F1 own goal — McLaren cost their drivers and pushed the title to the final race

Incredible Formula 1 race in Qatar! Unbelievable! Hardly anyone could have expected this outcome. There was speculation that Lando Norris could secure first place in the championship with a victory, but instead, Max Verstappen (1:24:38.241) wreaked havoc at the top and, with the win, overtook Oscar Piastri (7.995 seconds behind), who can be considered today’s biggest loser.

The turning point was primarily a team error between laps seven and eight. At that moment, Red Bull made a brilliant call to pit while the safety car was on track. All drivers rushed into the pits — everyone except the McLaren duo! From that moment, it became clear that the Qatar Grand Prix would go to Max Verstappen, while Piastri and Norris would have to recover.

The championship leader ultimately came out relatively unscathed (408 points), especially considering he had a car issue around lap 40. He finished fourth, maintaining a 12-point lead over Max (396), who is now second. As for Piastri — he has every right to be furious with his team. He finished second in the race but lost second place in the championship. After the Dutch Grand Prix, he had a 104-point lead over Verstappen; now he trails by just four points (392).

Carlos Sainz finished third (22.665 seconds behind), successfully holding off the charging Norris, while Kimi Antonelli made a mistake at Turn 10 near the end of the race, surrendering fourth place to the championship leader.

It’s worth noting that on lap seven, there was an incident when Nico Hulkenberg went off track after a collision with George Russell. This event indirectly influenced the final standings, which few could have predicted. Later, on lap 46, Fernando Alonso spun, losing significant time, although he had been having a solid race in his Aston Martin. He eventually finished seventh.

All in all, the Qatar Grand Prix disrupted the championship standings. Whether Max can achieve the impossible in Abu Dhabi, or whether McLaren will stage a comeback, we’ll find out next weekend.

FORMULA 1 - TOP 5 BEFORE THE FINAL RACE

1. Norris - 408 pts

2. Verstappen - 396 pts

3. Piastri - 392 pts

4. Russell - 309 pts

5. Leclerc - 230 pts