F1: Verstappen wins Qatar GP as three-way title race goes to Abu Dhabi finale – as it happened
NEWS | 01 December 2025
7h ago 13.02 EST Giles Richards’ race report is here: Max Verstappen beats Piastri to take F1 title race to Abu Dhabi GP as Norris falters Read more Thanks a lot for reading and for all the emails. That was a terrible race in many ways, but for all that, I will be tuning in for the season finale next week given the potential for drama … it’s a funny old game. Good night. Share Updated at 13.19 EST 7h ago 13.00 EST “David Coulthard even said yesterday that if there was a safety car early, everyone would pit,” emails Kevin. ”They should’ve watched Channel 4 highlights. Marginal gains.” Share 7h ago 12.59 EST “It’s tough,” says Norris. “We have to have faith in the team. It was a gamble. Now it’s the wrong decision. We didn’t do a good job today … not our finest day but that’s life. “It’s nothing to do with the team trying to play fair. Nothing to do with it. Everyone goes on about it. “Red Bull did a better job as a team. They made the right call. We know why we didn’t make the right decision. You can’t get them all right. If the team does their job, and I do mine, we’ll be fine.” Share 7h ago 12.57 EST “It’s a disappointing result overall,” says Andrea Stella of McLaren. “We lost the victory with Oscar and the podium with Lando, definitely not what we wanted. We have to review the decision during the safety car on lap seven “It was a decision not to pit. We didn’t expect everyone else to pit. It would have been the right decision to pit, when you are the lead car, you don’t know what everyone else is going to do. “It was a decision. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t the correct decision. “The [potential] flexibility was – any other safety car would put us in a very strong position. “It worked well for everyone, stopping at lap seven. That’s what it is. We thought the pace in the car might allow us to open enough of a gap. We could not exploit the pace of the car. Not the desired outcome. “You need to have a plan for the safety car. When it’s so late in a lap, it doesn’t give you a chance … but it’s not an excuse. “We understand Oscar being extremely disappointed. He’s been fast, solid, consistent, he’s done everything right. Likewise Lando. We want to keep the options open for all our drivers. “It is still in our hands. It comes down to the quality of our work … we will go very determined into the finale of this season.” Share Updated at 13.09 EST 7h ago 12.51 EST “I was thinking,” emails Michael. (That’s always dangerous, by the way.) “ … McLaren must have a plan, a strategy where they valued having their cars in P1 and P2 more than the pit stop. Surely there is a plan, right? “Narrator voice: “There was no plan.” Share 7h ago 12.49 EST “If one were of a conspiracy mindset, a grand choreographing of this and the previous race would seem eminently plausible,” writes Darryl. “A big fix taking the title fight to the final race all for “entertainment” value? Or of course one could just put it all down to the sheer stupidity that McLaren and their drivers have shown at crucial points all season.” Share 7h ago 12.46 EST “Looking like another F1 stitch up in Abu Dhabi to me,” emails John. “Discuss.” Oh, I am sure they (we?) will. Share 7h ago 12.45 EST “And the dorsal fin is right behind McLaren,” emails Joris van Wijk. View image in fullscreen A shark. Photograph: Wildestanimal/Alamy Share Updated at 12.48 EST 7h ago 12.44 EST Latest drivers' standings: top three Norris 408pts Verstappen 396pts Piastri 392pts Share Updated at 13.06 EST 7h ago 12.42 EST “I’m so happy,” says Carlos Sainz of Williams. “So proud of the whole team. We came into this weekend thinking it would be the most difficult of the year … I was super quick. We nailed the pace, the start, the strategy, I could not be more proud. We got everything right today. We improved in so many areas. There were opportunities today and we grabbed all of them. I am over the moon.” View image in fullscreen Williams driver Carlos Sainz. