#1148 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas keeps the World Championship alive, forcing Lando Norris to score points in Qatar both on Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen in order to secure the title with one race to spare. However, the double zero, caused by unexpected porpoising that wore out the floor of the MCL39, does not worry the championship leader, who maintains his usual approach ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix:

"Based on what I had to do during the race, I expected a disqualification could come, so it wasn't a surprise. There’s no reason to be too upset: sure, everyone in the team was a bit disappointed with the result, but the outcome of Las Vegas doesn’t change anything for me. I would’ve definitely preferred a 30-point lead instead of 24, but I’ll try to do the same things as always: have a good qualifying session and a strong race, taking it one step at a time. I just have to try to win. My advantage over second place is still the same; we were fast in Las Vegas and would have been even faster without the issues. We know Red Bull has been strong recently, and we expect them to be strong in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but we don’t need to change anything. I see Max and Oscar as equally talented. I know what Verstappen is capable of, and Oscar is capable of the same things as Max. They are both competitive and very strong; they are incredible drivers, and I look forward to battling with them on track. We’ve treated Verstappen as a threat throughout 2025, even when he was further behind. We’ve always known what he and Red Bull are capable of. Therefore, this situation doesn’t change anything because he’s still the threat he’s always been throughout the championship".

Oscar Piastri is perhaps going through the toughest phase of his three-year Formula 1 career. Since the end of summer, the Australian has struggled with the pressure of being at the top of the standings: his last podium came in Monza, followed by only placements and retirements in Baku, Las Vegas, and the last two Sprint Races in Austin and Interlagos. In Qatar, there will be the last Sprint Race, and Piastri absolutely needs to show signs of improvement. His gap to Norris is the same as Verstappen's, and if the World Championship isn’t over for the Dutchman, the same should apply to the McLaren driver. So, Piastri thinks about himself, without considering the idea of helping his teammate:

"Help Lando? We discussed it briefly, and the answer is no. I’m still tied on points with Max, I can win if things go my way, so I’ll play it that way. There’s still a chance. Sure, it’s a remote chance: even if I had two perfect weekends, it might not be enough, and I need other things to go in my favor. But this has happened before, I know it’s not impossible. I’ll just try to have the best weekends possible, like I do every weekend, and we’ll see what happens".

The disqualification of McLaren in Las Vegas allowed Max Verstappen to close the gap significantly in the standings, but Lando Norris still holds a 24-point lead:

"What did I think when I heard about the disqualification? 24 points behind is better than 42, but in general, I was more focused and satisfied with how the weekend went and our performance. In any case, Norris still has to make a mistake for me to really be back in contention because 24 points are still a lot".

The Dutch driver points out that being back in the fight is not due to his or Red Bull’s merits, but because of McLaren’s mistakes:

"We’re still in the championship fight thanks to the mistakes of others. If we had a car as dominant as McLaren’s, the championship would already be over. A fifth title wouldn’t change my life; it’s not like I’ll give more in these races just because the title is at stake. I’ll give my best even if I’m fighting for 12th place. The day I get into the car without feeling like I want to give 100%, I’ll think it’s time to stop".

After his last two years at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton hoped to give a boost to his career by joining Ferrari. The English driver confessed in recent weeks that he didn’t expect such a complicated adaptation to the team, and the results reflect these difficulties, marking the worst season of his long Formula 1 career. Therefore, in Lusail, Hamilton is asked whether, in light of this challenging season, he would still choose to leave Mercedes if he could go back in time:

"I would do it again, absolutely. I don’t regret the decision to join Ferrari. I know it takes time to build and grow within an organization, but I expected it".

Hamilton doesn’t hide the fact that there’s a lot of work to be done over the winter to bring Ferrari back to the top in 2026:

"We have a lot of work to do, that’s for sure. We’ll analyze the season, and there are many improvements we need to make collectively. But I believe we can do it, and I hope we’ll implement these changes, along with a better package for next year".

Hamilton is then asked a tough question, whether he’s worried about the performance gap with Charles Leclerc:

"No, I’m not worried. I’ve been focusing only on my part. Charles has done a great job, and he’s been here for seven years. He has a team around him that he’s worked with for many years, and it’s a well-oiled machine. On my side, there’s a new group of people, a new environment I’m still getting used to. Then, halfway through the year, another new member joined my team. We’re all working hard, but getting the same results as someone who’s been here for several years isn’t easy. It doesn’t happen overnight, it takes some time".

After contending with McLaren for the Constructors' World Championship title until Abu Dhabi, no one at Ferrari expected to be in fourth place with two weekends to go in the current World Championship, with little chance of reaching the podium. Charles Leclerc certainly didn’t expect this, and now all he can do is accept the difficult season and close it with dignity in Qatar and Abu Dhabi:

"Within the team, we are really united and very motivated to do something special. Sure, I’ve been saying for a long time that we’re trying to do something special, and we haven’t succeeded yet, but the most important thing is that I see the team really strong and not too affected by what’s happening around the team. It’s been a particularly challenging season because last year, in the second half, we had the right momentum: I think I was the driver with the most points in the second half of the year. So, you start 2025 with high hopes, and then the season doesn’t go the way you want. This year has been like this, but it doesn’t demotivate me. It’s certainly been tough, but I’m still trying to do something special before the end of the year, starting with this weekend. I’m really motivated for next year because there’s been a lot of work behind the scenes; we know we stopped development in preparation for 2026, trying to stay a step ahead of everyone else. I hope that will be the case. Certainly, everyone is working hard to prepare for 2026, and we’re looking forward to it, especially since 2025 hasn’t been great, and we haven’t been in the fight for our objectives. The next championship will be an opportunity to get back to the top. I have no expectations because we can’t know our position compared to others, so the best thing I can do now is stay focused on the moment and try to do the best job possible on the simulator".

In the lights of Las Vegas, Andrea Kimi Antonelli stood out, making a great comeback to take the podium after McLaren's disqualification. It was his third top-3 finish in his career, and now he's aiming for a confirmation in Qatar:

"I think Las Vegas was my best race of 2025 because we executed everything very well. The strategy was quite bold, but we managed to make it work. The execution was great by the team, but for me, it was also the best race because during that 46-lap stint with the hard tires, I managed to manage the tires and put together everything I’ve learned over the season. I wouldn’t have been able to do that stint at the start of the year, but I think over the course of the season, you learn a lot, start to understand the tire behavior, and try to figure out how things go in the race and qualifying, pushing at different levels".

