Formula 1: Max Verstappen celebrates 3rd championship with Qatar Grand Prix win
The victory is Verstappen's 14th in 17 races
Max Verstappen capped off his title-clinching weekend with a dominant win in the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen started on the pole and his biggest challenge for the lead came on the opening lap as the Mercedes cars of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton each made moves into the corner in an attempt to overtake Verstappen. But Russell and Hamilton collided as Hamilton made an outside move on his soft tires.
The contact took Hamilton out of the race and forced Russell to work his way back through the field over the course of the odd Grand Prix.
Sunday’s race was the first at the Lusail Circuit since 2021 and tire manufacturer Pirelli had concerns about the combination of track surface and curbs relative to the integrity of the tires. After new track limits were implemented ahead of Saturday’s sprint race in an attempt to prevent drivers from going over certain curbs, the FIA announced Sunday morning that drivers would not be allowed to run more than 18 laps on a set of tires.
That made the 57-lap race at least a three-stop race for every team. But that didn’t matter to Verstappen. No one could keep up.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished second while his teammate Lando Norris was third. Russell fought back to finish fourth while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth. Leclerc was the only Ferrari in the race; Carlos Sainz was unable to start because of a fuel system issue in his car.
The victory is Verstappen's 14th of the season through the first 17 races. He clinched his third consecutive Formula 1 title Saturday during the sprint race after teammate Sergio Perez crashed out. Perez had to win the sprint race and Verstappen had to finish seventh or worse for the remnants of the title battle to continue into Sunday's race.
Had Perez somehow made the title fight last another day, Verstappen would have simply easily clinched on Sunday.
Unofficial race results
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Lando Norris, McLaren
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
7. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
8. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
9. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
12. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
13. Alex Albon, Williams
14. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
15. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
16. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
17. Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri
Not classified: Logan Sergeant, Williams; Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
DNS: Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
