McLaren’s strategy blunder saw Max Verstappen win F1 Qatar Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Lando Norris settled for fourth ensuring the Formula 1 drivers’ championship showdown heads to the Abu Dhabi finale.
The 57-lap spectacle under the floodlights unfolded with high drama from the green light drop, as Piastri held his pole position nerve to lead initially, but Verstappen’s Red Bull RB21 unleashed its superior straight-line speed to carve through the field.
As the desert night air cooled the track, providing optimal grip for the medium and hard compounds, the race became a tactical chess match with multiple pit strategies and on-track battles defining the outcome of the pivotal penultimate round of the 2025 F1 season.
From the moment the lights went out, chaos erupted at Turn 1 as the 20-car grid compressed into a high-stakes melee.
Oscar Piastri, starting from pole after a stunning qualifying, got the jump on his McLaren teammate Lando Norris who found himself under immediate pressure from Max Verstappen after a slow start.
The Dutchman exploited Red Bull’s powerful Honda power unit to dive inside Norris into the first corner, briefly touching wheels with the McLaren but emerging unscathed in second, while George Russell held fourth in the Mercedes W16.
Further back, Kimi Antonelli impressed with a clean getaway in his Mercedes, but Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls RB25 spun his tires slightly, dropping to eighth behind Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and George Russell.
Meanwhile Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc struggled with understeer losing tenth place to Nico Hulkenberg on Lap 4.
Lap 5 saw Verstappen close the gap relentlessly on Piastri, the McLaren’s early tire warm-up advantage fading as Red Bull’s aero efficiency shone through the flowing Lusail layout with its long straights and medium-speed sweeps.
Piastri defended masterfully at Turn 1, forcing the Red Bull wide as Verstappen complained of an imbalance in left-hand corners.
However, it wasn’t long before an incident disrupted the race rhythm on Lap 7. Nico Hulkenberg attempted to pass Pierre Gasly into Turn 1, but the two made contact which sent the Sauber into the gravel and out of the race as the Alpine limped back to the pits with a puncture.
This triggered the Safety Car and Verstappen was the first to pit followed by every team bar McLaren, leaving Esteban Ocon briefly in third before he was called in by Haas on Lap 9.
The order remained relatively unchanged after the flurry of pitstops with the Safety Car still out, apart from Antonelli who dropped to fifth behind Sainz after the Mercedes crew was forced to hold him in his box due to incoming traffic.
Oscar Piastri takes F1 Qatar GP Sprint victory to cut Lando Norris’ championship lead
2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Race Results
Norris who was out on the track could be heard questioning McLaren why he didn’t follow Verstappen in for fresh rubber, but was informed against the decision with the team’s rationale being he’d lose “all flexibility” in his strategy.
The Safety Car ended on Lap 10 and Piastri immediately carved out a six tenths lead on Norris which later stretched to over a second by the end of the lap, as Verstappen fell two seconds further behind despite the fresher tyres.
The order went unchanged until the end of Lap 24 when Piastri was called in for Mediums, one lap before all other cars were mandated to pit including Norris, handing the lead to Verstappen.
Norris rejoined in fifth just behind Piastri who proceeded to overtake Antonelli on Lap 30, but he and everyone else were just one lap away from their second pit stop, owing to the 25-second maximum.
Verstappen was leading Sainz by 17 seconds before stopping on Lap 32 for a set of Hards, and rejoined third, with Piastri and Norris now back in first and second.
Norris later found himself struggling to produce better lap times than Verstappen who was on fresher tyres and on Lap 37, he reported that his McLaren needed checking, as he went wide on the exit of Turn 14, nearly losing the rear.
Meanwhile, Piastri requested for an early stop after going wide on Lap 41 and the McLaren was duly boxed on Lap 43 for hards, handing over the lead to Norris but was just half a second ahead of Verstappen.
Piastri rejoined in third place and 17 seconds behind the leading duo, as Norris also pitted for Hards two laps later and rejoined behind Sainz and Antonelli who were engaged in a close battle for third.
With eight laps to go, Piastri had trimmed the gap to Verstappen to 13.4s before taking another two seconds by Lap 52, while Norris was just 0.6s behind Antonelli who was now just over a second behind Sainz.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls suffered a puncture with just two laps to go, which promoted team-mate Liam Lawson into ninth and Yuki Tsunoda into the points in 10th.
Oscar Piastri was unable to close the significant gap which ultimately saw Max Verstappen win F1 Qatar Grand Prix with over 7 seconds.
Carlos Sainz held on to third, while Lando Norris passed Kimi Antonelli for fourth on the penultimate lap. George Russell followed his Mercedes teammate in sixth with Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top ten.
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