A groundbreaking but not very exciting race was won by Max Verstappen in Qatar, while behind him, the fight for the constructors' title practically opened up after Lando Norris' mistake.
George Russell got off to a good start, but Max Verstappen reacted even better and immediately took the lead. Lando Norris, who was third, almost surprised both of them and after two corners was already pushing for first place, but Verstappen repelled his attack. In the back regions Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon found each other, which first led to a yellow flag and then a safety car phase. The second Williams was also not doing well, Alexander Albon was pushed out by Lance Stroll, but at least he was able to continue the race. Nico Hülkenberg suffered a puncture during his overtaking attempt…
Verstappen handled the restart well, but there were no major changes behind him, only Oscar Piastri managed to gain positions. While the race started with fireworks, in the middle it slowed down almost completely and the field settled down. Verstappen, Norris, Russell, two Ferraris and the rest… We saw fights and mistakes only in the rear regions, but even those did not increase the pulse too much. There were stops, which Russell messed up a lot, practically getting out of further fights. His place and chances for the podium were taken by the Scuderia Ferrari pilots, who presented themselves with good tire handling and one-stop tactics.
A serious problem was caused by Alexander Albon, whose mirror broke off and remained in the middle of the home straight, causing a series of punctures… Another safety car followed, another restart, during which Verstappen made a mistake on cold tires, which Norris should have easily overtaken. However, this did not happen, so the order remained the same as before. However, another SC and another drama came… Norris received a penalty because he did not notice the yellow flag section, and ten seconds meant that scoring points became difficult for the Briton. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piasti were in the lead and this order did not change until the end of the race.
