Verstappen Rolls In Qatar Grand Prix

Fresh off clinching his fourth straight Formula 1 championship last week, Max Verstappen punched in a powerful drive in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

After being dropped to second on the grid following a penalty in qualifying, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver pounced on Mercedes’ George Russell to take the top spot early.

While a safety car on the first lap due to a crash involving Haas F-1’s Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon slowed action, Verstappen never wavered as he stretched his lead to over six seconds at the checkered flag over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“It was a very good race,” said Verstappen. “Of course already yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better. Today, that first stint was very, very fast. Lando and I were just within 1.8s of each other the whole time, pushing each other and honestly it was a lot of fun out there.

“This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on so that was honestly a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. We went really long on that first stint. After that of course there were a few safety car moments that you had to take care, but very happy. It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive and very proud of everyone within the team to turn it around within a day. They definitely also deserve this victory.” 

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who won the sprint race on Saturday, placed third with Russell settling for fourth place. 

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly endured a stout race as he notched fifth for the two-car team. 

Carlos Sainz bagged a sixth-place result after suffering a flat tire on lap 34. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso scored seventh while Zhou Guanyu gave Kick Sauber its first points of the season in eighth. 

Haas F-1’s other driver, Kevin Magnussen, earned the American team points in ninth ahead of Lando Norris. Norris endured a tumultuous race after being handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow during caution flag periods. 

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton placed a disappointing 12th due to time penalties and a lap 34 punctured tire.

Prior to a lap 41 restart, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez spun off-track, which ended his race. 

With the drivers’ championship locked up, next week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will decide the constructors’ championship. McLaren holds a slim 26-point advantage over Ferrari.