A contest full of twists and turns, but not too exciting, Max Verstappen achieved a clear victory in Qatar, while behind him, Lando Norris' mistakes made the fight for the constructors' championship practically open in the last race.
George Russell had a good start, but Max Verstappen reacted even better, immediately taking the lead. Lando Norris, in third, almost fooled both of them, and after two corners he was already fighting for first position, but Verstappen repelled his attack. In the back regions, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon collided, which led first to a yellow flag, then to a safety car phase. The other Williams did not fare any better, with Alexander Albon being spun by Lance Stroll, but at least he was able to continue the race. Nico Hülkenberg was rewarded with a puncture after an overtaking attempt...
Verstappen managed the restart well, and behind him there were no major changes, the only one who managed to gain positions being Oscar Piastri. Just as the race started with a firework, in the middle it flattened out, and the peloton stabilized. Verstappen, Norris, Russell, the two Ferraris and the others... The battles and mistakes were only visible in the rear regions, but even these did not raise the pulse too much. The pit stops came, but Russell made a serious mistake, so he practically dropped out of the fight for positions. The Briton's place and his chances of a podium were taken by the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, who showed up with good tire management and a stopping strategy.
A serious problem was that Alexander Albon's mirror broke, and it remained in the middle of the straight, causing repeated failures... A new safety car followed, a new restart, during which Verstappen, with unheated tires, made a mistake, and Norris should have overtaken him without any problems. However, this did not happen, so the order remained the same as before. However, a new SC and a new drama came... Norris received a penalty for not respecting a yellow flag area, and the ten seconds meant that it became difficult for the Briton to even score points. Meanwhile, in first place were Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, and this order did not change until the end.