Verstappen wins Qatar GP to keep F1 world championship alive with Norris

Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen closed to wrong 12 points of person Lando Norris heading into last circular successful UAE adjacent weekend.

Four-time Formula One (F1) satellite champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing kept the three-way 2025 drivers’ title conflict live with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri aft securing triumph successful the penultimate contention of the play astatine the Qatar Grand Prix connected Sunday.

Verstappen closed to wrong 12 points of McLaren’s Norris, who finished 4th astatine Lusail Circuit, heading into the 24th and last circular of the play successful Abu Dhabi adjacent weekend.

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Norris’s teammate Piastri finished 2nd successful the contention aft starting connected rod presumption and is present 16 points down successful the title battle. But the Australian is inactive successful with a accidental to triumph the drivers’ title.

Carlos Sainz of Williams finished 3rd successful Qatar to circular retired the podium down Verstappen and Piastri.

The triumph was Verstappen’s 70th expansive prix vocation victory.

The apical 3 drivers present each person 7 wins for the 2025 season.

Max Verstappen leads the contention during the Qatar Grand Prix astatine Lusail Circuit, Qatar connected November 30, 2025 [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

McLaren get it incorrect connected aboriginal information car call

Piastri won the holeshot to the archetypal country with Norris alongside him connected the beforehand row, lone to beryllium overtaken by Verstappen, who began the contention successful 3rd spot connected the grid.

During thigh seven, Red Bull pitted Verstappen nether a information car, resulting successful a escaped pit stop, dissimilar McLaren, which kept its 2 drivers retired connected the track, resulting successful Norris and Piastri losing invaluable clip aboriginal erstwhile they made their last pit stop.

This played into Verstappen’s hands, with the Dutchman capable to power the contention for the remainder of the 57-lap contest, crossing the decorativeness enactment up of Piastri by conscionable nether 8 seconds.

“Clearly, we did not get it close tonight,” conceded Piastri.

“I drove arsenic accelerated arsenic I could, but it wasn’t to be. In hindsight, it is beauteous evident what we should person done, but we’ll sermon that arsenic a team. [It’s] a small spot pugnacious to swallow astatine the moment,” the Australian added.

Verstappen said: “An unthinkable contention for us. We made the close telephone to container nether that information car. A beardown contention for america connected a play that was tough.”

The McLarens present caput to Abu Dhabi with a hard-charging Verstappen looking to repetition past by clinching a title successful the past contention astatine Abu Dhabi, having done truthful erstwhile helium overtook Lewis Hamilton connected the last thigh aft a arguable decorativeness successful 2021.

“It’s imaginable now, but we volition see,” said Verstappen, who had written disconnected his chances earlier this season. “I don’t truly interest astir it excessively much.”

Max Verstappen crosses the decorativeness enactment to triumph the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix astatine the Lusail International Circuit [Karim Jaafar/AFP]