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F1 Results And Report For The Qatar Grand Prix

Check out the full results and report from the Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit
Ewan Gale|
Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Max Verstappen, Red Bull | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen made himself Lando Norris' biggest contender for the Formula 1 drivers' championship with victory at the Qatar Grand Prix as McLaren fumbled the win.

Oscar Piastri had looked dominant all weekend and was leading from pole when his team failed to react to a safety car on lap seven, which also cost Norris track position as the entire field pitted.

Norris finished only fourth to take a 12-point lead into the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, with his destiny very much still in his own hands.

Piastri aces the start

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, McLaren, Red Bull, Qatar
McLaren Racing

Piastri replicated his start from the sprint and led easily into the first apex, but as expected, Norris struggled from the dirty side of the grid and was mugged by Verstappen.

George Russell had a difficult first lap and fell to seventh, and Hadjar to eighth, outlining the struggles from the dirty side as Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso all jumped ahead, while further back, Charles Leclerc fell out of the top 10.

By lap four, Piastri had already pulled a two-second gap on Verstappen behind, with a similar gap back to Norris from the Dutchman as tire management began to take shape.

Plans were thrown in the air on lap seven when Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg tangled at Turn 1, with the safety car called upon to retrieve the stricken Sauber.

Safety car throws a curveball

With 50 laps left, drivers could opt to take a free pitstop if they had two new sets of tires available, knowing they would be able to fulfill the 25-lap maximum stint obligation as set out by Pirelli.

The entire field took the chance, except for the two McLarens and Esteban Ocon, though the Haas did stop a lap later to serve a five-second penalty for moving before lights out at the start.

Norris was confused as to why he wasn't asked to pit, with race engineer Will Joseph explaining the team wanted to keep strategic flexibility for the rest of the race.

Ocon pitted again, having cycled to the back to fulfil the two-compound requirement, running hards for a single lap and allowing two sets of mediums to the end.

The race resumed on lap 11, and Piastri aced the restart, pulling over a second away from Norris after a lap of racing.

After the pitstop shuffle, Sainz was now fourth ahead of Antonelli and Alonso, with Leclerc and Oliver Bearman into the top 10.

McLaren strategy takes shape as Verstappen delivers

McLaren extended as far as it could, with Piastri getting preference to pit at the end of Lap 24. It was another set of mediums for the polesitter, and he emerged in fifth, ahead of Alonso's Aston Martin.

It was a tighter margin to ensure the same could happen for Norris at the end of Lap 25, a 2.2s stop ensuring he emerged mere meters ahead of the two-time champion.

Verstappen, Sainz, and Antonelli ahead would be forced to pit on lap 32, and though the Red Bull was 18 seconds to the good out in front, Piastri was only 1.5 behind Antonelli at the start of lap 29.

After a lap of sitting behind the Italian rookie, Piastri lunged to the inside of Turn 1 with all the confidence and grip the tire delta had provided to move up to third.

Norris was unable to pull off a replica move before the raft of stops came, chaos with them as the pitlane filled up - Bearman's race ruined with an issue at the rear left of his Haas as he was released before the wheel was fitted, the Briton slapped with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty.

Verstappen emerged eight seconds off the lead, but knowing he didn't need to stop again, his hard tires were robust enough to get to the end with less management.

A further headache for McLaren came when Norris asked for his car to be checked after running off-track, suggesting it "could be pretty damaged".

Red Bull comes up trumps

Max Verstappen, Pit, Red Bull
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Norris had fallen to almost eight seconds off Norris by lap 42, with Verstappen within a second of the championship leader, but couldn't get through at the start of the next lap.

But Piastri coaxed his McLaren team into making an earlier-than-planned stop to switch to hards and try to chase down the Red Bull - the Australian making up two seconds in the two laps between he and Norris pitting.

Crucially, Norris rejoined on lap 45 behind both Sainz and Antonelli, which posed great danger to his healthy championship lead.

Alonso lost a number of positions with a spin on the exit of Turn 10, allowing Hadjar and Russell through.

Norris had reeled Antonelli in by the start of Lap 50, but vitally, he couldn't get into attacking range even with DRS.

Antonelli's gift for Norris

While Piastri couldn't take the sufficient time out of Verstappen to challenge for the win, the battle for third was thrilling.

Sainz had pulled out a good gap to Antonelli before picking up floor damage, allowing both the Mercedes and Norris back into striking distance.

But Norris had no answer for the Italian and remained behind heading into the final three laps. Another potential twist in the tale came with Hadjar suffering a front-left puncture to drop out of the top 10 and put other teams on alert for the closing stages, though there was no neutralization to the race.

At Turn 10 on the penultimate race, Norris was handed a valuable two extra points as Antonelli ran wide, promoting the Briton into fourth.

But there was no stopping Verstappen as he put himself second in the standings with a third straight victory in Lusail.

Piastri also remained in the fight with second and Sainz took a second grand prix podium for Williams.

Norris was fourth ahead of Antonelli - with Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase suggesting the Italian was working with the McLaren driver.

Russell ended up sixth and ahead of Alonso and Leclerc, while Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.

F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025 results

Position

Driver / Team

1

Max Verstappen / Red Bull

2

Oscar Piastri / McLaren

3

Carlos Sainz / Williams

4

Lando Norris / McLaren

5

Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes

6

George Russell / Mercedes

7

Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin

8

Charles Leclerc / Ferrari

9

Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls

10

Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull

11

Alex Albon / Williams

12

Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari

13

Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber

14

Franco Colapinto / Alpine

15

Esteban Ocon / Haas

16

Pierre Gasly / Alpine

17

Lance Stroll / Aston Martin

18

Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls

DNF

Oliver Bearman / Haas

DNF

Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber

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Ewan Gale
EWAN GALE

Ewan is a motorsport journalist covering F1 for Grand Prix On SI. Having been educated at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, and subsequently graduating from university with a sports journalism degree, Ewan made a move into F1 in 2021. Ewan joins after a stint with Autosport as an editor, having written for a number of outlets including RacingNews365 and GPFans, during which time he has covered grand prix and car launches as an accredited member of the media.

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