President of QOC Crowns Verstappen as F1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2025 Winner

Doha, November 30 (QNA) - HE President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani crowned Dutchman Max Verstappen as champion of the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2025, the 23rd and penultimate round of the world's biggest and most famous motorsport championship.

The event took place at the Lusail International Circuit and ran over the course of three days.

The Red Bull driver, Verstappen, clinched the title after completing the 57-lap, 306.66-kilometer race in a time of 1:24:38.241.

Verstappen finished 7.995 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Australia's Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who secured 2nd place with a time of 1:24:46.236, whereas Spain's Carlos Sainz of Williams followed in 3rd place with a time of 1:25:00.906.

Britain's Lando Norris of McLaren finished in 4th place with a time of 1:25:01.556 while Italy's Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes came in 5th at 1:25:06.558.

This victory marks Verstappen's third Qatar Grand Prix win, having previously won the 2023 and 2024 editions.

With this win, Verstappen ignited a three-way battle for the 2025 World Championship title, as the official decider was pushed to the final round in Abu Dhabi, from December 5 to 7.

Verstappen advanced to 2nd place with 396 points, reducing the gap between him and Norris to just 12 points, while the latter tops standings with 408 points. Piastri, on the other hand, dropped to 3rd place with 392 points.

The Red Bull driver delivered an outstanding performance at Lusail International Circuit, reviving his hope of winning the world championship and claiming his fifth consecutive world title.

Today's victory is his seventh win out of 23 races this season and the 70th of his Formula 1 career.

The Dutchman entered the Qatar Grand Prix main race after winning the previous round in Las Vegas, which motivated him to continue delivering strong performances, gain maximum points, and strengthen his title chances ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi.

Contrary to his results in the practice sessions and sprint race, Verstappen achieved an impressive and unexpected victory at Lusail, outperforming his championship rivals Norris and Piastri of McLaren in a race marked by an unusual strategic decision from McLaren.

McLaren's strategic call not to pit their drivers during the early safety car intervention, combined with a mandatory maximum of 25 laps per set of Pirelli tyres, along with an incident involving Germany's Nico Hulkenberg of Kick Sauber, favored Verstappen, who made the most of the opportunity to lead a flawless race to the finish line ahead of Piastri.

From third on the grid, Verstappen surged ahead of Norris into Turn 1 and followed Piastri, the pole-sitter, during the opening laps before a collision between Hulkenberg and France's Pierre Gasly at Turn 1 several laps later reshuffled the race.

While all drivers made their first of two mandatory pit stops in the 57-lap race, Piastri and Norris stayed out, which ultimately placed them behind Verstappen in the final standings.

Piastri easily recovered to 2nd place after his final pit stop, having shown strong pace throughout the race, but Norris was unable to overtake Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli after his pit stop.

Commenting on his win, Verstappen expressed immense joy with the victory and his performance in the main race.

In a post-race statement, Verstappen said that he was extremely happy to win again in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit, describing it as a very special and fast track, adding that the tyres held up well and that he enjoyed the race.

Verstappen said that the race went perfectly for him, and that he and his team made the right call in response to the safety car, describing it as a very smart decision that significantly contributed to the victory.

He stressed that what made him happiest was not only winning the Qatar Grand Prix but also remaining in contention for the world title until the final round in Abu Dhabi.

The Dutch driver noted that he put in significant effort over the three days and in all Qatar Grand Prix sessions, adding that he and his team delivered a strong performance and fully deserved the victory and the title in Qatar once again.

 

Source: QNA