In a twisty but not overly exciting race, Max Verstappen took a comfortable victory in Qatar, while behind him, Lando Norris' accident effectively left the Constructors' World Championship open for the final race.
George Russell got off to a good start, but Max Verstappen reacted even better, taking the lead straight away. Lando Norris, who was laughingly third, almost made fun of both of them, and after two corners he was already elbowing for first place, but Verstappen repelled his attack. In the back regions, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon found each other, which first resulted in a yellow flag and then a safety car phase. The other Williams didn't fare too well either, Alexander Albon was spun by Lance Stroll, but he was at least able to continue the race. Nico Hülkenberg's involvement was rewarded with a puncture...
Verstappen handled the restart well, there was no major change behind him, only Oscar Piastri was able to gain positions. As the race started with fireworks, the field flattened out in the middle, settling in. Verstappen, Norris, Russel, the two Ferraris and the others… We could only see battles and mistakes in the back regions, but these did not raise the pulse too much. There were pitfalls, but they were badly missed by Russell, who practically dropped out of the further fight. The Briton's place and his chances of a podium were taken by the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, who showed up with good tire management and a one-pitched tactic.
It was a serious problem when Alexander Albon's mirror broke and remained in the middle of the finish line, causing a series of punctures... Another safety car followed, another restart, during which Verstappen made a mistake on unheated tires, after which Norris should have easily overtaken him. All this did not work out, so the order remained the same as before. However, another SC came, and another drama... Norris received a penalty for not taking into account a yellow flag section, and the ten seconds meant that it became difficult for the Briton to even score points. Meanwhile, the order at the top was Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and this did not change until the whistle.
