Grand Prix

Max Verstappen Delivers F1 Title Vow After "Interesting" McLaren Gift

The four-time world champion took full advantage of a McLaren blip to take second in the standings at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Ewan Gale|
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing Courtesy of AT&T

Max Verstappen has vowed to fight until the end after moving into striking range for a fifth Formula 1 drivers' world championship with victory at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Dutchman had started third on the grid at the Lusail International Circuit but made use of the clean side of the grid to get ahead of championship leader Lando Norris into Turn 1.

Red Bull then reacted better than McLaren to a safety car on lap seven to put Verstappen in control of the race, eventually closing the gap in the standings to 12 points to Norris heading into the Abu Dhabi season decider.

McLaren strategy gift for Verstappen

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Pirelli had mandated maximum 25-lap stint lengths for all tire compounds due to a safety concern at the Lusail International Circuit and, with the timing of the safety car — triggered by a crash between Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber and Alpine's Pierre Gasly which left the German's car stranded on the outside of Turn 1 — almost the entire field stopped behind Bernd Maylander's Aston Martin to take a free stop.

The exceptions to that rule were the two McLarens, with the Papaya squad aiming to use "flexibility" in its strategies for both cars, a decision that turned out to be an error.

Oscar Piastri had dominated the weekend but was forced to settle for second while Norris dropped behind Carlos Sainz for fourth.

"It was an incredible race for us, we made the right call to box under the safety car and that was smart," Verstappen explained post-race. "We will stay in the fight until the end."

McLaren had hoped to be able to use pace and tire deltas to race back through and overtake Verstappen on track, a strategy ill-advised in hindsight as the four-time champion was able to keep pace with the duo before their final stops, with Piastri emerging some 17 seconds behind the Red Bull.

The result means that Verstappen is now second in the standings, though he still needs a lacklustre Sunday for Norris at Yas Marina to have any hope of the title.

MORE: F1 Standings As Championship Race Goes To Abu Dhabi

On the McLaren strategy call, Verstappen said: "I was like 'that is an interesting move' [not to pit under the safety car], I knew that then we had a bit of a gap, but you still need to keep the tyres alive.

"It was 25 laps, the wear is very high around here, but luckily it all worked out. All is possible, and we'll see, but I don't really worry too much about it."

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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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