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP Share 7h ago 12.41 EST Piastri has a chat: “We didn’t get it right tonight. I drove the best race I could, as fast as I could, it wasn’t to be tonight. “In hindsight it’s pretty obvious what we would have done [under the safety car]. We’ll discuss it as a team. “It’s been a good weekend, the pace has been strong, it’s a little bit tough to swallow at the moment.” Share 7h ago 12.40 EST “This was an incredible race for us,” says Verstappen. “We made the right call as a team under the safety car. Super happy to win. We stay in the fight to the end. Incredible. For us it was a very strong race. It was a tough weekend.” “That’s an interesting move,” Verstappen adds of McLaren’s decision not to pit under the early safety car. “I knew then we had a bit of a gap … still, you have to keep the tyres alive. “It’s all possible now. We’ll see. I don’t really worry about it too much.” Share 7h ago 12.34 EST So Verstappen, going into Abu Dhabi, is 12pts down on Norris. “I would love to be in the McLaren debrief,” says Karun Chandhok. This all feels pretty terrible for McLaren. It’s going to be a tough week. Share Updated at 12.35 EST 7h ago 12.32 EST Qatar GP result Verstappen Piastri Sainz Norris Antonelli Russell Alonso Leclerc Lawson Tsunoda Albon Hamilton Bortoleto Colapinto Ocon Gasly Stroll Hadjar Bearman Hulkenberg Share 7h ago 12.30 EST “Speechless,” says Piastri. “I don’t have any words.” He ain’t happy. And quite rightly. Share 7h ago 12.30 EST “Not sure what happened to Antonelli, Max … it looks like he just pulled over and let him through,” says someone on the Red Bull team of Norris taking fourth. “Regardless of that we will fight to the end. Well done Max.” “Well done on the strategy,” says Verstappen. “That’s a very lovely race, well done everyone,” says Verstappen. Share 7h ago 12.28 EST Max Verstappen wins the Qatar grand prix His third consecutive win in Qatar. View image in fullscreen Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters Share Updated at 12.44 EST 7h ago 12.27 EST Lap 57/57: Norris moves up to fourth after Antonelli runs wide! That could be big. Share 7h ago 12.27 EST Lap 56/57: An email titled: “Re. F1 going downhill” “I think you’ve hit upon an idea there!” writes Dan. “Works for skiing anyway.” Share 7h ago 12.26 EST Lap 55/57: Verstappen Piastri +9.9sec Sainz Antonelli Norris Russell Alonso Leclerc Lawson Tsunoda Share 7h ago 12.24 EST Lap 54/57: The commentators are starting to discuss permutations for the final race. Norris is down in fifth. Verstappen is 10.9sec ahead of Piastri in second. Norris has eight second places, which may prove important in certain scenarios. Share 7h ago 12.22 EST Lap 53/57: F1 may well have been going downhill since 1979. But then again, who hasn’t? Share Updated at 13.10 EST 8h ago 12.21 EST Lap 53/57: “It may well be that 1mm wear on a skid block costs Norris the championship,” emails Richard. “Results changed long after the race. This is not a spectator sport. “Maybe standing on the penultimate corner at Dijon in 1979 raised my expectations, but F1 has been going downhill ever since.” Share 8h ago 12.20 EST Lap 52/57: The top five – Verstappen Piastri +12sec Sainz +10sec Antonelli +2.7sec Norris +.5sec Share Updated at 12.20 EST 8h ago 12.18 EST Lap 51/57: So in fairness, Piastri is shaving time off Verstappen’s lead, but six more laps isn’t going to be enough to make a difference. Norris is still in fifth. Share 8h ago 12.18 EST Lap 50/57: Piastri has reduced the gap to 12.9sec. Share 8h ago 12.15 EST Lap 48/57: Norris is in fifth, after his second stop, trying to get past Sainz. Verstappen leads by 14.3sec. He is home and hosed unless something astonishing happens. “Just use your pace now,” Piastri is told. This is ludicrous. They (McLaren) have completely messed this up. The commentators have been trying their best to maintain interest, and have farcically been hoping for another safety car to spice things up. “If the race