In Qatar, the dream is to secure the first victory in Formula 1:

"You never know. Mercedes was very strong here in 2024, especially in qualifying, so we hope to be just as strong, or even better. This year there’s been a strange trend because at tracks where we expected to perform well, we didn’t, while elsewhere we’ve done well unexpectedly. Let’s see tomorrow; the important thing is to start on the right foot, with a good pace, and then progress well throughout the weekend. I’m really looking forward to getting on track and closing the year in the best way possible".

Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, there’s another major shake-up at Aston Martin. Lawrence Stroll’s team is reorganizing, giving Adrian Newey more power. Starting in 2026, Newey will assume the role of team principal, replacing Andy Cowell, and will lead the technical team, including the trackside operations of the car. Cowell’s stint as team principal had come to an end, but Aston Martin has opted for an internal solution, giving Newey a role he has never held before, dismissing the possibility of hiring Christian Horner. Cowell will move to the new role of Chief Strategy Officer, reporting directly to Stroll, utilizing his experience (he was head of Mercedes’ engine division) to optimize the collaboration between Aston Martin, Honda, Aramco, and Valvoline. After one year as team principal and CEO, Cowell is stepping back from the trackside role. Adrian Newey says:

"In the last nine months, I’ve seen a lot of individual talent within our team. I look forward to taking on this additional role as we position ourselves as best as possible to compete in 2026, which will be a completely new situation, coupled with the significant challenge of the new regulations. Andy’s new role, focused on integrating the new power unit with our three key partners, will be crucial on this journey".

Andy Cowell, for his part, says:

"After implementing the structural changes necessary for the transition to a complete team and laying the foundations for Adrian and the organization in general, it’s the right time for me to take on a different role as Chief Strategy Officer," Cowell added. "In this role, I’ll help optimize the partnership with Honda, Aramco, and Valvoline and ensure the perfect integration of the new power unit, fuel, and the team’s chassis".

Lawrence Stroll concludes:

"Andy has been an exceptional leader this year. He focused on building a world-class team and making sure its members worked well together, promoting a culture that puts the car at the center. This leadership change is a mutual decision we made in the best interest of the team. We’re all excited to continue working with him in his new role as Chief Strategy Officer. I’m also pleased that Adrian will assume the role of team principal, which will allow him to fully utilize his creativity and technical expertise. These changes will ensure the team is in the best position to leverage its strengths".

On Friday, November 28, 2025, with the sun setting at the Lusail International Circuit, a queue of cars - all on the hard compound tyres - are ready to go at 1630 local time for the first on-track action of the weekend. George Russell and Max Verstappen both find themselves momentarily at the top of the timesheets in the opening 10 minutes, but Kick Sauber veteran Nico Hulkenberg sets multiple purple sectors to easily displace the frontrunners. The Dutchman, who finds himself just 24 points behind Standings leader Norris, then charges eight tenths clear with a time of 1'23"343 before reporting early issues with his front left tyre. Verstappen’s struggles don’t end there as he claims he has trouble with his steering, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc echoing the complaint while down in P15. He improves to sixth, knocking the Red Bull into P7 as a flying Kimi Antonelli sets the fastest time of the session. The majority of drivers are eager to rack up as many laps as possible, but with over a third of the session gone, Norris finds himself at the bottom of the pile in terms of both lap count and time. After adjusting his set-up back in the garage, his first attempt to set a faster lap sees him drive wide, kicking up dust and leaving him P20. Around the halfway point, the track quietens down as teams call their drivers back into the pits, with Russell firmly in P1 with an advantage of two tenths over Verstappen. Meanwhile, Leclerc once again jumps on the radio to relay another issue with the balance of his Ferrari as he lingers just over a second adrift of the Mercedes. Norris gradually begins to set slightly more representative times, but both McLarens are significantly off the pace, with Oscar Piastri in ninth ahead of his teammate in P11. They aren’t the only ones struggling to get on top of the tricky combination of breezy conditions and a lack of grip on the smooth track. While learning about performance on the hard tyres is clearly the main order of the day, Hadjar is one of the first to make the switch to soft tyres with 10 minutes remaining, rapidly dialling them in to shoot to first place. Plenty of improvements follow as a host of drivers exchange the fastest lap time and McLaren finally finds their pace, with Norris claiming P1 ahead of Piastri. The Australian comes back with a few minutes to go, but only 0.058s separate him from his team mate as he finishes with a time of 1'20"294. Alonso is third for Aston Martin ahead of Carlos Sainz and Hadjar, with Verstappen ending the session down in P6. Just behind, Alex Albon heads Leclerc and Lance Stroll as Antonelli rounds out the top 10.

