Just under an hour before the Qatar Grand Prix started, it was confirmed by Scuderia Ferrari that Carlos Sainz would not take the start “due to a fuel system issue on his car”. He was due to start in P12.
A spate of Power Unit element changes forced Sergio Perez to start from pit lane as they were “replaced without the approval of the FIA Technical Delegate during Parc Ferme.”
14 of the 19 starters picked mediums. However, Lewis Hamilton started on softs due to his less than ideal tyre selection available for the race. Bottas, Lawson and Magnussen also went with the C3 compound. Sergio Perez from the pit lane was on hards as the race got going.
At the start, Verstappen got away well and held off the Mercedes as they headed into turn 1.
With Hamilton using his softs to try and launch himself around the outside, he made contact with Russell. The right rear tyre from the seven-time World Champion’s car fell off such was the severity of the contact. Russell made it back to the pits.
With Alonso having to avoid Russell’s car, Piastri took full advantage and gained four spots on the first lap.
Behind the Safety Car, Verstappen led Piastri, Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Albon.
Perez had moved up to P13 thanks to the stops of Russell, Bottas, Magnussen, Stroll and Lawson.
On lap 6, Hulkenberg passed Tsunoda for P8 but was immediately handed a 10-second penalty for starting in the wrong grid spot. He parked in Sainz’s after forgetting the Spaniard didn’t start the race.
After a lot of radio messages behind the Safety Car, Russell started to focus on charging through the pack, overtaking Perez, Zhou, Sargeant to move into P11 on lap 9.
The British driver continued his charge as he overtook Hulkenberg and Albon to be P2 on lap 14 as a flurry of the top runners boxed. He boxed on the next lap and dropped to P15.
Verstappen, Albon, Perez and Zhou were the only four at this stage not to pit. Bottas, Stroll, Piastri, Magnussen, Alonso and Leclerc completed the top 10.
After Verstappen boxed on lap 17, Albon led for a lap before pitting himself.
In the massive fight behind the Dutchman, a crucial moment came on lap 19 as Lando Norris swept around the outside into turn 1 for P6. McLaren teammate Piastri quickly worked his way through the earlier stoppers to work his way back up into P2.
On lap 20, Verstappen led Piastri, Alonso, Bottas, Stroll, Norris, Leclerc, Ocon, Gasly and Russell.
Norris continued his overtaking masterclass at turn 1 as he swept around the outside of Stroll to take P5. As Bottas pitted a lap later – along with Stroll – it left him in P4.
Perez started to come alive on the mediums after running on hards in the first stint, overtaking both Williams drivers and setting purple laps to move himself into 9th.
After getting pushed off the track by Gasly at turn 1 initially, Russell eventually managed to sweep around the outside at the same corner on lap 23.
The second stops for the drivers who didn’t pit behind the Safety Car started on lap 26 as Piastri came in. Critically in the fight for P3 in the race and P4 in the Constructors’ Championship, Norris managed to overcut Fernando Alonso and take that spot.
The order on lap 30 was Verstappen, Russell, Perez, Piastri, Albon, Norris, Zhou, Alonso, Bottas and Stroll. The Red Bulls, Bottas and Zhou were the only drivers who had made a single stop at this point.
Perez came in on lap 32 and had to serve his 5-second penalty as he exceeded track limits one too many times.
Running in P4 after Russell and Perez pitted, Fernando Alonso lost the rear at turn 2 and went through the gravel, losing places to Zhou, Russell and Leclerc.
The Mercedes star continued his fantastic charge as he breezed by Zhou for 4th.
With 20 laps to go, Verstappen had a 7s lead over Piastri, with Norris, Russell, Leclerc, Alonso, Ocon, Bottas, Gasly and Stroll completing the top 10.
Sergio Perez, who dropped to P11 after his stop, got another penalty for the same violation as earlier in the Grand Prix.
It was day over for Logan Sargeant on lap 41 as the American was feeling extremely unwell in the cockpit.
The second and third drivers to be hit with track limit penalties were Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly in quick succession.
Piastri and Norris came in on laps 44 and 45 respectively. The Australian retained his position over the Brit.
A fourth driver ended up in the penalty column as Albon joined Perez, Stroll and Gasly in exceeding track limits.
From P2, Russell pitted on lap 51 and the softs got fitted to his car. He dropped behind the McLarens and came out in P4.
Gasly had swept around the outside at turn 1 on lap 52 of Stroll, but he went off the track in doing so. As he gave the place back on the main straight at the start of the next tour, it allowed Sergio Perez to sneak though as well. The Frenchman returned the favour a couple of laps later as he went around the outside at turn 1 – but did so by going over the white line.
Out front, Max Verstappen delivered another outstanding performance to take the win and fastest lap. The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris rounded out the podium as they continue their surge towards Aston Martin.
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Russell recovered to an excellent 4th, importantly beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the fight for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.
Alonso, Bottas, Zhou and Perez completed the top 10. The Mexican was handed a third penalty for track limit violations and dropped a spot because of it.
Alfa Romeo’s excellent double-points finish has moved them up to P8 in the Constructors’ Championship, and they’re now just 8 points adrift of Williams. A perfect day of strategy and pace has given them a chance.
