Formula 1 News: Verstappen beats Piastri to win 2025 Qatar GP

Max Verstappen (pictured) turned chaos into conquest at the Qatar Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Lusail International Circuit, capitalizing on McLaren’s strategic hesitation to snag a commanding victory and drag the 2025 Drivers’ Championship fight kicking and screaming to the Yas Marina showdown.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In a night race defined by a perfectly timed Safety Car and tire gambles, the Red Bull ace finished 7.995 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz stealing third in a shock underdog podium. Lando Norris, the points leader, clawed to fourth after a late charge, but the damage was done—leaving Verstappen just 12 points adrift heading into the finale.

A Start Straight Out of a Thriller

Polesitter Piastri launched flawlessly off the line, but chaos erupted at Turn 1 as Verstappen, starting second, muscled past teammate Norris on the run down the main straight. The McLaren duo—Piastri out front, Norris slotting into third—quickly flexed their superior pace, stretching a gap to the chasing pack. It looked like papaya paradise: fresh mediums singing under the Lusail floodlights, with the team eyeing a one-two lockout. Verstappen lurked ominously, but McLaren’s simulations glowed green. What could go wrong?

Everything, as it turned out, on lap seven.

Safety Car mistake Seals McLaren’s Fate

A high-speed tangle at Turn 1 between Haas’s Nico Hülkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly flipped the script. Hülkenberg limped back to the pits and retired, his Sauber beached in the gravel, prompting a full Safety Car deployment—just as the field hit the 25-lap tire limit mandated by Qatar’s quirky rules. It was the ultimate strategy fork: pit for fresh rubber and risk track position, or stay out for clean air and pray for another caution?

McLaren blinked. Piastri, screaming into his radio as the pit entry loomed—”What are we doing? We’re getting pretty close!”—waited in vain for the call. Discussions raged in Woking, the team banking on a field freeze and potential second yellow. Instead, Verstappen pitted instantly, emerging on hards with a golden undercut. The rest of the grid followed suit—Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams—all leaping at the opportunity. Only the McLarens, Esteban Ocon, and a lone straggler held firm.

The restart was Verstappen’s playground. With a free pitstop handed to him on a silver platter by the blundering McLaren team, Verstappen just had to keep the superior McLarens in sight in third.  Piastri finally boxed on lap 24, Norris a lap later, rejoining in a DRS train behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin—who, in a sly team play, had backed up the field to shield the papaya duo from traffic. But the damage was irreversible. Verstappen was now out in front by a comfortable margin.

Tire Tango and Late Drama

Verstappen stretched his first stint masterfully before swapping to fresh hards on lap 32, erasing any lingering threat from the McLarens in one fell swoop. Piastri pitted early again on lap 42 for mediums, unleashing blistering pace that clawed back half the deficit in the closing stages—reels of 1:22s flashing on the timing screens. Yet it wasn’t enough; he crossed the finish line 7.9 seconds shy.

Norris, meanwhile, was not as fast as Piastri or Verstappen and after his second stop on lap 44 he dropped to fifth, trapped behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. With tires screaming and the clock ticking, Norris pounced on the penultimate lap, snatching fourth—and two vital points—after Antonelli’s wide moment at Turn 10 exit. Alonso, nursing a late spin, recovered to seventh, while Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari faded to eighth amid strategy woes.

Sainz, the podium pirate, was the race’s wildcard. Starting sixth, the Williams driver nailed his stops and tire management, fending off Norris until the final laps to bag his first top-three of a resurgent second half. “We came in expecting our toughest weekend,” Sainz beamed post-race, “and walked out with this. Nailed everything.”

Podium Reflections: Frustration, Fire, and Focus

– Verstappen (P1): The three-time champ was all grins in parc fermé, crediting Red Bull’s composure. “That Safety Car? Perfect timing. We boxed, executed, and the rest was just keeping the tires alive. 25 laps on hards here is brutal, but it worked. We’re in the fight—Abu Dhabi will be fireworks.”

“Asked about McLaren’s decision not to box under the safety car: “That’s an interesting move…”

Does Max believe he can win the title? “It’s all possible now. We’ll see, I don’t worry about it too much…”

– Piastri (P2): Stoic but seething, the Aussie dissected McLaren’s meltdown. “No call right away? That means the team’s scrambling. We trusted it, but when I heard everyone else pitted… yeah, trouble. Pace was there—we reeled in seconds at the end—but track position is king.”

– Sainz (P3): Jubilant outlier. “Super quick out of nowhere. Strategy, start, defending—all clicked. Proud of Williams; this is momentum.”

Norris, mic’d up in fourth, kept it curt: “Gutted. Overthought the SC, handed Max the win. Tires were toast after. But the extra two points? We’ll take ’em to Abu Dhabi.”

Championship on a Knife’s Edge

Verstappen’s haul vaults him to second in the Drivers’ standings, just 12 points behind Norris. Piastri lurks third, 16 behind Norris.

Lando Norris leads the points standings with 408 points, to 396 for Verstappen and Piastri with 392 points with 25 points to play for in Abu Dhabi. Those three have won seven races apiece in this brilliant season.

No major controversies marred the night beyond the strategy saga, though overtaking remained a rarity (limited to Turns 1 and 6). Post-Las Vegas plank disqualifications, McLaren confirmed full compliance here—no scrutineering scares.

Abu Dhabi Awaits: Do-or-Die Under the Lights

As the circus packs for Yas Marina, the finale looms like a storm cloud. Verstappen, ever the hunter, eyes a 5th straight title with “positive energy—no pressure, just go for it.” Norris and McLaren? A reset button and a vow: no more hesitation. With upgrades teased across the grid and night-race unpredictability, expect sparks—literal and figurative.

Norris remains a heavy favorite for the title; 12 points is not a small lead. Piastri needs to win and hope his teammate finishes sixth or lower, so realistically given McLaren’s pace advantage… His chances are slim now.

And Verstappen will need a win and to hope Piastri and maybe Russell start to push Norris down the order.

Just one race to go. No Sprint in Abu Dhabi, just three practice sessions, one Qualifying and the Grand Prix to close out the 2025 season.

And there are three drivers able to take the title.

The fascinating twists and turns of this race, with unprecedented levels of performance and new circuit records set throughout the weekend, reflect an entire season with closer competition than ever. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the championship now gets decided at the last race, with three very worthy contenders going into battle for the final time next weekend.

In Qatar’s glow, Verstappen didn’t just win a race; he reignited a rivalry. Rent-free in the rivals’ heads? Absolutely. But in Abu Dhabi, eviction notice is served.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on November 30, 2025 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

2025 Qatar GP Formula 1 Race Results – 57 Laps