Following a legendary Las Vegas Grand Prix, the teams headed all the way to the scorching hot Middle East for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The day after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Formula 1 announced that General Motors (GM) would be joining the grid in 2026. A confusing and intriguing saga between Formula 1 and what started out as Andretti has come to an end with GM becoming the second American team on the grid. It is exciting for fans to finally see a new face in the sport and it will also be exciting to see which two drivers end up representing the team come 2026.
The shocking news was yet another sign of how the sport is growing and how bright its future is. People are finally starting to realize the magic that surrounds the sport. I am over the moon to finally see Formula 1 getting the recognition it deserves.
After that special announcement, the teams arrived at the Lusail International Circuit for the third rendition of the Qatar Grand Prix. The race was first introduced in 2021, where Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took the inaugural victory. Due to its recency, the circuit is an unpredictable place for drivers and teams. The Qatar Grand Prix also marks the final Sprint weekend of the season, adding yet another element of uncertainty going into the race weekend.
The weekend got off to a slow start with the first and only Free Practice session (FP1) having no drama. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the session, with both McLarens close behind. Going into the race weekend, McLaren led the Constructors’ Championship fight, just ahead of Ferrari who trailed behind by 24 points.
Moving into Sprint Qualifying, the session was similar to FP1 with there being no incidents on track, even with drivers struggling to find grip on the dusty surface. In SQ1 however, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez once again failed to make it through to the next round of the session, as his struggles late on in the season continued. McLaren driver Lando Norris took pole position for the sprint race, with his teammate Oscar Piastri and Mercedes driver George Russell just behind.
The slow and uneventful start to the race weekend was interrupted by the sprint race, which provided some brilliant moments of racing. Norris got away quickly and maintained his lead for the first few laps of the race; behind him, his teammate and Russell battled for second place. The two drivers pushed each other to the limit in the hopes of securing crucial points in their respective championship fights. Fans also got a glimpse of what may be to come next season in the Ferrari garage, as Hamilton and Leclerc had an intense battle, with Leclerc winning the duel. Norris looked certain to win as the final laps drew near, but at the last second on the final straightaway, he lifted and gave Piastri the victory. It was a strange decision from Norris, but ultimately the right thing to do as Piastri had helped him in his championship fight with Verstappen earlier in the season.
The teams moved into the formal Qualifying session for the grand prix. In Q1, Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda narrowly made it through into Q2, only making it by .026 seconds. Newly-crowned four-time World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen narrowly took pole position just ahead of Russell. However, after the session concluded, Verstappen was handed a controversial one-place grid penalty for impeding Russell during a slow lap. The penalty itself was unusual, as a typical impeding penalty is at least a three-place penalty.
Following that confusing situation with Verstappen and Russell, it was finally time for the race to begin — which is when things descended into chaos in the desert.
Heading into turn one, Verstappen and Norris both overtook Russell, with Verstappen leading the way after the first sector. Toward the rear of the pack, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg collided with Alpine driver Esteban Ocon who then spun into Williams driver Franco Colapinto. The crash brought out the safety car and resulted in both Ocon and Colapinto retiring from the race, with Hulkenberg receiving a puncture from the incident. However, the drama on lap one didn’t end there. Just ahead of the first incident, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll collided with Williams driver Alex Albon and sent the two spinning off track. Both drivers were able to get going again and joined the rest of the grid behind the safety car.
The race restarted on lap four, with Verstappen maintaining his lead. Following the restart, Stroll was given a ten second penalty for causing a collision in his incident with Albon. Stroll pitted on lap eight to serve the penalty, then pitted again on lap nine to retire his car. Not even 10 laps into the race, three drivers had retired, and there was chaos all throughout the field.
On lap 30, Albon’s right hand side mirror flew off of his car while he was travelling down the main straightaway. The mirror went flying and landed right off of the racing line before turn one; if a driver were to attempt an overtake, they would, without a doubt, run into it. Immediately following the incident, double yellow flags were waved on the straightaway, but there was no safety car deployed so track marshals could remove the mirror.
On lap 34, the dangers of the debris became clear, as Kick Sauber driver Valteri Bottas drove over the mirror and shattered it into a million pieces that were strewn all along the straightaway. Hamilton and Ferrari driver Carols Sainz drove over the debris next, and both drivers picked up punctures and were forced into the pits on lap 35. With the dangers of the debris finally obvious to the stewards, they deployed the second safety car of the race.
Hamilton’s woes continued under the safety car, as he was handed a stop and go penalty for speeding in the pitlane — not the way the British driver wanted his penultimate race at Mercedes to go. It even got to the point where he was asking his race engineer to retire the car. As a long time Hamilton fan, it broke my heart to see him so distraught in what could’ve been a happy final few moments with Mercedes.
On the second restart on lap 40, Verstappen continued to maintain his lead, but behind him, yet again, there was more drama. His teammate, Perez, lost power and was forced to retire his car in what continues to be a disappointing end to his season. Hulkenberg also faced some trouble after he spun out and beached himself in the gravel, bringing out another safety car, as a quarter of the grid was now out of the race.
For the third time in the race, Verstappen maintained his lead after the restart and was flying ahead of Norris in second. The drama didn’t stop there though, as Norris was handed a 10 second stop and go penalty for speeding under yellow flags. The penalty pushed Norris from second place to dead last. Leclerc moved into second place and Ferrari gained a huge advantage to close the gap behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
With Norris’ penalty, Kick Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu moved into eighth place, looking to score Kick Sauber’s first points of the season. In the end, Verstappen took victory in Qatar, with Leclerc finishing second and Piastri in third. Zhou finished the race in eighth and scored Kick Sauber’s first points of the season. His incredible performance also earned him Driver of the Day.
Heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, everything is still there to fight for. McLaren leads the Constructors’ Championship by 21 points over Ferrari, as the title fight will come down to the wire in what is sure to be a thrilling finale of one of the greatest seasons in Formula 1 history.