finished now, Verstappen would be 10 points behind Norris in the title race,” says Brundle. Share Updated at 12.16 EST 8h ago 12.13 EST Lap 47/57: “I gave up F1 a while ago,” writes Tim. “The new tracks are designed by the same guy and are similar and boring. The business seems to hate the old fun demanding tracks.” Share 8h ago 12.12 EST Lap 45/57: Now Verstappen, Norris and Piastri have all pitted twice. The F1 website says they are all on medium tyres, to perhaps the info about hard tyres for Piastri was wrong? Share 8h ago 12.10 EST Lap 45/57: “Could the McLarens do the same thing teams do in Monaco,” emails Michael. “Norris slows down so Piastri can pit, and then reverse?” An F1 car cannot reverse. (joking!) Share 8h ago 12.07 EST Lap 43/57: Piastri comes in for hard tyres. That’s hard tyres. A 1.8sec stop. Norris leads. Then Verstappen. Then Piastri. “OK Max,” Verstappen is told on radio. “It’s Oscar who is pitted early, and is looking to chase you down now.” THE RACE IS ON! (Or is it?) Share Updated at 13.10 EST 8h ago 12.06 EST Lap 42/57: Piastri is plotting something on the radio with him team. Are they going to pit and put soft tyres on? Share 8h ago 12.05 EST Lap 41/57: Surely it would have been common sense for McLaren to pit if literally everyone else in the race pitted during the safety car? Even a relative F1 ignoramus like me can see that. Share 8h ago 12.03 EST Lap 40/57: The Sky commentators have admitted defeat, and pointed out that Verstappen is going to win. You were all well ahead of the game with your emails, so well done. Share Updated at 12.04 EST 8h ago 12.03 EST Lap 39/57: “The races are becoming more about technical errors than real racing,” emails Gordon. “We need more tracks where the drivers have a chance of really fighting for position and fewer that are predetermined by qualifying order barring penalties and poor pit lane decisions. It’s getting boring.” Yes. Share 8h ago 12.02 EST Top 10 right now: Oscar Piastri Lando Norris +7sec Max Verstappen +2sec Carlos Sainz George Russell Kimi Antonelli Fernando Alonso Isack Hadjar Charles Leclerc Lance Stroll Share 8h ago 12.00 EST Lap 37/57: “This is the bit of the race where we need to be quicker than Max,” McLaren’s drivers are told over the radio. Which may be easier said than done. Share 8h ago 11.56 EST Top five as it stands Piastri Norris +4.7sec Verstappen +8.1sec Sainz +27sec Antonelli +33sec Share 8h ago 11.55 EST Lap 33/57: LOADS of cars pitted just then. It looked like George Russell came close to a shunt of some kind as one of the Racing Bulls came in past him just as he finished his stop. Ted Kravitz says Russell in fact came close to hitting someone in the pit lane. Perhaps the stewards will have a look at it. Share 8h ago 11.53 EST Lap 32/57: “Good afternoon,” writes Bill Preston, which seems a fair enough opening gambit. “With all the massive costs involved in the design and construction of modern racing tracks, surely there’s employment enough for someone to say “There isn’t sufficient space or safety margin with what we have for drivers to get stomp on and then with style, panache, and thrilling heroics have a several way tussle for the lead”? “At least Monaco has boats and stuff. “I hope Norris does well, but won’t begrudge Verstappen a win. “Yours, grumpily …” View image in fullscreen Lewis Hamilton on a boat in Monaco. Photograph: Florent Gooden/DPPI/Shutterstock Share Updated at 11.54 EST 8h ago 11.51 EST Lap 32/57: Lando Norris has been notified about breaching track limits twice. One more and he gets an official warning, two more and it’s a five-second penalty. (Says the expert, Brundle.) Meanwhile, Verstappen is going to pit … Share 8h ago 11.50 EST Lap 30/57: “Thanks for the coverage - my only channel to follow the F1 unbiased,” writes Peter. “It looks like McLaren’s strategic mishap will make Abu Dabi the F1 thriller of the year, like it was with Lewis and Max having all to play for.” Yes, it’s shaping up to be a Verstappen v Hamilton thriller, like the 2021 vintage. Wolff and Horner’s rivalry is just as fierce as Hamilton v Verstappen | Luke McLaughlin Read more Share 8h ago 11.47 EST Lap 28/57: Verstappen leads. Verstappen +14.8sec Sainz Antonelli Piastri Norris Share 8h ago 11.44 EST Lap 26/57: Norris pits, a quick one at 2.2sec. He reemerges on to the track, and only just holds off Alonso! Norris is fifth. Alonso sixth. “That brings McLaren back into play a little bit,” insists Brundle. View image in fullscreen McLaren’s Lando Norris in the pits. