Max Verstappen used a well-timed safety car to keep his aspirations alive for a fifth-straight Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship, grabbing a vital win in the F1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix at Losail Circuit. Verstappen closed the gap to 12 points between himself and Lando Norris going into the final race of the 2025 season.
The Dutchman took his third straight victory at Qatar on Sunday (Nov. 30) over polesitter Oscar Piastri, who could not close the eight-second gap in time to the Red Bull No. 1.
Verstappen took his seventh grand prix victory of 2025 and 70th of his career.
“This was an incredible race for us,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “We made a right call as a team to box under that safety car. That was smart and, of course, super happy to win here. We stay in the fight until the end. Incredible.
“That was interesting move [by McLaren]. I knew at the end we had a little bit of a gap. Still, you need to keep the tires alive 25 laps as well. The wear is very high around here, but luckily, it all worked out.”
Max Verstappen’s Success in the 2025 Red Bull Car Proves the Dutchman Is Still the Best Driver in Formula 1
Piastri was the strongest car of the day, but despite not attaining a weekend sweep of sprint and grand prix victories, he remains in the championship hunt with his runner-up finish, 16 points behind Norris.
“Clearly, we didn’t get it right tonight,” Piastri said. “I drove the best race that I could as fast as I could. There was nothing left out there. Tried my best, but it wasn’t meant to be tonight. I think in hindsight, it’s pretty obvious what we would’ve done, but I’m sure we will discuss as a team.”
Carlos Sainz scored his second podium of 2025, becoming the first Williams driver to score multiple podiums in a season since Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas did it in 2015. Sainz surged to fourth after the safety car and overtook Norris after the Brit’s final pit stop.
“I’m so happy, so proud of the team of what we done today because we came into this weekend thinking it was going to be the most difficult weekend of the year, and suddenly, we came out with a podium out of it,” Sainz said. “We nailed the race pace. That was super quick, much quicker than expected. We nailed the strategy. We nailed the tire management, nailed the start, nailed all the defending and management, and that brought us an unexpected podium. I cannot be more proud.”
Norris passed Kimi Antonelli for fourth with two laps to go after the Mercedes on old hard tires oversteered, meaning that Norris only has to finish third at Abu Dhabi to claim his first championship next weekend.
“The car was good,” Norris told F1 TV. “Oscar finished second and was very quick, so nothing to complain about. Just strategy as the second car is always just a bit worse. It wasn’t even the fact that we were the second car. We shouldn’t have done what we did. Simple as that.”
Despite a rough race, Norris, who is the defending winner at Abu Dhabi, said he doesn’t feel worried going into the final race.
“I feel good,” Norris said. “Obviously not the best day, but it is what it is. So, looking ahead.”
George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10 and the points-placing finishers.
Piastri replicated a perfect start from the point as he did in the sprint race over a hard-charging Verstappen, who flew by the championship leader Norris in the opening segment before the leaders went into tire management mode on the yellow-walled medium tires.
That management was interrupted, however, as Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly both made contact battling for ninth out of turn one to bring out the safety car. Hulkenberg retired from the race with his KICK Sauber disabled.
The McLaren duo were the only drivers who stayed out as Verstappen took the liberty to fit new medium tires along with the rest of the field.
The safety car peeled in on lap 11, and McLaren got the jump on Verstappen on a seven-lap tire disadvantage and built a gap to Verstappen. After staying out on the maximum regulated 25 laps on the first set of tires, both McLarens pitted and were able to slot ahead of a DRS train led by Alonso in sixth.
Verstappen and the field followed suit on lap 33, coming out seven seconds behind the lead McLaren of Piastri.
Norris reported that he might have picked up damage on lap 37 and bled time to Verstappen after going off in the gravel briefly.
Piastri was able to pit ahead of Sainz and Antonelli while Norris fell behind the two in fifth and struggled on the hard tires in the early running.
Norris was unable to pass Antonelli until his wide run with two to go to secure fourth, while Verstappen took care of business up front.
Isack Hadjar, who was running sixth, had a late puncture with two laps to go and fell out of the points for Racing Bulls.
Oliver Bearman joined Hulkenberg as a retiree on lap 44 after being pinged with an unsafe release penalty on his final pit stop.
Qatar Grand Prix Results
The final race of the 2025 season goes to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE and will go lights out at 8 a.m. ET. Coverage in the United States will be provided by ESPN.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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Pretty cool.
After a long season, we will be treated to a final race where three drivers could emerge as champion, and not due to some contrived system to determine the winner. It means every decision over the full span of the year was important, no matter who prevails. Every tire decision, every pit stop, every overtake, every feat of greatness, and every mistake…it all mattered.
It’s Red Bull, who have made some questionable upgrade decisions throughout the year, with one of the all time great drivers in Verstappen, who has consistently wrestled his car beyond what was thought possible.
It’s McLaren, who have made many strategic gaffes, but on pure speed alone, have been the class of the field, along with two young but talented drivers in Piastri and Norris.
I’m looking forward to this final race. My guess is Norris just plays for third place in the race, which would secure the title, and anything else is extra gravy. But as we saw this week, any minor mistake, and Verstappen and/or Piastri will likely be there to pounce.
McLaren is making strategy decisions like Ferrari’s