The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are closing the gap to Red Bull. Photo Don / Kennedy
When Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in second place in the sprint race in Qatar, he became a triple world champion, joining an elite group of some of the greatest names in Formula 1.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was quickly on the team car radio, congratulating his wonder boy on yet another milestone achievement.
“Max, you are a three-time world champion - that’s unbelievable, mate. Absolutely unbelievable. It’s been an incredible year for you.”
When he was reminded he had joined the likes of Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet, whose daughter is his partner, Verstappen was understandably proud and appreciative.
“Three world titles? It sounds great. It’s something, of course, I never really dreamt of. It’s of course a very proud moment for myself, for my family, my close family - I think everyone within the team I’m working with - to be able to experience all of this together is amazing,” he said at the Losail International circuit.
Verstappen thinks the most important thing is the people he works with.
“I said it on the radio already, on the in-lap. Of course, we talk about performance, and you can always thank the team for that, but I also find the whole atmosphere and how much I enjoy working with all these people, I find that probably even more important. It’s very important to come to the track and know that you have nice people to work with.”
The sprint race was won by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who is fast becoming a star. His teammate, Lando Norris, was third, and while he was pleased for Piastri, it was obvious being beaten by his new teammate to a first F1 win, albeit not a Grand Prix victory, would have miffed Norris.
Twenty-four hours after the sprint race, Sky Sports commentator David Croft noted that while the championships may have been decided, we still had a race. And what a race it was, with a couple of drivers at the end of it being taken to the medical centre for treatment for dehydration.
It was a hot, windy race, with drivers also having to cope with sand blowing on to the track, wind gusts hitting their cars and exceeding track limits. In addition, the FIA imposed an 18-lap limit on tyres, which meant a three-stop race due to tyre degradation.
During qualifying for both the Grand Prix and the sprint race, several drivers had lap times deleted for exceeding track limits, and they weren’t happy about it, arguing that the runoff area at the circuit was vast and going over the white line was not a safety concern. However, the FIA said it had to apply the track limit rule consistently, irrespective of the circuit configuration.
Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari didn’t start the Grand Prix because of a fuel injection issue. Verstappen started on pole with the two Mercedes cars of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton right behind him, and wouldn’t be headed, taking his 14th victory of the year and the 48th win of his career. He probably didn’t see what had happened behind him.
At the first corner Hamilton, starting on the left side of the track for the right-hand corner, tried to go around the outside of Russell, but his left rear tyre hit the left front wheel of Russell’s car and they both went off. Hamilton lost a wheel and his damaged car was beached, but Russell was able to get going and, remarkably, would finish in fourth place.
Hamilton was quickly on the team radio; “I’ve just [been] taken out by my teammate,” he said.
Hamilton then walked across the track while the race was still under way, albeit under a safety car, with images of Russell going past just as Hamilton exited the track. He would have to visit the steward’s room for two incidents: causing a collision and crossing the track unsafely. He would be exonerated for the first indiscretion because it was at the first corner on the first lap, but would get a fine of €25,000 and a reprimand for the second. Later in the press pen, he would admit his fault.
“I’ve watched the replay and it was 100 per cent my fault, and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and George.”
Russell’s team radio comments, which weren’t broadcast on Sky TV, but will no doubt be featured on Netflix, suggest he somehow thought he was to blame.
“So sorry, guys. I wasn’t even looking behind, I was just focused ahead and he came from nowhere. F***ing lost for words, honestly. I’ve just seen the replays on the TV screen - couldn’t do anything, totally sandwiched. It’s f***ing lap one.”
That first corner incident meant Fernando Alonso had to take evasive action, as he was right behind the spinning Russell car, allowing Piastri to inherit second place, which he wouldn’t relinquish. Alonso would finish sixth after making a mistake and going off through the gravel when a podium finish looked possible. That position eventually went to Norris, who started 10th after his best time in qualifying was deleted.
McLaren is now the team closest to Red Bull. Well, one Red Bull, because once again, Sergio Perez had a shocking race. He had only qualified 13th and incurred two five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits, and eventually finished 10th.
Perez has been under pressure to retain the drive for next year, with Liam Lawson, the super-sub at Alpha Tauri for Daniel Ricciardo, mentioned as a possible replacement.
Unfortunately, in his fifth Grand Prix start, Lawson blotted his otherwise previously clean sheet by spinning out of the sprint race at the second corner, and then finishing last of the 17 cars to finish the race - one he won’t want to mention in his CV.
At the end of the race, Piastri could hardly stand, but every driver complained about how hard and brutal the race was.
Logan Sergeant in the Williams couldn’t finish the race and had to be helped out of his car. Alex Albon had dehydration, while Esteban Ocon admitted he was vomiting into his race helmet just 15 laps into the race. Charles Leclerc, who finished fifth for Ferrari, was one of several drivers unhappy with the race conditions.
“Physically, it was the toughest race of my career,” he said.
“That was due to a number of things: very high temperatures, three stops, which meant putting in qualifying laps in every lap of the race, and as a result, much more stress in the high-speed corners.”
“I think maybe next year if we find ourselves in the same situation, I think we’ll have to discuss between us drivers.”
Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, despite the heroics of finishing fourth after being last on lap one due to his collision with Hamilton, was also not impressed with the race conditions and says the drivers will want to discuss what happened in Qatar.
“Today was beyond the limit for what was acceptable for driving,” he complained.
“If over 50 per cent of the grid were saying [they were] feeling sick, couldn’t drive, close to passing out - you don’t want to be passing out when you’re driving 200 miles per hour down the straights, and that’s how I felt at times. Any hotter, I think I would’ve retired, because my body was gonna give up.”
“It was an absolutely brutal race. By far the most physical race I have ever experienced. I felt close to fainting in that race. I have never experienced anything like it before.”
Verstappen has now broken the record Sebastian Vettel held of most laps led in a single season (739), with five races still to go. He has extended his points-scoring streak to 36 consecutive races. But above all, he has that third world title. Horner has no doubt about how he sees Verstappen’s standing among the greats of the sport.
“To see him now join names in the history of the sport like [Sir] Jack Brabham, like Niki Lauda, like Ayrton Senna, like Nelson Piquet, Sir Jackie Stewart - these are some massive names. With his age and what he does, and the period that he’s been involved, he’s up there with the very, very best.”
Verstappen was asked how the third title ranked with the first two.
“All feel very different, and I think that’s very beautiful. The first one is very emotional. I think this one has been the best one in terms of performance and dominance as a team, so a lot of different feelings from all three of them.”
Verstappen is 26 and the second-youngest three-time world champion behind Vettel, and now fifth on the all-time list. He’s just three wins behind Alain Prost (51) and five away from Vettel’s 53 wins, a total he could reach before the season’s end. Asked if he would be celebrating in Qatar, Verstappen’s response indicated he would leave Qatar focused on the next five races.
“We will enjoy it a little, but there are still quite a few races out there that we want to win!”
Sources: F1.com; Red Bull Racing.
A three-week inquest in Hamilton is investigating the Olympian's death in 2021 aged 24.