‘I’m not an idiot’: Verstappen claims Qatar F1 win, Piastri on podium as Norris blows up
Max Verstappen followed up his Formula 1 drivers’ title with another win in an incident-packed Qatar Grand Prix which saw Australia’s Oscar Piastri claim a superb third place.
Verstappen, who’d been dropped from pole to second after an impeding incident with George Russell in Saturday’s qualifying, gained his revenge on the Mercedes driver in Sunday’s chaotic race proper.
But crucially, the race also saw Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris hit with a penalty that saw Ferrari cut their constructors’ championship lead from 30 points to 21 thanks to Charles Leclerc’s second place and a solid sixth for Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The constructors’ title will now be decided at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next week.
Sunday’s race was packed with incidents as the safety car came out three times with British driver Norris dropped to the back of the field for failing to slow under yellow warning flags.
At one stage, it looked like McLaren could seal their first team title since 1998 in Qatar as Norris and Piastri both eyed podium places.
Speaking to Sky Sports on his 10-second stop-and-go penalty, Norris said: “Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong at the minute.
“Apparently I didn’t slow under the yellow. I’m not an idiot, if I knew there was a yellow, I would have slowed down.”
Verstappen, who banked his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas last week, has won two of the last three races after not having had a victory since June before then.
“Karma is a wonderful thing. You definitely did not drive unnecessarily slowly today. Great job,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner over the team radio after Verstappen took the chequered flag.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” Dutchman Verstappen said.
“Very happy. It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive. Very proud of everyone within the team.”
The win was the quadruple world champion’s ninth of the season and second in a row in Qatar.
Russell was fourth, ahead of Pierre Gasly continuing Alpine’s recent good form, with Sainz sixth and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso seventh.
Zhou Guanyu picked up his and Sauber’s first points in eighth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen for Haas in ninth and Norris eventually 10th after having been dropped to 15th by his penalty and recorded the fastest lap.