With just a single one-hour Free Practice session under their belts and no team having used the medium tyre, drivers head into the unknown during SQ1 with the yellow-walled tyre mandatory for the opening 12-minute segment. Verstappen and Red Bull make their intentions clear from the outset, the Dutchman the first to hit the track but he is left behind title rivals Norris and Piastri after the opening laps, the Drivers' World Championship leader topping the leaderboard on a 1'21"621. With track evolution at the Lusail International Circuit high, times continue to tumble and Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri trade fastest laps before Alonso briefly tops the leaderboard. Verstappen eventually finishes fastest on a 1'21"172, leaving him one-tenth clear of the Aston Martin driver as Piastri, Hulkenberg, Norris, and Hadjar complete the top six. In the drop zone, Stroll is the first driver to miss the cut by less than one-tenth as he heads Lawson and Hamilton, the Ferrari driver finishing nearly three-tenths away from the next stage and claiming over the radio, the car won't go any quicker, with teammate Leclerc only P13. The seven-time World Champion only heads both Alpines of Gasly and Colapinto, with a Turn 1 and Turn 16 incident between Verstappen and Norris for impeding noted by the stewards before no further action is taken for each. Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen resume their battle at the top of the times in Q2, Norris dealing the first decisive blow with a 1'20"956 on the medium Pirelli rubber. It leaves him just 0.049s clear of his teammate and only 0.080s ahead of Verstappen after the Dutchman's second effort, with the time proving good enough for P1 despite Norris running wide at Turn 2 on his final lap. Verstappen is left complaining of bouncing aboard his Red Bull over the radio in P3, the order completed by Russell, Tsunoda, Sainz, Leclerc, Albon, and Alonso. Antonelli is provisionally eliminated but a track limits time deletion for Hadjar at Turn 8 means the Frenchman loses his best lap and finishes P11, where he is joined by Bearman, Bortoleto, and Hulkenberg, who also loses his best lap to track limits, as Ocon finishes P15. With drivers required to use the soft tyre for the time in Sprint Qualifying, McLaren seems to take a noticeable leap forward compared with other teams, as Piastri just edges Norris by 0.044s after the pair's first flying laps. Despite having challenged his title rivals in the other two segments, Verstappen runs wide on his first effort at Turn 4 and complains of bouncing again to his team over the radio. With no representative time on the board, the four-time World Champion has only his final effort to move up the order, which is only good enough for sixth on the grid, directly behind teammate Tsunoda and the impressive Alonso. Piastri improves with his second effort, posting a 1'20"055 which is only fractionally faster than Russell, while Norris has to settle for third after running wide at the final corner and failing to improve. Behind the top six, Antonelli heads Sainz, Leclerc, and Albon, both Williams drivers reaching SQ3 on a track where they expect to struggle. In Qatar, Oscar Piastri bounces back. The best time in SQ3 and the resulting pole position in the Sprint Race represent a significant first sign: the Australian, coming off a disastrous period, wants to keep his World Championship hopes alive until the final showdown in Abu Dhabi. To do so, he must avoid overthinking and focus on winning both races of the weekend. If someone gets between him and the other McLaren of Lando Norris, all the better:

"I feel really good. It’s been good from the first lap, we felt competitive right away and made some good adjustments even before qualifying. Everything went well. I think the last lap was pretty solid, even though I had a big scare, but still, it was enough, so I’m happy. It’s nice to be back up front, so let’s hope we can keep going like this. Surprised by Russell in second? No, not necessarily. The Mercedes looked very fast from the start of practice, and their performance is often a bit tricky to interpret. The end of the session was a bit chaotic, not everyone managed to complete their laps properly. I’m not sure if Lando did a clean lap, but it’s not a huge surprise. Winning both races? Yes, that’s all I can do. I’ve started with the right pace, so let’s hope we can keep it up".

It’s a positive day for McLaren at the Lusail circuit, where the World Champion team will have one of their drivers starting from pole position in the Sprint Race. Lando Norris, on the other hand, set the third-fastest time in a session where Max Verstappen didn’t shine:

"I got a bit stuck behind Alex, but that’s racing. The pace was there, but I made a mistake at Turn 2 on the last lap and couldn’t put the lap together".

A performance that, without that mistake, would likely have placed the Briton in a higher position on the grid. Given his starting position and the characteristics of the track, it’s already shaping up to be a tough result for the English driver:

"It would be stupid not to try to win. We’ll see what we can find overnight and what we can do tomorrow. It’s impossible to overtake here, so I’ll probably finish third, but if I can at least pass George by the end, it would be fantastic to finish second".

Under the lights of Lusail, Ferrari’s two cars struggled to shine in Sprint Qualifying. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in SQ1 and will start a desolate 18th, while Charles Leclerc made it into the top 10 but couldn’t do better than ninth. In front of the first Ferrari, there will be two McLarens, two Mercedes, two Red Bulls, one Aston Martin, and one Williams - in other words, a weekend that’s already off to a difficult start...

"We’re very slow, and we’re struggling again this weekend. This is another tough race. Between me and Tsunoda, who finished fifth, there were only a few tenths - maybe one - so I think there was potential for that position. But it’s fair to acknowledge that we’ve struggled, and so far it’s been a difficult weekend".

Leclerc also commented on Sainz’s move during the warm-up lap that annoyed him:

"I think he was taking a pretty significant gap from the car ahead of him just before Safety Car line 2, and obviously, that made it difficult for everyone following him. He has the right to do that, but it’s very annoying and sometimes unnecessary, so it’s a shame".

Max Verstappen was disappointed at the end of Sprint Qualifying. The sixth-place start on the grid, unbelievably behind Yuki Tsunoda, is certainly not what the Dutch driver had hoped for in his final push for the World Championship standings. The fact that both McLaren cars - Oscar Piastri’s and Lando Norris' - will be starting from the front row makes Verstappen’s chances of winning his fifth World Championship title much more complicated. Max Verstappen complained a lot over the radio about the bouncing of his car; in the first lap of SQ3, he even ended up in the gravel, damaging the floor of his RB21, forcing him into a very difficult final attempt that didn’t take him any further than the third row:

"How did it go? Not well. From the first lap, I had a lot of bouncing and very aggressive understeer that turned into oversteer at high speeds. It’s definitely not what you want for a fast lap. Changes during qualifying? We tried some things, but they didn’t work well, and it’s something we need to figure out. The Sprint? With this balance, I don’t think I’ll have much fun tomorrow when I have the Sprint. It will be more about surviving and then making some changes before the main qualifying session".

After the disappointing weekend in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton’s mood is far from ideal. On track, the British driver was eliminated in the initial segment of Sprint Qualifying, further dampening his morale. He appeared more disheartened than ever. When asked how difficult it was to drive the car today, he responded:

"As always".

Did you try the higher-downforce wing? Didn’t work?

"No, clearly not".

Is there anything positive you can take into tomorrow? Do you think the Sprint Race will be a sort of test for you?

"The weather is nice. The weather is nice".