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/Reuters Share Updated at 11.50 EST 8h ago 11.41 EST Lap 24/57: “Max is a fierce defender, and McLaren may have just made a massive blunder,” emails Ian. “I can somewhat see the argument they wanted to make, but with these tyre limits, it simply wasn’t the right call. The Dutch Lion may stay in this championship race til the end.” Share 8h ago 11.39 EST Lap 23/57: “If Norris wins he’s the champion!” says Croft on commentary. That is a big if, based on what we’re looking at. Share Updated at 11.40 EST 8h ago 11.36 EST Lap 21/57: “However much excitement Croft and Brundle try to manufacture from this, the result seems clear to me. Verstappen will win,” emails James. “The McLarens need to stop twice. Verstappen, and everyone else, only need to stop once more. Given races at this track are always a procession, all Verstappen has to do is manage his tyres and stay within 25 seconds of the McLarens. After all stops he’ll be ahead on a track that’s notoriously difficult to pass on.” View image in fullscreen Champers for Max? Photograph: Greg Nash/UPI/Shutterstock Share Updated at 11.38 EST 8h ago 11.34 EST Lap 20/57: I mean sure, you can argue there is intrigue in tyre and pitstop strategy, but the emphasis on it illustrates the sheer lack of drama elsewhere in this race. I sincerely hope I eat my words and it’s exciting at the end, but as it stands, Verstappen overtaking Norris into turn one is as thrilling as it’s going to get. Share Updated at 11.35 EST 8h ago 11.32 EST Lap 19/57: “Max is going to win today. Total pit-stop blunder by McLaren,” emails Ulrich. “Will they never learn?” Share Updated at 11.33 EST 8h ago 11.31 EST Lap 17/57: The only cars in the race who have not pitted are the McLarens. “A safety car in the next seven or eight laps would take a lot of pressure off the McLaren situation,” says Brundle. It seems a bit farcical that none of this is about actual driving skill. Share 8h ago 11.30 EST Lap 16/57: Leclerc is ninth, Hamilton is 14th. It’s another poor weekend for the Ferraris who have struggled throughout. Share 8h ago 11.28 EST Lap 15/57: Gasly is back in the race after that crash. But it’s an early bath for Hulkenberg. Share 8h ago 11.26 EST Lap 13/57: Top 10 – Piastri +2sec Norris Verstappen Sainz Antonelli Alonso Hadjar Russell Leclerc Bearman Share 8h ago 11.23 EST Lap 12/57: Up front, Piastri leads by 1.2sec and seems to be pulling away from his teammate Norris. “The teams are limited on 25 laps each for each set of tyres,” explains Brundle. “McLaren have to get rid of these medium tyres at lap 25, they have to get everything out of them before that.” Share Updated at 11.24 EST 8h ago 11.22 EST Lap 10/57: So Norris is now second to Piastri following Verstappen’s pitstop during the safety car. The received wisdom is that the safety car has worked out horribly for McLaren. “It feels to me that McLaren have missed a trick,” says Brundle on commentary. What do you think? Email me. Share Updated at 11.22 EST 9h ago 11.20 EST Lap 10/57: McLaren have chosen not to pit during the safety car. Verstappen did, and has medium tyres on, that are two laps old right now. “Expect the McLarens to push hard after the restart” Verstappen is told over the radio. Hulkenberg’s car is being hauled off the track now. The safety car is about to end. View image in fullscreen Verstappen hits the pits. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP Share Updated at 11.33 EST
Author: Luke Mclaughlin.
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