Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen closes in on 5th F1 title, here’s what cost pole-winner Oscar Piastri the win

It was Max Verstappen’s day at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday as the Red Bull star moved closer to his dream of winning a fifth F1 Championship title. The Red Bull driver managed to get ahead of pole-winner Oscar Piastri in the race as well as in the Drivers’ Standings, and ahead of the current championship leader Lando Norris, in the penultimate round of the season at the Lusail International Circuit.

This is the first time in 15 years that three drivers are in contention for the title going into the final round of the F1 Championship, to be held in Abu Dhabi this year.

Max Verstappen wins Qatar Grand Prix 2025

After giving his fans a massive reason to celebrate, Max Verstappen shared a bunch of celebratory moments on his Instagram page after the race. He captioned it: “Yes!!! Incredible strategy @redbullracing, what a team. We’re still in it,” along with clapping and flexed-biceps emojis.

His girlfriend Kelly Piquet showered the post with several heart emojis in the comments section.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen had recently said that had he been driving the McLaren, he would have won the championship much earlier. The 28-year-old told F1 TV, “We wouldn't be talking about a championship. It would already have been won, easily. I mean they (McLaren) won the constructors' championship so early that yeah ...

you can fill it in yourself.”Williams driver Carlos Sainz joined Verstappen and Oscar Piastri on the podium. He managed to push Norris to the fourth position. Mercedes driver George Russell, who was expecting a podium in Qatar, finished sixth.

Where did Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris go wrong in Qatar?

After winning the F1 Sprint a day earlier, Oscar Piastri also secured pole position. But the 24-year-old could only finish second. He said, with disappointment writ large on his face, “Feeling pretty ***** as you can imagine.

The pace was strong and I didn't put a foot wrong. I left it in the team's hands to decide what to do as they have more information than I do. I just need to drive like I did this weekend, that was more than enough to dominate this weekend.

”Lando Norris still looked confident despite finishing fourth in the race. The McLaren driver continues to lead the F1 Championship. He is 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Standings. Speaking after crossing the finish line, Norris said, “It's tough. We just have to have faith in the team making the right decision. It was us that took a gamble in a way. And we lost it, Oscar lost the win and I lost P2. Not our finest day, but that is life. [Red Bull] did a better job as a team, they made the right call. You can't get them all right. We just need to do a better job, I'll do my job and we'll be fine.”McLaren team principal Andrea Stella accepted that it was a mistake on the team’s part not to pit.

“It is a disappointing result overall. We had the potential to win the race with Oscar, and he deserved that. And the podium was available for Lando. So we lost the victory for Oscar and the podium for Lando. We need to review the decision we made with the Safety Car. It was a decision not to pit. We did not expect everyone else to pit.

When you are the lead car, you do not know what everyone else will do. It would have been a loss to Lando with the double stack, but the decision was due to not expecting everyone else to pit,” he said.

What’s next in Formula 1?

Next is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will mark the end of the ongoing F1 season. It is scheduled to begin on December 5, with the final race on December 7. The finale will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit at 5 pm local time (6:30 pm IST).Also Read: Qatar Grand Prix: Novak Djokovic lights up podium as Oscar Piastri wins F1 Sprint, Lewis Hamilton’s remark sparks buzz