3 days ago
7
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a melodramatic Qatar Grand Prix that was brought to beingness by 2 mid-race information cars and a punishment for McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Verstappen was successful a choky combat with Norris passim the contention until the Briton was fixed a 10-second stop-and-go punishment for failing to dilatory for yellowish flags.
Verstappen himself was instrumental successful getting Norris the punishment aft pointing the incidental retired to his team.
Meanwhile, determination volition beryllium questions astir the absorption of the contention by governing assemblage the FIA, aft Mercedes operator Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz some suffered punctures.
It is unclear whether the punctures were caused by worn tyres oregon debris from a helping reflector that had been lying connected the pit consecutive for astir 3 laps earlier it was smashed by Valtteri Bottas' Sauber. The FIA has not responded to questions arsenic to wherefore the reflector was not cleared up earlier.
The punctures happened soon aft the reflector was hit, and the information car was called to let marshals to wide the shattered carbon-fibre and glass.
Although Norris challenged Verstappen astatine the restart, and the Dutchman defended his presumption robustly, their tussle was academic, due to the fact that of Norris’ penalty.
The punishment besides ended McLaren’s hopes of tying up the constructors’ title successful this race.
They present spell to the last contention successful Abu Dhabi adjacent play with a 21-point pb implicit Ferrari and a maximum of 44 points disposable to score.
Verstappen enactment himself successful presumption to triumph the contention astatine the start. He had taken rod presumption connected Saturday, earlier being demoted 1 spot down Mercedes’ George Russell for driving excessively dilatory during the session.
Verstappen made his typically bully start, getting up the wrong of the Mercedes connected the tally to Turn One, and taking the lead.
As they washed somewhat wide, Norris went up the wrong to walk Russell, but Verstappen fended disconnected the McLaren connected the tally to Turn Two.
Verstappen and Norris ran unneurotic astatine the beforehand for fractional the race, the spread ne'er much than 2 seconds, arsenic Russell started to autumn backmost from them with Norris’ team’s mate Oscar Piastri putting him nether pressure.
Verstappen ever had the vantage arsenic the leader, but the destiny of the triumph was up successful the aerial until Norris was adjudged to person transgressed successful failing to dilatory for a yellowish caution flag.
During the safety-car period, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc jumped Piastri successful the pits to instrumentality what became 2nd spot with Norris’ penalty. Leclerc is present conscionable 8 points down Norris successful their conflict for 2nd successful the drivers’ championship.
Russell, who had fallen backmost with a dilatory pit halt made nether racing conditions earlier the information car, took 4th spot contempt a five-second punishment for a information car infringement, up of a beardown thrust from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was passed by Russell but managed to clasp disconnected the recovering Sainz successful the last portion of the race.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took seventh, portion Sauber scored their archetypal points of the twelvemonth with Zhou Guanyu successful eighth, up of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and the recovering Norris, who took 10th aft dropping to the backmost with his penalty.
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