On Saturday, November 29, 2025, as the other sixteen contenders line up on the grid and the tyre blankets are removed, it is revealed that the medium compound is the tyre of choice for the majority, with a mix of used and fresh for the frontrunners. The lights go out at the Lusail International Circuit and Piastri gets the launch he needs to charge away from Russell, who immediately has to defend against Norris as they head down to Turn 1. Just behind, Alonso loses out the most as he is passed by both Red Bulls, with Verstappen improving to P4 within what is a dream couple of corners for him. It is a less than ideal opening lap for Charles Leclerc, who goes wide at Turn 2 and drops from ninth to 13th, landing him in a midfield DRS train. Things don’t look much better for his teammate Hamilton, who is still lingering in P18 after failing to improve on his pit lane start. As Piastri speeds up the road, establishing a gap of over a second on the first few laps, Verstappen unsuccessfully attempts to overtake Norris for third place before reporting that the bouncing is still very bad - he struggles with porpoising throughout Friday’s running and it is evident that the problem hasn’t been fully resolved. As he continues relaying issues with both the radio quality and the car jumping, a chunk of Carlos Sainz’s Williams is thrown onto the circuit while he is running in P8, but with Isack Hadjar 1.7s behind, he can afford to manage the damage. Back at the front of the field, Piastri appears to be in a league of his own, having extended his lead to two seconds over Russell by Lap 11. The Mercedes driver is warned that tyre degradation could begin to come into play, but the top three are in little danger of changing order. There is more action outside of the points-paying positions as Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson battles with Leclerc, veering off track while trying to pass the Ferrari. He quickly gives the position back and is not the only one finding difficulty staying within track limits - Tsunoda is revealed to be under investigation for going over the white line too many times, and he is subsequently handed a five-second time penalty. That proves to be good news for Kimi Antonelli, who improves to P6 when Alonso drifts wide at the final corner and looks to gain another position from the Red Bull driver’s penalty if he can stay within the track limits himself. However, the Italian youngster ends up being handed a time penalty for identical reasons to Tsunoda, ultimately leaving him in sixth place. He nevertheless has a much better Sprint than the Ferrari pair, who score zero points as Leclerc and Hamilton cross the line in P13 and P17 respectively. For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix, the last weekend before the results crisis that caused him to lose the lead in the championship, Oscar Piastri has returned to the top step of the podium. This victory, achieved in the Sprint Race in Qatar, was crucial both for the points and to keep alive his hopes of winning the World Championship in the three-way fight with his teammate, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen. A success that was never in doubt for the McLaren driver, who led the race from the first to the 19th lap, the final one of a Sprint Race that gave very little excitement to fans:

"I feel pretty good, it’s been a good day. I think from the first lap we were competitive, and we made some good changes in qualifying, and everything went well. I think the last lap was quite solid, except for one rather important moment, but everything went pretty well, so I’m happy. It’s nice to be back on top, so let’s hope we can keep it up".

McLaren was also on the podium with Lando Norris, who finished third behind a great George Russell, who was also a standout in qualifying and remained in second place until the checkered flag:

"It wasn’t a surprise to have George close by. I think the Mercedes were really fast from the start of practice, and they’re often difficult to interpret. The only thing I can do is try to win everything, so tomorrow it will be key to get ahead into Turn 1. I started well, so hopefully we can keep it up".

The F1 trip to Qatar began, on Thursday’s media day, with some sharp words from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman had fun teasing the McLaren team and particularly its two drivers - with whom he is fighting for the World Championship - emphasizing how it was only their mistakes that had allowed him to still be in contention for the final win, and reiterating that if he had been behind the wheel of the MCL39, he would have mathematically won the World Championship well in advance.

Now, Lando Norris responds to these words, speaking with journalists at Lusail and pushing back against Verstappen’s mind games:

"He’s free to say whatever he wants, to be honest. He’s earned it. He’s won four World Championships. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think that gives him a lot of credit in general. He’s achieved incredible results, more than anyone could ever dream of. Max usually has a good understanding of many things, but there are also many things he doesn’t know much about, and that’s also part of Red Bull’s approach. They have this aggressive nature, and often say things that don’t make sense".

The last Sprint Race of the season did not go well for Max Verstappen. In Qatar, the Dutchman finished in fourth place, climbing from P6 at the start and trying, in the early laps, to challenge Lando Norris’ McLaren ahead of him, but without success. Now, in the standings, Norris holds a 25-point lead over Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri gained three points on the Dutch driver after the two arrived in Lusail level on points. If Verstappen cannot stay ahead of Lando Norris in the race, his hopes of defending the title will be over. The problem, as explained once again by Verstappen himself, lies in Red Bull’s adaptation to the Lusail circuit. The Qatari track highlights all of McLaren’s strengths, while the RB21 suffers from bouncing issues that have yet to be resolved or mitigated:

"We need to try and fix the bouncing and oversteering problems of the car because in these long corners it’s hard to turn the car, and that’s a problem. Improving the car? I think it will be tough because this track doesn’t seem to suit our car. We’ll try, we’ll try everything to improve it because it’s not fun to drive it like this. We need to try and make it more comfortable, make me feel more at ease on track. We have to focus on the areas that need improvement, and that’s what we’ll try to do. If it works, maybe we can get closer. But right now, I just couldn’t fight with them. I didn’t have the pace. We’ll need to make the car more stable, fix the bouncing issue, and improve the front grip because there’s a big problem here: the front tire wear is very high, so we need to improve in that area as well".

Starting from ninth on the grid for the Sprint Race, Charles Leclerc suffered a terrible start, unable to keep his Ferrari on track, going wide and ending up 13th by the first lap. The Monegasque driver wasn’t able to overtake anyone, finishing the race without improving his position. His team radio comments were telling, where Leclerc didn’t hide his frustration:

"In FP1, we knew the reason for what happened; we had tried something with the steering feel, and it wasn’t good. But today, I don’t understand what happened. I thought there was a problem, maybe something broken in the rear of the car, but it wasn’t like that. I know something might have broken after a few laps in the front, but I can’t explain the feeling I had in the first laps. In the first 2-3 laps, I was just trying to keep the car on track, and when you have that feeling, it’s impossible to attack. So, for Qualifying, we’ll have to try something very different with the car. A disaster. I had no rear grip. I almost lost control of the car in sector 2. I couldn’t regain grip, and we need to analyze the situation because it was really hard to keep the car on track. We’re completely off track when it comes to setup".

This statement from Lewis Hamilton can summarize the current nightmare for Ferrari, as in the Qatar Sprint Race, they made Hamilton start from the pit lane to test some setup experiments studied in the simulator:

"At the end of the race, Gasly came up to me and said: Your car was terrible".

