Good evening and welcome to the Qatar Grand Prix, where the championship contenders started in the top three positions. Oscar Piastri returned to pole position, setting the stage for an exciting race. Here’s a full breakdown of the action at Losail.
The start
When the lights went out, Oscar Piastri got a fantastic start, as did Max Verstappen, who overtook Lando Norris already in turn 1. George Russell had a poor getaway, dropping from fourth to seventh. Charles Leclerc started in 11th, while Lewis Hamilton was 14th. By lap 2 of 57, the top ten were: PIA-VER-NOR-ANT-SAI-ALO-RUS-HAD-GAS-HUL. Regarding tyres, everyone was on medium tyres except Hamilton and Hulkenberg on soft, while Colapinto started on hard.
Safety car shakes up the field
On lap 7, the Safety Car was deployed following an incident between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly, with the German forced to retire. Verstappen immediately pitted, while the rest of the field followed except for Esteban Ocon and the McLaren duo, who stayed out. After a few laps behind the SC, Ocon also pitted. Racing resumed on lap 10, with positions largely frozen.
A race against everyone
Piastri and Norris needed to carve out clear space during their first stops to avoid getting stuck in traffic, which would have severely hampered their race on the overtaking-challenging Losail circuit. On lap 24, Piastri pitted, returning in fifth behind Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz. Norris pitted the following lap, rejoining just behind his teammate. Excellent work from both, allowing Max Verstappen to take the lead and start a new phase of the race, where pace management would be key.
Max reopens the battle
After exactly 25 laps, Verstappen made his second and final stop, rejoining in third position. The rest of the field followed on the next lap. Meanwhile, Oliver Bearman suffered issues in the pits, dropping from the top 10 to restart from 18th. In the laps following the stops, Norris struggled with his tyres, running off track and losing ground to Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli were on strong form in fourth and fifth, maintaining a competitive pace. The Ferrari duo, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, struggled with their SF-25, voicing frustrations over team radio. On lap 43, Oscar Piastri made his second stop, followed two laps later by Norris, who dropped from second to fifth. Verstappen held a commanding 14-second gap over the Australian.
The hunter becomes the hunted
By lap 53 of 57, Max Verstappen expertly managed the lead, maintaining a 12-second gap over Oscar Piastri. Third place remained fiercely contested, with Carlos Sainz pushing hard to secure what would be his second podium of the season. Despite a problem at the floor costing him three seconds to Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri, Sainz fought valiantly. The checkered flag saw Max Verstappen claim a superb victory, followed by Piastri in second and Carlos Sainz in third. On the penultimate lap, Antonelli made a mistake, allowing Norris to move up and finish fourth. Below is the full race classification.
Below you’ll find the Lusail race result:
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)
