Max Verstappen claimed a brilliant, unexpected victory at the Qatar Grand Prix to blow a three-way F1 title fight wide open heading into the season finale.

The Red Bull driver capitalised on McLaren’s decision not to pit their drivers during an early Safety Car while the rest of the field, including Verstappen, did come in.

Verstappen pulled off a superbly-executed race to fend off a charging Oscar Piastri, who had controlled the early stages, and take his seventh win of the 2025 season.

F1 championship leader Lando Norris had a tough race and could only finish fourth as he saw his advantage cut down to 12 points over Verstappen, while he is 16 ahead of Piastri heading into next weekend’s title showdown in Abu Dhabi.

“This was an incredible race for us. We made the right call as a team to box under that Safety Car. That was smart,” Verstappen said. 

“I’m super happy to win here. We stay in the fight until the end. Incredible!

“It was a very strong race on a weekend that was a bit tough but we won the race and that was important.”

Carlos Sainz held off Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Norris to claim his second podium finish of the season with an excellent drive to third place in his Williams.

George Russell finished sixth in the other Mercedes, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. 

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda completed the rest of the points finishers in ninth and 10th for Racing Bulls and Red Bull. 

Four drivers failed to finish, with Lance Stroll, Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman and Nico Hulkenberg retiring. 

Hulkenberg’s race ended in the Turn 1 run off on Lap 7 after contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, an incident which caused the key Safety Car. 

Qatar Grand Prix – Race Results