A fast-paced but unexciting race ended with a comfortable victory for Max Verstappen in Qatar, while behind him a mistake by Lando Norris effectively opened up the fight for the Constructors' Championship in the final race.
George Russell started well, but Max Verstappen reacted even better, immediately taking the lead. Lando Norris, in third, almost surprised both of them, and after two corners he was already fighting for first place, but Verstappen would fend him off. At the back of the field, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were in a fight, which first ended in a yellow flag, then a safety car. The second Williams was also unlucky, Alexander Albon was spun by Lance Stroll, but at least he could continue racing. Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, paid for his manoeuvre with a flat tyre...
Verstappen made a good restart, there were no major changes behind him, only Oscar Piastri managed to gain a few positions. After the fireworks at the beginning of the race, the pace dropped significantly in the middle, the field stabilized. Verstappen, Norris, Russell, two Ferraris and the rest... We could only see struggles and mistakes in the back of the field, but these also did not raise the pulse too much. Then came the pit stops, which Russell made very badly, which practically eliminated him from further competition. His place and chances for the podium were taken by Scuderia Ferrari drivers, who showed a good tire strategy and one-stop tactics.
A serious mix-up saw Alexander Albon lose his mirror, which was left in the middle of the finish straight, causing a series of failures... There was another safety car, another restart, during which Verstappen made a mistake on unheated tyres, which should have been an easy pass for Norris. That didn't work out, so the order remained the same as before. But then came another SC and more drama... Norris was given a penalty for not taking into account the yellow flag, and ten seconds meant that the Briton was struggling to score points. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri were in the lead, and that order remained the same for the rest of the race.
