Max Verstappen passed George Russell heading into turn 1, negating the one-place grid penalty imposed on the Red Bull driver, then led the entire way to win the penalty-filled Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday (December 1st). It was Verstappen’s ninth win of the season and came a week after he clinched his fourth world championship.
Charles Leclerc finished second, benefitting from a harsh 10-second stop-and-go penalty levied on Lando Norris, who was running second when he was penalized. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished third, pole-sitter Russell took fourth, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was fifth, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz nabbed sixth as Ferrari pulled closer to McLaren in the constructors standings.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took seventh, while Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu gave the team its first points of the season, crossing the line in eighth. Kevin Magnussen earned ninth, and Norris stormed from last place after serving his penalty to finish 10th, grabbing the extra point for the fastest lap.
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“It was a very good race,” Verstappen said. “It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive.
“Very proud of everyone within the team to turn it around within a day [since the sprint], so they definitely also deserve this victory.”
In the driver standings, Verstappen now leads Norris by 57 points and Leclerc sits in third, 24 behind Norris.
In the constructor standings, McLaren’s lead over Ferrari is down to only 21 points, 640 to 619. Red Bull is in third, 38 behind Ferrari.
The Race
Verstappen got off the line well and jumped past Russell into turn 1, and while Russell tried to defend, Norris slipped by into second and briefly had the lead. But Verstappen exited the corner with the lead and likely felt he rightly deserved it after a questionable penalty.
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Moments later, officials deployed the safety car after Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg made contact, sending Ocon into the Williams of Franco Colapinto. Further back, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams’ Alex Albon touched, sending Albon for a spin. One Williams out of the race, and one damaged without even one lap completed!
Racing resumed on lap 5, and Verstappen opened up nearly a one-second lead over Norris, with Russell and Piastri right behind and the two Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz in fifth and…
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