With no room for celebrations, the new three-time Formula 1 world champion said after completing the World Championship in the sprint race on Saturday. Max Verstappenreturned to the track to become a star Make a new show of force and take a quiet victory at the Qatar Grand Prix. This ranks him fourteenth in his personal rankings this season and 49th in his history. At this point, with the drivers’ and constructors’ championships already decided, Max and Red Bull could create a whirlwind of events over the next five races on the calendar.
Podium fight, Fernando Alonso He was submerged in water for most of the race, put ‘spicy’ in the Losail circuit. McLaren, together with Red Bull, was announced as the fastest car of the weekend, and Oscar Piastri, who won the sprint race, repeated the second place on the podium, this time after fighting fiercely with his teammate. Lando Norristhird. Alonso had to settle for sixth place Overall it was a better than expected weekend for Aston Martin.
Chaos at Mercedes
Tire strategy, already a key factor in every race, has been further conditioned by teams after the FIA determined that no set of tires could last more than 18 laps, given the wear and tear on Pirelli’s Qatar circuits. At least three stops to complete 57 laps.
The first blow came at the beginning. Verstappen was flawless, escaped cleanly and Hamilton with soft and very aggressive rubber, interrupted the trajectory of his teammate Russell, who was unable to avoid the collision. As the seven-time champion headed for the gravel, Russell managed to stay on track but fell to the back of the pack. Piastri and Alonso benefited greatly from the contact between the two Mercedes and finished second and third respectively, ahead of the first safety car.
Carlos Sainz’s absenceAfter Ferrari mechanics detected a fuel leak that they could not repair before the race, the teams were left with Leclerc as their only trump card in the battle with Mercedes for second place, but Hamilton was KO’d. It diluted the advantage of the ‘silver arrows’.
He gave Alonso a double scare
Verstappen is continued at full speed And increasing the gap ahead of the race, Piastri managed to escape the pressure from Alonso after exiting the track, which the Asturian managed to save in extreme fashion thanks to the escape. This incident allowed Leclerc to get dangerously close to Fernando, but the Monegasque had three laps less to spare than the Spaniard.
First pit stop lane started and following respective pit stops Alonso won the position Leclerc with bold progressat the exact same spot on the track where, moments before, he had received a whiplash that had nearly knocked him out of the fray.
On his second pass over the potholes, Fernando opted for a hard pass and his car gave him another blow and went for a spin on the gravel. This caused him to lose nine seconds and the challenge with Russell and Leclerc.. Pérez received a 5-second penalty due to track limits (this was not the only penalty) and the two McLaren drivers from Piastri and Norris confirmed their pace to place behind Verstappen on the virtual podium, with Russell already more than 11 seconds behind. 20 laps left.
Logan Sargeant wanted to leave Williams and walked out of Williams with signs of dehydration. At his third and final stop, Alonso raced mid-race and attempted to chase Leclerc to fifth place. The extreme heat in Qatar also affected other drivers, and Fernando asked his team to pour water on the seat during his stop: “I’m literally burning up,” he warned.
Verstappen crossed the finish line alone, followed by Piastri, five seconds behind. Norris beats Russell to take third place on the podium and Alonso dropped to sixth behind the wheel of the Aston Martin after abandoning the direct challenge with Leclerc’s Ferrari, which rounded out the ‘top five’. All in all, a good balance for Fernando to take points from Hamilton in the fight for third place in the World Cup.