An enthralling, but not overly exciting, race saw Max Verstappen triumph easily in Qatar, while behind him, with Lando Norris' mistake, the constructors' championship was virtually wide open for the final race.
George Russell had a good start, but Max Verstappen reacted even better, taking the lead straight away. Lando Norris, an unexpected third, almost put both of them in trouble, and after two corners was already fighting for the lead, but Verstappen held off his attack. Further back, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were involved, which led first to a yellow flag and then to a safety car phase. The other Williams was also not doing well, Alexander Albon was lapped by Lance Stroll, but at least he was able to continue the race. Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, was rewarded with a puncture for his attempted overtaking...
Verstappen managed the restart well, with no major changes behind him, only Oscar Piastri managed to gain positions. After an explosive start to the race, he practically flattened out halfway through the race, with the group stabilizing. Verstappen, Norris, Russell, the two Ferraris and the others... The battles and mistakes were only seen at the back, but even these did not raise the heart rate too much. The pit stops came, but Russell made a big mistake, practically dropping out of the fight. The Briton saw his places and his podium chances take flight, with the Scuderia Ferrari drivers showing up with good tire management and a pit strategy.
A major problem was caused by Alexander Albon's broken mirror, which remained in the middle of the home straight, causing a series of punctures... Another safety car followed, another restart, during which Verstappen, not on warmed-up tyres, made such a mistake that Norris should have easily passed him. However, this did not happen, so the standings remained the same as before. Another SC came, and another drama... Norris received a penalty for not respecting a yellow flag section, and the ten seconds meant that the Briton also made it difficult to earn points. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri were in the lead, and this standings did not change until the chequered flag.
