In Lusail, Max Verstappen takes the victory, while the Constructors’ Championship title battle is postponed to Yas Marina next week. Five drivers were forced to retire during the race. Here’s the report from the penultimate F1 race of the 2024 season in Qatar.
The checkered flag waves at the end of the Qatar Grand Prix, crowning Max Verstappen as the race winner. This victory follows his triumph at the Brazilian Grand Prix after the Las Vegas round, and is another performance that will surely be remembered in sports history. The Dutch driver crossed the line ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
Meanwhile, McLaren’s other driver, Lando Norris, finished in 10th place (with an additional point for the fastest lap) after a penalty from the race stewards severely compromised his race, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished 6th. In the final race of the season, Sauber finally scored points with Zhou Guanyu in 8th place, marking the Swiss team’s first points of the year. Pierre Gasly also rejoined the points in 5th place, just behind George Russell.
The fight for the Constructors’ Championship between Ferrari and McLaren is therefore postponed to Abu Dhabi, the final race of the 2024 season next week. If Ferrari wins, it will bring the Constructors’ Trophy back to Maranello after 16 years; if McLaren holds on to the lead, it will mark their first Constructors’ title in 26 years.
Race Highlights from the Qatar Grand Prix
The lights go out in Lusail – George Russell’s start from pole position, after Max Verstappen was penalized for driving too slowly during his formation lap in Q3, was good but not enough to hold onto the lead. Verstappen wasted no time and immediately attacked Russell for the lead, with Lando Norris joining the battle and briefly taking 2nd place, pushing Russell to 3rd. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc passed Oscar Piastri in a risky move that nearly resulted in contact. A yellow flag and a subsequent safety car came out during the first lap due to a collision at Turn 1 involving Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon, with Franco Colapinto also forced to retire through no fault of his own. Hulkenberg managed to return to the pits with a repairable puncture, but Ocon and Colapinto were forced to retire.
Meanwhile, Alex Albon and Lance Stroll were at the back, with Stroll receiving a 10-second penalty. After the first few laps, the top 10 positions were: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Yuki Tsunoda. The safety car returned to the pits at the end of Lap 4, with Lando Norris right behind Verstappen. Oscar Piastri overtook Charles Leclerc for 4th place with an outside move. A potential false start by Lewis Hamilton was under investigation, which would lead to a 5-second penalty for him. Aston Martin decided to retire Lance Stroll’s car. Pierre Gasly passed Yuki Tsunoda for 10th, moving into the points.
Lap 15 – Lando Norris temporarily took the additional point for the fastest lap with a time of 1:25.535, while his teammate was chasing George Russell. Oscar Piastri made a mistake and went off track without damaging his car. Furthermore, the Australian driver from the Woking team did not have the best start to the race and would be investigated after the race for dangerous driving entering the pit lane. However, Max Verstappen responded to the British driver by lowering the fastest lap time even further to 1:24.896. At this point in the Qatar Grand Prix, Sauber was having a strong race, with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas both in 12th place. Oscar Piastri closed the gap to George Russell, reducing the deficit to +0.453 seconds. Leading the pit stops, George Russell, the pole sitter, came into the pits for a tire change. However, during the stop, he encountered issues with his right rear tire, which delayed his pit stop.
Halfway through the race, Max Verstappen continued to lead, followed by Lando Norris who was 1.870 seconds behind. There was a gap to 3rd place, where Oscar Piastri was trying to defend from Charles Leclerc. Behind them were Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell who, struggling on hard tires, couldn’t get past Sainz.
Lap 34 – A dramatic incident unfolded when both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz suffered punctures, likely caused by debris from Alex Albon’s left mirror on the straight, combined with tire conditions. The safety car was deployed again, and at this moment, Piastri, Verstappen, Norris, and Leclerc all pitted. At the restart, Verstappen battled wheel to wheel with Norris, but Norris wisely backed off to avoid damage, while Leclerc was attacked again by Piastri. The Ferrari driver managed to hold his position.
Lap 40 – Pierre Gasly overtook Carlos Sainz, but the Spaniard fought back unsuccessfully. A yellow flag came out for the loss of Sergio Perez’s car, and a Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Nico Hulkenberg also retired after going off into the gravel. During the yellow flag period, it was noted that Lando Norris did not slow down, a situation that was pointed out by Max Verstappen over the radio. The stewards handed Norris a 10-second Stop-and-Go penalty, requiring him to return to the pits and remain stationary for 10 seconds before rejoining the race. His race was effectively ruined, but Norris tried to recover and fought his way back into the points, overtaking Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, and Valtteri Bottas to finish in 10th place. In the midfield, Kevin Magnussen passed Alex Albon to move up to 10th, relegating Albon to 11th.
Photos: Oracle Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari HP, McLaren.