2025 Qatar Grand Prix Recap

By Ryan Wu

Sprint Recap - Piastri Fights Back

Oscar Piastri showed signs of life as he won the sprint race ahead of his main Championship rivals. He also gained valuable points over Lando Norris, who finished third, and Max Verstappen, who came fourth. George Russell followed up last week’s podium in Las Vegas with a second-place finish in the sprint.

Race Recap - Verstappen and Piastri Show Courage and Strategy Calls Loom Large

Oscar Piastri followed up his strong sprint performance by starting from pole, ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Verstappen made an excellent start and immediately passed Norris. Pierre Gasly ran into trouble early when he was noted for rejoining the track unsafely. His race deteriorated further when he collided with Nico Hulkenberg on lap 7, bringing out the safety car and ending Hulkenberg’s afternoon. Most drivers chose to pit for fresh tires during the caution, but Esteban Ocon and the two McLarens stayed out. This dropped Verstappen to third. Norris’ race engineer explained that the choice to stay out was intended to give the team more strategic flexibility later on. This mattered because Pirelli had imposed a maximum of 25 laps per tire set for the weekend, making the race a mandatory two-stop event. During this period Ocon was also noted for moving at the race start, earning a five second penalty.

After the restart, Piastri immediately pulled clear of Norris, opening a gap of 1.3 seconds within a single lap and keeping his teammate out of DRS range. The advantage grew to more than three seconds as both McLarens pushed hard to create a buffer to the rest of the field.

The differing pit strategies briefly handed Verstappen the lead once the McLarens made their stops, but the running order eventually returned to the original starting positions once all drivers completed their mandatory stops.

Lance Stroll also endured a difficult afternoon and received a ten second stop and go penalty.

Norris faced a deficit of more than six seconds to Piastri on lap 37 when he ran slightly off track at turn 14 due to oversteer. He reported damage and lost more than a second as a result. He then extended his second stint until lap 44, stopping after Piastri in the hope that a late safety car would help him recover lost time. Instead, he rejoined the race in fifth behind Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz. With only thirteen laps to go, Norris had to chase them down to fight for a podium finish. Antonelli defended brilliantly but went wide at the start of the final lap, allowing Norris to slip past. Norris then had a single lap to catch Sainz, but the Spaniard held firm and secured his second podium of the year.

At the front, Verstappen had built a dominant lead and ultimately won the race by more than ten seconds. He delivered a flawless performance, and the team’s decision to pit under the safety car proved decisive. The win also moved him into second place in the Championship for the first time since Japan.

One has to question the strategy call by McLaren during the safety car. By opting to not favor one driver over the other, they didn’t split the strategy which allowed a great opportunity for Verstappen to snatch the victory.

As a result, the World Championship will be decided at the final round in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Standings of the Championship contenders after Qatar:

Norris 408

Verstappen 396

Piastri 392

Racing Refresh Driver of the Day

Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Final Points Finishing Positions

1st: Max Verstappen

2nd: Oscar Piastri

3rd: Carlos Sainz

4th: Lando Norris

5th: Kimi Antonelli

6th: George Russell

7th: Fernando Alonso

8th: Charles Leclerc

9th: Liam Lawson

10th: Yuki Tsunoda

Next on the F1 Schedule:

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: December 5th-7th