Just a handful of days after last weekend’s headline-making Formula 1 round in Las Vegas, where McLaren suffered a self-inflicted double disqualification, the on-track action has resumed in Qatar, with a Sprint race yesterday followed by today’s Grand Prix. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri dominated the Sprint, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen showed pure class to outpace the McLarens in this afternoon’s key event, a victory which meant the four-time champion climbed to second in the fight for the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Piastri and is now only 12 points behind Lando Norris.

As McLaren arrived in Qatar, Norris was still the clear favourite to claim the Drivers’ Championship title due to his 24-point advantage over both his teammate Piastri and Verstappen, but Piastri qualified on pole position for the Sprint ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Norris. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s poor season continued as he finished no better than 18th fastest among the 20 drivers, following his last-place qualifying position a week ago in Las Vegas. Come yesterday’s Sprint, Piastri put in a quality performance to take a comfortable lights-to-flag victory ahead of Russell, Norris and Verstappen, with the Australian reducing the title gap to his teammate by two points.

Qualifying for today’s Grand Prix followed the Sprint, and it was Piastri who again performed best under intense pressure to outpace his rivals, with Norris, Verstappen and Russell set to occupy the grid slots just to his rear. This left the much-anticipated main event of the weekend to begin at 7pm local time today in Lusail, and Piastri led the way, but Verstappen instantly demoted Norris to third before the first corner.

Lap seven contact between Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly then brought the safety car into play, and crucially every driver bar the McLaren duo pitted for the first of two mandated stops. This left Piastri and Norris out front, before they too pitted just before mid-race distance, leaving Verstappen to take the lead. 18 cars pitted on lap 32 due to the limit on running tyres for no more than 25 laps for wear and safety reasons, with the McLarens back in P1/2 before their own second stops, leaving Verstappen with a significant lead and Piastri and Norris second and fifth, respectively.

Norris improved to fourth on the penultimate lap after a mistake by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, but the podium trio consisted of a happy Verstappen, a dejected Piastri and a delighted Carlos Sainz for Williams.

So, we have just one further Grand Prix on this year’s extensive F1 calendar, and it will take place next weekend in Abu Dhabi, the now traditional home of the season finale. What a race it should prove to be too, with Norris, Verstappen and Piastri set to have a three-way battle to become this year’s world champion. Bring it on. Whatever you may have planned for next Sunday, make sure you can follow the action live from Yas Marina with effect from 1pm GMT!

2025 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1hr24m38.241s
2 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +7.995s
3 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +22.665s
4 Lando Norris (McLaren) +23.315s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +28.317s
6 George Russell (Mercedes) +48.599s
7 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +54.045s
8 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +56.795s
9 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1m0.073s
10 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1m1.770s
11 Alex Albon (Williams) +1m6.931s
12 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m17.730s
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +1m24.812s
14 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
15 Esteban Ocon (Haas) Lapped
16 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
17 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Retired
18 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) Retired
19 Oliver Bearman (Haas) Retired
20 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) Retired

2025 Formula 1 Qatar Sprint race
1 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 26m51.033s
2 George Russell (Mercedes) +4.951s
3 Lando Norris (McLaren) +6.279s
4 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +9.054s
5 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +19.327s
6 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +21.491s
7 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +24.556s
8 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +27.333s
9 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +28.206s
10 Alex Albon (Williams) +28.925s
11 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +32.966s
12 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +34.529s
13 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +35.182s
14 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +36.916s
15 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +38.838s
16 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +39.638s
17 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +46.171s
18 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1m9.534s
19 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1m17.960s
20 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1m20.804s


2025 Drivers’ Championship
1 Lando Norris 408
2 Max Verstappen 396
3 Oscar Piastri 392

2025 Constructors’ Championship
1 McLaren 800
2 Mercedes 459
3 Red Bull 426