F1 Standings As Championship Race Goes To Abu Dhabi After The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri have closed the gap to Lando Norris yet again with a first and second-place finish in the Qatar Grand Prix, sending the championship battle to Abu Dhabi, the final race of the 2025 F1 Season.

Verstappen claimed the maximum amount of points, winning the Qatar Grand Prix, closely followed by Oscar Piastri in second and Williams' Carlos Sainz in third. Norris took a massive blow to his points gap to Verstappen and Piastri, finishing in fourth after a pit strategy blunder.

In the opening laps of the Grand Prix, Hulkenberg made contact with Pierre Gasly of Alpine, bringing on a full safety car. The McLaren duo chose not to pit under the safety car — a call that cost Piastri the win and Norris a podium position.

Carlos Sainz Williams — Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Williams driver Carlos Sainz (55) is introduced before the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

However, we cannot talk about the podium positions without mentioning the incredible performance of Carlos Sainz. This is his second visit to the podium this season in a Williams. The Williams team is comfortably sitting in 5th place in the Constructors' Standings. Carlos has jumped up the points standings to ninth.

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell continued their strong joint performance for Mercedes, finishing fifth and sixth respectively after an end-of-race wide turn from Antonelli, giving up fourth place to Russell. As it stands, if they maintain double points-scoring performances in Abu Dhabi, they will claim 2nd in the Constructors Championship.

Charles Leclerc Ferrari — Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (16) is introduced before the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On the other side of the coin, though, today was yet another disappointing day for Hamilton and Leclerc of Ferrari. Leclerc finished in eighth, only scoring a handful of points, with Hamilton finishing out of the points in 12th. Ferrari will likely finish fourth in the Constructors' championship.

Now, for the drivers who had 'no good very bad' days. Lance Stroll, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hulkenberg, and Oliver Bearman all retired their cars during the race for various reasons, scoring no points towards the championship.

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Hadjar was performing well and was poised to finish well within the points before getting a tire puncture with only two laps left in the race.

As it stands, the F1 2025 World Drivers' Championship battle will be taken to Abu Dhabi, and it's anyone's game. Will it be Verstappen, Norris, or Piastri?

F1 Standings - Drivers' after Qatar GP - Race 23/24

Position/ Driver	Points
1. Lando Norris	408
2. Max Verstappen	396
3. Oscar Piastri	392
4. George Russell	309
5. Charles Leclerc	230
6. Lewis Hamilton	152
7. Kimi Antonelli	150
8. Alex Albon	73
9. Carlos Sainz	64
10. Isack Hadjar	51
11. Nico Hulkenberg	49
12. Fernando Alonso	48
13. Oliver Bearman	41
14. Liam Lawson	38
15. Yuki Tsunoda	33
16. Esteban Ocon	32
17. Lance Stroll	32
18. Pierre Gasly	22
19. Gabriel Bortoletto	19
20. Franco Colapinto	0
21. Jack Doohan	0

F1 Standings - Constructors' after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Position/ Team	Points
1. McLaren	800
2. Mercedes	459
3. Red Bull	441
4. Ferrari	382
5. Williams	137
6. Racing Bulls	89
7. Aston Martin	80
8. Haas	73
9. Sauber	68
10. Alpine	22

The Championship Battle has become much more exciting after Qatar. We'll see you next week when the 2025 Champion is decided in Abu Dhabi.

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