Both Alpines also started from the pit lane, so Gasly had the chance to see how much Hamilton struggled during the 19 laps of the Sprint Race:

"The changes from what we found in the simulator haven’t been positive; we’re facing enormous difficulties. The rear is unstable, and we suffer from bouncing, which causes strong understeer mid-corner. When you turn the wheel, the car pulls away, and you’re constantly trying to regain control. The people in the garage and those working in Maranello certainly don’t deserve what’s happening, they deserve better results. I can only say it’s definitely not for lack of effort or because I’m not trying. We won’t give up and will keep pushing. Despite these tough days, I’m still very positive".

With a Sprint Qualifying and the 19-lap Sprint under their belts, drivers and teams head into Qualifying with the benefit of competitive and relevant track time on the Lusail International Circuit. Even before the light at the end of the pit lane goes green, the stewards are busy, noting Albon for an unsafe pit lane release into the path of Ocon, with the incident set to be investigated after the session. After the opening salvos on the soft Pirelli tyre, Piastri sits at the top of the pile with a 1'20"739 from Russell, Alonso, and Verstappen, the Red Bull driver unhappy with Sainz on his flying lap and complaining of jumping once again over the radio. Norris, meanwhile, is left seven-tenths adrift in the midfield after not extracting the most from his opening effort, as Ferrari's Leclerc and Hamilton are further back in the drop zone initially. Track conditions begin to drastically improve, though, Hadjar and Gasly move to the top of the times with eight minutes of Q1 remaining, suggesting that all drivers need to run again to make the best of the improving grip. The final benchmark is lowered down to a 1'20"074 by Russell, the Briton's last effort leaving him 0.083s clear of Norris and Piastri, the McLaren drivers not pushing for final laps. The top-10 is completed by Verstappen, Sainz, Lawson, Bearman, Leclerc, Antonelli, and Alonso, all of whom are covered by half a second. Gasly just makes the cut in P15, having lost his final lap time due to track limits, with Tsunoda the first driver eliminated by just one-tenth in P16. The Red Bull driver is joined by Ocon and Hamilton, who is eliminated for the third consecutive time in the opening segment of a Qualifying session, along with Stroll and Colapinto. While Piastri moves to the top spot after the opening runs in Q2, Norris is put under pressure having lost his lap time due to Turn 10 track limits, his effort also being half a second slower than his teammate. Verstappen is also half a second adrift in P2, having done a build lap on his set of new soft tyres, before bringing the margin down fractionally to 0.335s, ahead of Russell, Sainz, and Hadjar at the midpoint. With a new set of soft tyres fitted, Norris comfortably moves into Q3 with his effort just two-tenths slower than Piastri's 1'19"650. 

On the brink of elimination, Leclerc does just enough to jump up to P9 with his final effort, having struggled to control his Ferrari throughout, while Hadjar in P10 survives by just 0.003s. Hulkenberg fails to make the cut, where he is joined by Lawson, Bearman, Bortoleto - who clips the gravel on his final lap - and Albon. Norris deals the first decisive blow in one of the most crucial Q3 sessions of the season, finishing only 0.035s faster than Piastri, with Russell three-tenths further adrift after the first flying laps. Verstappen is left in P4, more than four-tenths back, having bailed out early on his opening lap as Hadjar, Antonelli, Alonso, Sainz, and Gasly complete the top nine. Leclerc is left without a time in P10, having suffered a huge high-speed spin on his lap before recovering to the pit lane as a red flag is deployed for a bizarre incident involving Sainz. The Williams driver leaves the garage with a floor sticker attached to his tyre that comes off around the track, the stoppage called to retrieve the debris as the incident is placed under investigation by the stewards. At the resumption, Norris is the first of the leading runners to go out on a lap but running wide at Turn 2 and aborting his lap opens the door for Piastri, who duly takes the opportunity. The Australian posts a sublime 1'19"387, which leaves him 0.108s clear of Norris, with Verstappen a further tenth behind, as the order is completed by Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly, and Leclerc. First in Sprint Qualifying, first in the Sprint Race, first in Qualifying. The only thing missing for Oscar Piastri to complete a perfect weekend in Lusail is a first-place finish in the Qatar Grand Prix. Everyone said the Qatari track was a good one for the McLaren driver, looking at his past results, and now the results are confirming those predictions. After two disastrous months that will likely cost him the World Championship, Piastri, with his back against the wall, has bounced back and now knows he has nothing to lose. His task is to win the race. If someone else gets in between his McLaren and Lando Norris’ McLaren, even better:

"Am I back to enjoying myself? Yes, after a tough period. The last few races have been difficult for me, but the fun element is still there within the team. Of course, on track it’s been a little harder for me to get everything together, but I think this circuit helps deliver incredible sensations. The car was in a great window and with all this grip, with the fast corners, the sensations are fantastic. And then to have the best car and be able to qualify in pole position makes you feel even better".

When asked about the must-win situation he’s facing, Piastri remains unshaken:

"The situation is what it is. I’ve been in this situation all weekend and so far it’s been going well. I think I’ve regained a lot of confidence when things go in the right direction, and when I find my rhythm, I can do things well without having to come up with something special. So I’m confident I can try to do the same tomorrow. I’m ready".

in Qatar, McLaren's goal is to end Max Verstappen's winning streak, which he will obviously fight hard to extend from the start, as the MCL39s seem to have something extra in terms of race pace. In this regard, McLaren's team principal, Andrea Stella, says that the Woking-based team will not make any calculations:

"There's still a lot of work to do to prepare for the race, and we don't intend to make any calculations, especially since our main rival will be right behind us, ready to seize any opportunities. As always, we'll focus on ourselves to maximize our starting positions. Lando? He didn't have a perfect balance in the Sprint and made a small mistake at the end of Q3, which prevented him from fighting for pole, but being on the front row is still a great position heading into the race".

Eleven crucial thousandths of a second made the difference in placing Max Verstappen in third position, on the clean side of the track. The Dutch driver battled it out down to the thousandth with George Russell and came out on top, giving himself a chance to go all out in Turn 1 at the start of the Qatar GP, where the two McLarens will be lined up side by side on the front row:

"Judging by the time Piastri set on his last lap in the Sprint, to keep up with the McLarens, I’ll probably have to cut a corner. I have nothing to lose, the most important thing will be to get a good start. We might struggle to stay with the McLarens, but you never know what can happen. If it happens, we'll try everything we can".

