F1 News: Verstappen schools the field to win 2024 Qatar GP

World Driving Champion Max Verstappen out dueled Lando Norris for most of the race and then beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by 6-seconds to win the 2024 Qatar GP at the Lusail International Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Verstappen got the jump on George Russell at the start and never put a wheel wrong, despite Lando Norris being on his heels in the superior McLaren for 85% of the race, until Norris received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a yellow flag infringement along the start-finish straight.

It was Verstappen’s 9th F1 win of the year and 63rd of his career driving his Red Bull-Honda, and it was his revenge on the pro-British race stewards that took his pole position away in a controversial penalty.

It was a big turn around from the Sprint Race on Saturday when the Red Bull cars were nowhere.

When the lights went out, Mercedes’ polesitter George Russell made a good start from pole, but Verstappen swiftly drew alongside and then out dragged the Mercedes driver into Turn 1. As the battling pair edged towards the outside of the corner,  Norris, starting from third, tried to sneak through on the inside. The McLaren driver was briefly ahead as he and Verstappen went towards Turn 2 but the Red Bull driver resisted and held the lead he would never relinquish.

Verstappen then settled into his first stint, though the champion was never truly comfortable as Norris repeatedly nibbled away at a gap that hovered around 1.6 seconds for the first 20 laps.

Russell was the first of the front-runners to make a pit stop, on lap 24, but a stuck right rear wheel mean that after spending seven seconds in his pit box, the Mercedes driver dropped down to 11th place.

The yellow flag period that caused the most chaos was when Alex Albon’s wing mirror flew off and was laying in the middle of the front straight. After several laps and no Safety Car, it was run over by Valtteri Bottas to produce a shower of debris along the straight – which was likely the culprit in a series of mid-race punctures for Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lewis Hamilton. Finally, the Safety Car was deployed on lap 32 of 57.

Verstappen pitted for Hard tires and emerged in the lead behind the SC. His rivals also made their pit stops and Norris slotted back into second. Leclerc, however, managed to jump in front of Piastri, while Pérez also profited from the timing of the SC and he made his way to P5 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Russell and Sainz.

The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 39 and Verstappen was almost caught out by Norris. The McLaren driver stuck with the leader and aided by a slipstream on the straight he attacked around the outside. Verstappen defended hard and he was able to hold the lead as they went through the opening corners. Behind them Leclerc fought off the hard-charging Piastri but Gasly was passed by Russell.

There was disaster for Pérez though. Just ahead of the SC leaving the track the Mexican seemed to lose power and then suddenly spun in the final corner. He was forced to retire from the race.

At the back of the field, Hülkenberg spun off and the SC was released yet again. This time Verstappen’s getaway was flawless and he his lead comfortably as Norris was forced to resist pressure from Leclerc.

Norris’ challenge then evaporated. The Briton was hit with a 10 second stop/go penalty for failing to slow for the yellow flags ahead of the first SC period and after pitting on lap 45 he dropped to last place. He would recover to 10th place at the flag.

At the front, Verstappen was comfortable and with no further incidents he was able to cruise home six seconds ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, who were separated by less than a tenth of a second.

“It was a very good race, the car was a lot better today,” said Verstappen. “That first stint was very, very fast – me and Lando were pushing each other, always within 1.8s and it was a lot of fun out there.

“A few Safety Car moments, but very happy. It’s been a while in the dry since we’ve been this competitive. It got a bit spicy into Turn 1 [with Norris] but very happy to win here.

“The last few years we’ve been competitive [in Abu Dhabi] so hopefully we can fight for a win there again.”

Oscar Piastri was third for McLaren, 6.8s behind Verstappen, in a race that featured three Safety Car periods and one Virtual Safety Car. If not for that, Verstappen would likely have finished further ahead.

“I’m really happy. Honestly, I would have signed straight away for second after a weekend like this at a track like this – our car characteristics don’t fit with this track,” said Leclerc. The fight will go all the way to Abu Dhabi.

“For the debris I was staying left and hoping it didn’t bite me – it didn’t but it was unlucky for Carlos. It’s exciting, 21 points to McLaren is a lot, but we’ll give it our all.”

The Constructors battle now goes down to the final race next weekend in Abu Dhabi with McLaren leading Ferrari 640 points to 619 points. Red Bull will finish 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship. Verstappen is the first F1 driver to become world champion with a car that’s 3rd or worse in the constructors’ in over 40 YEARS.

“It was a tricky race, the cars at the front had very similar pace so it was very tough to make inroads into DRS,” said Piastri. “Nice to end up on the podium, but not quite the result we were hoping for.

“I’m not sure what Lando’s penalty was for, obviously quite a big one. Going to take everything we’ve got to seal the deal.”

George Russell came home 4th for Mercedes, 14.1 seconds behind Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-5 for Alpine, 16.8 seconds behind Verstappen, while Carlos Sainz Jr. brought the 2nd Ferrari home in 6th after the earlier puncture.

Fernando Alonso was seventh ahead of a brilliant Zhou Guanyu who scored Kick Sauber’s long-awaited debut points of the season by claiming a popular eighth place, also earning him the Driver of the Day accolade.

Kevin Magnussen and Lando Norris in 10th after his penalty were 9th and 10th.

2024 Qatar GP Results – 57 Laps