at 7e round, when a driver who had nothing to do with the fight for the world title, the German Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber), crashed into the background, following a collision with the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpine). The race was then neutralized, with the safety car entering the track. Taking advantage of this incident, all the teams, with the exception of McLaren, then asked their drivers to return to the pits to carry out, at little cost, one of the two tire changes that the regulations required.
The 7ᵉ Victory of Verstappen in
Norris and Piastri therefore found themselves locked into a losing strategy. Over the entire race, their two pit stops cost them around 50 seconds, or 25 more than their opponents. It didn’t take as much for Max Verstappen, madré quadruple world champion, to take advantage of the situation and win his 7e victory of the season.
“I didn’t expect to win, admitted Max Verstappen after the Grand Prix at the microphone of Canal+. When the safety car comes on track, it can change everything, you have to make a decision quickly. When I returned to the pits, I told myself that there was an opportunity to win. »
Starting in pole position, Oscar Piastri limited the damage this weekend. Winner of the sprint race on Saturday, he finished eight seconds behind Verstappen this Sunday. For Lando Norris, on the other hand, this Qatar Grand Prix looks like a disaster. The Briton was in a position to be titled this Sunday (in the event of victory). Here he is now with maximum pressure on his shoulders a few days before the final round of the season. Often considered a driver with a fragile mentality, Norris will have an opportunity to prove the opposite in Abu Dhabi… or to carve out a lasting reputation as a man who almost won.
On the French side, the results of this Qatar Grand Prix are dull: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) had to retire during the penultimate lap, when he was 6e of the race. Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Pierre Gasly finished 15e et 16emore than one lap behind the winner of the day.