There’s no way around it; even in the Qatar Grand Prix Qualifying, Ferrari hasn’t been able to turn its season around. And to think that, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Frederic Vasseur had explained that the team was going to Lusail to win. But the reality is that Ferrari is likely having its worst weekend of the season. Charles Leclerc managed - unexpectedly, according to him - to make it through Q1 and Q2, finishing qualifying in 10th place, with the thrill of a double spin at high speed in the penultimate corner. In short, the Monegasque driver gave his all, and the best result was a spot on the fifth row:

"It’s been a nightmare since FP1. I changed the car a lot from this morning until now, but nothing worked better than before. Keeping the car on track is already a challenge, and I thought we’d be out in Q1 and Q2. There was nothing else to do. The Alpines ahead? I don’t know what to say, it’s a fact and we’re in big difficulty. We’re struggling to understand why because we’ve tried different setup directions, but the car is simply slow. That’s how it is".

After the disappointment of Las Vegas, Qatar is proving to be another sporting ordeal for Lewis Hamilton, who, even in Qualifying, mirrors the 18th place he earned in Sprint Qualifying. The British driver was eliminated in the first segment, managing to stay ahead of only Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto:

"The car seemed much improved, but the times didn’t show it. The car seemed fine, honestly, we improved a lot compared to the rest of the weekend. Everything seemed okay, but then we weren’t able to put together the last lap".

Leclerc was asked if he agreed with his teammate’s comments:

"I agree with Lewis, the car seems to be okay. But if we look at the times, we’re very, very, very far off. It’s just a matter of car performance. Right now, we’re not where we’d like to be".

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is gradually getting to grips with the Qatar circuit, securing fifth place in Qualifying. Still, the Italian driver says he is disappointed:

"I’m disappointed with the last lap in Q3. In Turn 1, I lost the rear, and with that mistake, I lost a tenth, a tenth and a half. Then, when you make a mistake like that, the whole lap becomes tricky because the rear tire temperatures go through the roof. Anyway, I improved throughout the session, and fifth place is a good result. Tomorrow, I’ll try to achieve the best result possible".

On Sunday, November 30, 2025, as the lights go out, Norris from P2 suffers the slightly worse start among the title challengers, allowing Verstappen to move ahead before the long right of Turn 1 and slot in behind Piastri, who comfortably holds the lead from pole. The Australian has already broken DRS range by the end of the opening lap and puts his head down as the gaps between the leading runners begin to expand almost immediately, with following proving extremely difficult through the high-speed corners. Further back, Russell drops three places after running slightly wide through Turn 2, as teammate Antonelli, Sainz, and Alonso all move ahead of the Mercedes driver through the opening corners. Gasly in P9 also runs slightly wide, damaging the underside of his car over the kerb and gravel, and is put under pressure by Hulkenberg, who, along with Hamilton, is one of the only drivers to start on Pirelli's soft tire. The German passes Leclerc into Turn 1 in the opening laps and tries the outside line with Gasly shortly after, but the Sauber driver is left in the gravel on the exit with his right-rear tire hanging off. The left-front of the Alpine makes contact with the Sauber, and the stewards investigate but take no further action as Gasly resumes. The incident brings out the Safety Car just inside the window that allows drivers to run the remaining 50 laps with just one more pit stop, with a 25-lap limit imposed for all sets of tires by Pirelli. Critically, the McLarens of Piastri and Norris stay out, meaning Verstappen rejoins back in P3 on another set of medium tires but with effectively one less pit stop to take compared to the two leaders. Ocon also initially stays out but is handed a five-second penalty for a false start and enters the pit lane after the majority of the field, rejoining at the back. Racing resumes on Lap 11, with Piastri leading from Norris and Verstappen, while Sainz has jumped Antonelli in the pits, as Alonso, Hadjar, Russell, Leclerc, and Bearman complete the top-10. The McLarens begin to lap more than 1s a lap faster than the rest of the field, all of whom will be required to stop on Lap 32 to make the end on a two-stop strategy. 

In turn, the McLarens need to stop no later than Lap 25, with Piastri pitting on lap 24 with a 4s lead over Norris and crucially rejoining in clean air, having emerged in front of a large group headed by Alonso in P6. Norris rejoins even closer to Alonso the next lap, but a 2.2s pit stop proves pivotal as Verstappen now leads Sainz, Antonelli, Piastri, and Norris. Piastri soon catches the back of Antonelli and immediately dives up the inside at Turn 1 on the start of Lap 30, but Norris is unable to pass Antonelli at the same spot two laps later. The McLarens find themselves back at the front as the majority of the field makes the pit lane a hive of activity on Lap 32, with Verstappen rejoining in P3 on the hard tire but only 7.6 behind Piastri. Norris runs wide at the high-speed right of Turn 14, running over the kerb and nearly spinning, asking his team over the radio to check for damage as he begins to fall into the clutches of Verstappen. Piastri also has a moment at the same corner as he attempts to build up his margin, with Verstappen starting to get into the dirty air of Norris, nearly 8s behind. Piastri pits at the end of Lap 42 for a new set of hard tires, rejoining P3 but now 17s behind Verstappen, who is within 1s of Norris before the Briton also pits for the hard tire on Lap 44. Rejoining behind both Sainz and Antonelli, Norris soon closes on the pair but is unable to shape for a pass until Antonelli suffers a moment of oversteer on the exit of Turn 10 on the penultimate lap, which allows him ahead. With Verstappen's seventh Grand Prix win of the season, by a margin of eight seconds, it means the Dutchman sits just 12 points behind Norris, with Piastri a further four points back ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi. Sainz claims his second podium of the season from Norris, while Antonelli finishes well clear of Russell, who has benefitted from a late puncture for Hadjar to finish P6. The top-10 is completed by Alonso, who finishes despite a huge 360-degree spin that drops him behind Hadjar and Russell, as Leclerc, Lawson, and Tsunoda all score points. Max Verstappen not only keeps the World Championship alive - with a lot of luck - until Abu Dhabi, but he will even arrive at Yas Marina with some legitimate chance of defending his title, although he's not in control of his own destiny.

In Lusail, the decisive factor was the deployment of the Safety Car, which was taken advantage of by all the teams, including Red Bull Racing, who surprised McLaren:

"That strategic choice made us win the race and definitely cost McLaren the win. I’m really happy about it because, honestly, when I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to win the race. I was more focused on how competitive we’d be or whether we wouldn't be competitive at all. What happened today shows that anything is possible. A boring race was expected, but the Safety Car added some excitement. I hope the same happens in Abu Dhabi. I’ll give my all, and we’ll try everything. Hopefully, we’ll be a bit more competitive at Yas Marina than we were here. We’ll see. For sure, we’ll race with a positive mentality, we have nothing to lose".

The strategy chosen by McLaren after the Safety Car deployment turned out to be a mistake for both drivers, who were fighting for the World Championship title. While Lando Norris finished the Qatar GP in fourth place, behind an exceptional Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line in second place, but finished behind Max Verstappen. The final result complicates the Australian driver’s hopes of securing his first world title:

"Clearly, it wasn’t the right choice, which is a shame. Our pace was phenomenal, and I think I drove for this race and this weekend. Given how I drove, not winning in the end is really frustrating".

Regarding the team’s strategy, which was the same for both drivers, Piastri adds further insight:

"I don’t think today’s result was due to the fairness. In terms of strategy, we’ve always been free to do what we wanted, beyond a few scenarios. We’ve always had complete freedom, and sometimes this has benefited one of the two. Today, I don’t think that’s why it happened".

Ahead of the final weekend of the season in Abu Dhabi, Piastri is 16 points behind Norris, who in turn is 12 points ahead of Verstappen. All three are still in the running for the World Championship:

"I’ll do my best, but I knew it would be tough either way. I don’t know how the race would have gone if we had pitted or if we had gained more points on Lando. I’ll do my best, and we’ll see how it goes".

The day didn’t start well for Lando Norris, who perhaps should have sensed it right from the start. After the first lap, he found himself in third place, not only behind Oscar Piastri but also Max Verstappen. Few, however, would have imagined that in Lusail, where overtaking is almost impossible, the World Championship leader would end up finishing the race in fourth place. The source of the troubles is obviously tied to McLaren’s strategic error, which not only failed to recognize the potential of a pit stop during the Safety Car period on lap 7, but also chose not to differentiate the strategies between the two drivers, leaving only Piastri and Norris still on track while everyone else was in the pits for their first stop. A clear mistake that impacted the result of a weekend where the MCL39s seemed to be the best cars on track. Still, Lando Norris doesn't seek excuses, nor does he point to the gravel excursion at turn 15 as one of the reasons for such a disappointing result:

"Car not 100% after that curb hop? No, I don’t know, I think it was fine. Anyway, I could have lost seven points to Oscar, but I only lost six, and that’s the positive side of today".

Rather frustrated, the Englishman analyzes the tactical error without blaming the team:

"We trusted the team to make the right decision on strategy. Obviously, pitting under the Safety Car is always a gamble when you're at the front, but in the end, it was us trying to gamble by staying out. Now it’s clear we shouldn’t have done that because Oscar lost the win, and I lost second place. We didn’t do a good job today, but we’ve done it many times before today. We won the Constructors' Championship seven or six races ago, thanks to the good work we’ve done as a team. This wasn’t our best day, but that’s life. We need to review things and figure out what we could have done better, but we already know why we didn’t make the right decisions. You can’t always get everything right. In Abu Dhabi? We’ll just do our job as usual, and so will the team. If we do that, everything will be fine".

The McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, takes public responsibility for the decision:

"Overall, today’s result is disappointing for us. We had the potential to win the race with Oscar, and he deserved it because he was the fastest in qualifying and the Sprint. The podium was certainly within reach for Lando, but we lost the win with Piastri and the podium with Norris. It’s not the result we wanted, and we’ll review the decision we made when the Safety Car came out on lap 7. As usual, we’ll learn from what happened and come out stronger for the next race, which is now even more important".

Andrea Stella also explains why they decided not to pit under the Safety Car:

"We decided not to make the pit stop, and honestly, we didn’t expect everyone else to pit. When that happened, it was clear that pitting would have been the right choice, but when you're at the front, you don’t know what the others will do. Norris could have lost time in the pits if we’d pitted both cars, but the main reason was that we didn’t expect everyone else to change tires at that moment. It was our decision, and in hindsight, it wasn’t the right one. The flexibility we spoke about with the drivers on the radio? That was for another Safety Car, which would have put us in a stronger position. For everyone else, though, the strategy was already forced. But it worked very well for everyone who pitted on lap 7. We thought our car's pace would allow us to build a gap, but once again, there wasn’t much tire degradation, and we couldn’t fully exploit our pace. It wasn’t the desired result. We understand that Oscar is extremely disappointed because he did everything right this weekend. He was fast, solid, and consistent. The drivers deserved to capitalize on their great performance".

There will be no change in the team’s approach for Abu Dhabi, despite the 16 points separating Norris and Piastri, and Verstappen’s threat:

"Will we adapt our approach to the championship standings? No, we want to keep all options open for both drivers. Both are in a position to win the championship, and it’s often happened that the third driver has won the Formula 1 title. I’m thinking, for example, of 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen or 2010 with Sebastian Vettel. We have to respect the fact that Oscar has a chance to win, and we’ll let them race".

After two consecutive podium finishes in the last two races of the season (Brazil and Las Vegas), Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishes the Qatar GP in fifth place. Yet, until the final stages of the race, the rookie was still challenging for third place, constantly pressuring Carlos Sainz, who was struggling with his Williams in the final laps. However, this mission failed due to a mistake, the same one that gave Lando Norris the opportunity to not only gain the fourth position but also score two crucial points. This performance generally satisfies the Italian driver, who had embraced the Formula 2 World Champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, before the race:

"The fifth place is a good result today, but we could have done a lot more. We were a bit unlucky at the first pit stop, where we lost a position to Carlos Sainz’s Williams. We had a slower stop and had to wait for traffic to clear in the passing lane. This delayed our exit from the pits, and in the end, that changed our race and denied us the chance to fight for the podium. We were stuck behind him for the rest of the afternoon, and it was impossible to try to overtake".

Reflecting on the mistake in the final laps, Antonelli explains what happened:

"I pushed to the maximum to stay ahead of Norris in the final stages, and unfortunately, I pushed a bit too hard. I lost control at turn 9 and then had a strong oversteer moment. I was lucky to save the car, but unfortunately, I lost the position to the McLaren. It was a frustrating and disappointing way to end what had been a good race up until that point. Now, we’ll focus on Abu Dhabi and try to secure second place in the Constructors' Championship with a strong performance to finish my rookie season".

With his fifth-place finish, Andrea Kimi Antonelli crossed the line just ahead of teammate George Russell, who was not satisfied with his performance:

"Unfortunately, I lost several positions on the first lap, which compromised my race. The inside line, from where I started, had less grip, and that penalized me in the early corners. I got stuck at the second corner because I lost the rear end, and then I lost another position at our first pit stop because we had to wait for the passing lane to clear. We fought where we could, but as we saw on Saturday, it’s very difficult to overtake here. We had to be patient, and even though sixth place isn’t the result we hoped for today, we earned some more points in the battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship. We’re in a good position to secure second place next weekend in Abu Dhabi. Now it’s just us and Red Bull Racing, so we hope to get the job done. But we won’t play it safe. We want to finish the season, and this era of our sport, on a high, so we’ll be aiming for the podium".

The overtaking maneuver by Lando Norris on Andrea Kimi Antonelli has become a media case. Or rather, it shouldn’t have been - because it’s clear that the Mercedes driver simply made a slight error under the immense pressure from the English driver - but it became one due to the usual accusations from Helmut Marko. The Red Bull Racing consultant accused the rookie of deliberately letting the World Championship leader pass, not once but twice. However, it seems Marko may have been confused, as during the first part of the race, just before the first pit stops for the two English cars, it was Piastri who overtook Antonelli:

"Yes, it happened twice where he more or less signaled for Lando to pass. Did he do it on purpose? It was that obvious. And the first time was the same".

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, did not appreciate these harsh words and defended Antonelli, explicitly stating how ridiculous Marko’s conspiracy theory was:

"God bless him, Helmut. It’s absolute nonsense, and I’m speechless just hearing it. We’re fighting for second place in the championship, which is important for us. Kimi is fighting for a potential third. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to say something like that? And it annoys me even more because I’m already frustrated with the race itself, with how it went. I’m frustrated with the mistake at the end, frustrated with other mistakes, and then I have to hear this nonsense. It leaves me speechless".

In the heat of the race’s final moments, even Verstappen’s race engineer Lambiase thought Antonelli had let Norris pass. But Wolff clarified things face-to-face with the Red Bull Racing engineer, without any further polemics:

"I spoke to Lambiase, I saw him, and he was obviously very emotional at that moment, because without the overtaking, they needed a third place, I believe, to win the Championship, or a fourth place, I don’t know, but they needed a position. Now they need more. I told him that Kimi just went off track. He had a small issue at the previous corner and then entered the left-hander with reduced speed, accelerated, and that’s when he lost the position. It happens. So everything’s clear with Lambiase. He said he hadn’t seen the situation".

This was perhaps one of Charles Leclerc’s most anonymous races of his career. In the end, in complete silence, the Monegasque crossed the finish line in eighth position. This result, however, condemned Ferrari to fourth place in the standings, a massive flop for a team that at the beginning of the year believed it could fight for the title:

"Fourth in the Constructors’ Championship? It really hurts, I’m very sorry. I don’t like to create false expectations, but in the end, we have to say what we think, and at the start of the year, I really believed we had done a good job. The result is that our work wasn’t enough, and we have to do much more to reach our goals. We’re working so hard, we’re doing a lot. We’ll see how it goes next year. I also know that from the moment we saw how we were doing after the first three or four races, we sacrificed a bit of the second half of the season to focus on next year’s car, so it’s not a huge surprise to struggle this season".

However, even abandoning the current project entirely doesn’t justify a flop like the one seen from Ferrari in Lusail:

"You can’t explain a performance like this by saying we started developing the next car. I’m not happy with that, and we need to find answers. But above all, I’m sorry because wherever we go, we get so much support, in both good times and difficult moments, and I know I keep repeating myself by saying that our time will come. I’ll keep repeating it because I believe it, but I’m sorry for the fans who wait for us and always support us".

Zero points for Lewis Hamilton in Qatar as well. The British driver finished the race in twelfth place, and he now has just two points ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the standings:

"Leclerc and I gave everything to try and extract pace from this car. This race shows how much the competitors have developed longer. We struggle to stay ahead of Williams. What do I need? It’s not something I want to talk about publicly; there are many things that need to change. In the next few months, we’ll need to keep what worked and change what didn’t".

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who had even talked about victory just a week earlier, doesn’t make excuses and analyzes the failure, saying:

"We’re not bringing anything positive from this weekend. We knew it would be a tougher weekend than the previous one, but we didn’t find the right setup for the entire weekend. We struggled a lot to get the car into the right window with very high pressures. We clearly took a step back compared to the past weekends. Two races ago, we were on the podium, but this weekend we struggled for tenth place. I think this weekend was a matter of tire pressures. We brought the cars with six psi higher than the previous races. That was a key factor for us. Next weekend in Abu Dhabi, we’ll return to the standard conditions, and hopefully, we’ll have a better weekend. We definitely need to bounce back as a team. I completely understand the frustration of the drivers, the team, the mechanics, and the engineers after a weekend like this. But starting tomorrow, we’ll get back to work to do our best in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, 99% of the workload is focused on next year. We need to prepare the potential of the car for 2026".

Lewis Hamilton’s outbursts also caused some talk, but the French manager justifies his driver and looks ahead to 2026:

"It’s all down to the fact that the last two weekends have been more difficult for us. That made everyone’s life much harder. Frustration rises when you go out in Q1, and it’s something that’s incomprehensible. We need to react and work even harder from the next day. It’s key for Abu Dhabi, for the winter, and for all of us. We need to keep in mind that we have more than 1000 people working very hard in the factory, and we all need to push in the same direction".